Importing Indonesian Tropical Plants
to Canada.

1. A CFIA Permit to Import, issued before the order ships. Plants and plant parts for planting from outside the continental United States require a written permit under thePlant Protection Regulations s. 29 andDirective D-08-04 s. 3.1. There is no exemption for Indonesia: the 50-plant houseplant exemption applies only to the continental United States and Hawaii (Directive D-08-04 s. 4.7). Apply through the My CFIA portal or on form CFIA/ACIA 5256 to the National Centre for Permissions. The published standard is 10 business days for a complete application, so apply 4 to 6 weeks ahead of the intended shipment. The application review fee under the CFIA Fees Notice is CAD $43.12 for a single-use permit or CAD $73.90 for a multiple-use permit where no new pest risk assessment is required; amending a permit costs CAD $24.64 for a change of expiry date, shipment date, number of animals, port of entry, importer address or carrier, or CAD $135.50 for any other matter. Under Directive D-97-04 s. 2.7 a permit is valid for the period stipulated on it, for multiple shipments and unlimited quantities unless otherwise stated. Only a Canadian resident, citizen, permanent resident, or a corporation with a place of business in Canada may hold the permit.

2. A CBSA commercial import account. The buyer is the importer of record and needs a Canada Revenue Agency Business Number, an RM import/export program account, and registration in the CBSA CARM Client Portal. Financial security has to be in place for release prior to payment, whether a surety bond or a cash deposit. A customs broker needs delegated authority in the portal to file the Commercial Accounting Declaration.

3. An IPPC phytosanitary certificate from Barantan. Every consignment needs the original certificate issued by the Indonesian Quarantine Authority, with plants declared under accepted botanical scientific names. The certificate must carry the additional declaration in section 3.9.1.2 of Directive D-08-04, and its quantities, taxa, exporter and Canadian consignee must match the permit and the commercial invoice exactly.

4. A CITES import permit only where the appendix requires one. Canada does not require a Canadian CITES import permit for Appendix II or III specimens; Indonesia's export permit or certificate of artificial propagation is sufficient. Appendix I specimens need an Environment and Climate Change Canada permit before shipment, and specimens listed in Schedule II of the Wild Animal and Plant Trade Regulations need a Canadian permit under s. 10(1) of WAPPRIITA.

5. Permit holder identification on every package and document. The permit holder's name and permit number must appear on the outside of every package and on the shipping documents, and the permit must be valid on the date of shipment. Operationally this is a no-permit, no-shipment rule: without a valid permit the consignment is refused or seized, and there is no route to regularise it after the fact.

Soil and growing media — not admissible. Soil and soil-related matter are prohibited from all areas other than the continental United States (Directive D-95-26). Only a microscopic film of dust from wash water is tolerated, and any clump, patch or grain of native soil is grounds for refusal or re-export at the importer's expense. Soil-free potting media is prohibited unless certified under the Canadian Growing Media Program (Directive D-96-20). Every Foliaria consignment is bare-root.

NAPPRA palms — closed pending pest risk analysis. Under Appendix 2 of Directive D-08-04 the palm genera Acrocomia, Astrocaryum, Attalea, Bactris, Brahea, Butia, Calamus, Desmoncus, Euterpe, Mauritia, Metroxylon, Oenocarpus, Oncosperma, Roystonea, Sabal, Syagrus and Washingtonia are prohibited from Indonesia.

Tropical genera closed from Indonesia or from all third countries. Ficus spp. are prohibited from Indonesia; they are permitted only from the United States, China, Guatemala, South Korea and Thailand. Solanum spp. and Mangifera spp. are prohibited from all origins except the continental United States, and Citrus and related Rutaceae are prohibited because of citrus greening and canker.

What this leaves open. The standard Indonesian tropical range is importable with a permit and certificate: aroids such as Monstera, Philodendron, Anthurium, Alocasia, Scindapsus, Epipremnum, Rhaphidophora, Syngonium, Aglaonema, Amydrium and Schismatoglottis; Hoya and Dischidia; ferns including Platycerium, Asplenium and Nephrolepis; and Tillandsia, Calathea and Maranta.

How this is handled in practice. The export desk checks the genus and species against Appendix 2 of D-08-04 and the regulated pest lists before an invoice is issued, and says so plainly when a line cannot be shipped to Canada. If a variety is restricted, the alternative is a documented substitute agreed with the importer — never a silent substitution.

CITES is administered in Canada by Environment and Climate Change Canada under WAPPRIITA and the Wild Animal and Plant Trade Regulations, not by the CFIA. For specimens listed in Appendix II or III, Canada does not require a Canadian CITES import permit: the exporting country's permit is sufficient. Indonesia's CITES export permit or certificate of artificial propagation therefore travels with the shipment and is presented to CBSA. This is the point where the Canadian regime diverges from the EU and Japan, both of which require an import permit on their side for Appendix II material.

Appendix I specimens are different. They need a Canadian CITES import permit issued by Environment and Climate Change Canada before shipment, in addition to the Indonesian export permit. Specimens listed in Schedule II of the Wild Animal and Plant Trade Regulations need a Canadian permit under s. 10(1) of WAPPRIITA. Trade in Appendix I material cannot be for primarily commercial purposes.

Specimens that arrive without a duly authentic CITES export permit are not cleared by Canada Customs and are subject to seizure, and permits are not issued retrospectively. The Canadian position on Appendix II and III is stated in Canada's own import licensing notification for wild animals and plants, published through the WTO licensing portal.

Canadian air cargo enters through YYZ, YVR, YUL and YYC, with YEG and YHZ also handling commercial cargo. CBSA clears the border at the airport, but the plant health decision is made later, at the importer's registered premises. That split is the operational difference buyers get wrong: a CBSA release is not permission to open the boxes.

Customs classification sits under HS 0602.90. Nursery stock for propagation or growing on falls under 0602.90.10 at 0% MFN duty; other finished potted plants under 0602.90.90 attract 6%. No general tariff preference applies to Indonesian-origin goods: Indonesia is not a CPTPP member, and the Canada-Indonesia CEPA has concluded negotiations but is not in force, so entry is on MFN terms.

GST is assessed at the border at 5% and reclaimed as an input tax credit by a registered business, so it does not become a cost of the goods; GST/HST applies on the later domestic sale, and provincial tax is generally not collected at the border on commercial shipments by registered businesses. Air transit from East Java is a 3 to 5 day carrier estimate, before inspection and customs queues. Because the destination inspection follows delivery, confirm the local CFIA district office contact before the flight lands.