G/SPS/GEN/1667  
20 December  2018 
(18-8071) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures  Original:  Spanish  
 
  
RELEVANT CLARIFICATIONS REGARDING THE NEW PHYTOSANITARY CERTIFICATE  
COMMUNICATION FROM COSTA RICA  
The following communication, received on 19 Decem ber 2018, is being circulated at the request of 
the delegation of Costa Rica . 
 
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1.  By means of  communication G/SPS/GEN/1665 of 22 November 2018 , the State Phytosanitary 
Service (SFE) informed WTO Member States about the modification of the fo rmat of the existing 
phytosanitary certificate.  
2.  One of the most important improvements to this certificate is the use of a digitized signature, 
introduced in an effort to establish trade facilitation mechanisms and improve the security of the 
phytosanitary  certificates by  checking the signatures of officials authorized by the National Plant 
Protection Organization (NPPO).  
3.  As a result of introducing  the new  modality for  signing the certificates, we have received enquiries 
in that regard from our trading partners and, for this reason as well as to avoid disruptions to the 
trade in plant products and other regulated Costa Rican items, it has been deemed appropriate to 
make the following clarifications:  
a. The phytosanitary certificate issued by the State Phyto sanitary Service (the NPPO of 
Costa  Rica) meets the requirements laid down in the International Pla nt Protection 
Convention (IPPC).  
b. The phytosanitary certi ficate uses a printed signature.  
c. The signature printed on the phytosanitary certificate does not  entail the adoption of an 
electronic data transmission system.  
d. The Costa Rican phytosanitary certificate that accompanies Costa Rican exports will continue 
to be issued in hard copy to all countries , as before.  
e. The only variation is that they will be authorize d by means of the printed signature, which 
is identical and equivalent to the handwritten signature of the inspector authorized by the 
SFE to i ssue phytosanitary certificates.  
f. The SFE has full confidence in the security systems that have been adopted  to ensure that 
the printed signatures faithfully reflect the image of the a uthorized inspector's signature.  
g. The signature is printed on the document only upon completion of the authentication controls 
by the inspector authorized to  access the internal computer system.  
h. The SFE guarantees the traceability and authenticity of the phytosanitary certificates  bearing 
this form of signature.  
i. The user and/or the authorities of the country of destination may verify the authenticity of 
the signature that appears on the ph ytosanitary certificate, as well as the certificate number 
and the data it contains, via the following electronic address 
http://app.sfe.go.cr/Certificado/frm_machote.aspx , where it is possi ble to verify:  
 the list of inspectors authorized to sign phytosanitary export certificates and the image 
of their signatures;  
 the authenticity of the phytosanitary certificate, by means of the number shown o n the 
document.  
j. The phytosanitary certificate is printed on white bond paper. The security mechanisms of 
these certificates are those indicated in subparagraph i . G/SPS/GEN/1667  
- 2 - 
  k. By means of  communication G/SPS/GEN/1489/Add.1 of 5 September 2016, the SFE 
informed Member States that the p hytosanitary certificate would henceforth be issued on 
white bond paper and would not bear any kind of stamp  or colour, as it is printed with the 
institution's logo and in black ink.  
l. Furthermore, countries that so request may receive the phytosanitary cert ificate with the 
digitized signature and the handwritten signature of the authorized official, but they must 
submit  their request via the contact point or t o the email address given below.  
m. The SFE  is available in a fully open manner to clarify any doubts t hat the phytosanitary 
authorities of Member States may have regarding this certificate. To that end the following 
contact point has been set up to deal with  queries and concerns regarding  the phytosanitary 
certificate, including over the Christmas, year -end and New Year  holiday season: 
consultascertificados@sfe.go.cr . 
 
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