Are small quantities of flowering seeds allowed to be imported for personal use?

[Prowolf8516]

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Prowolf8516
PARTICIPANT
April 22, 2025 at 7:04 pm

I am going to travel back to India from Slovenia, I am planning to bring some packed flowering seeds that I bought from the market. They are of the following genera – Aubrieta spp., Lobelia spp., Callistephus spp., Centaurea spp. and Lobularia spp.

Each packet is of 15g, I have 8 packets only.

Point of entry is Bangalore.

Do I need a phytosanitary certificate? Are these allowed? If I am caught carrying them without a certificate then what could be the consequences? How severe are the penalties?

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[Superrushabh4089]

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Superrushabh4089
PARTICIPANT
April 22, 2025 at 7:24 pm

Please don’t. These can destroy the ecosystem, remember Congress Grass.
Buy native flowering plants.

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[Prowolf8516]

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Prowolf8516
OP
April 22, 2025 at 8:22 pm

Yeah but except Centaurea, others are not known to be invasive.

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[Prakashninja345]

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Prakashninja345
PARTICIPANT
April 22, 2025 at 7:50 pm

NAL
You need to declare any plants/seeds on landing in India.
You’ll need a phytosanitary certificate verifying that the plant is free from pests and diseases and a permit. If you are caught trying to smuggle them in, they would be confiscated and you will be penalised.

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[Prowolf8516]

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Prowolf8516
OP
April 22, 2025 at 8:21 pm

What if I don’t declare I have the seeds? Will I be penalised? Confiscation is fine. I want to know how strict are the regulations.

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[Prakashninja345]

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Prakashninja345
PARTICIPANT
April 22, 2025 at 8:27 pm

Tbh you don’t wanna try your luck with the customs guys, you will face unnecessary harassment.

If you want to know the exact penalty amount, you’ll have to check with someone in customs I guess.

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[Prowolf8516]

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Prowolf8516
OP
April 22, 2025 at 8:34 pm

How do you declare items? Do they give you forms to fill or do you have to tell them during the customs check?

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[Prakashninja345]

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Prakashninja345
PARTICIPANT
April 22, 2025 at 8:36 pm

It’s on the immigration form you fill up … It had a checkbox for plants being carried as far as I remember

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[Prowolf8516]

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Prowolf8516
OP
April 22, 2025 at 8:46 pm

Ok thanks. Getting a phytosanitary certificate seems to be a hassle, so I guess I might not take them with me.

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[Smartsarvesh1620]

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Smartsarvesh1620
PARTICIPANT
April 23, 2025 at 10:49 am

Just declare on your customs paper that you are bringing plant seeds. The officers at the airport will guide you as they are trained on all these issues. There’s no risk if you declare.

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