The Directorate of Plant Protection, Quarantine and Storage (DPPQS) under the Ministry of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare (MOA) regulates the import of logs into India.
Species that are listed under VI and VII of the Plant Quarantine (PQ) order 2003 may be imported into India provided the requirements in these schedules and also the general import requirements listed under Section 9 (Requirement of Import of Wood and Timber), Chapter II (General conditions for import) of the PQ order are followed.
Under the current Plant Quarantine Order 2003, updated as of 18 December 2018, the import of wood and wood products requires fumigation/heat treatment/kiln dried to be noted on the phytosanitary certificate issued in the supplier country.
According to the PQ Order timber/wood with or without bark shall be fumigated prior to export with methyl bromide (MBR) at 48 g/cu.m for 24 hours at 21 degrees Celsius or above, or an equivalent thereof, or any other treatment approved by the Plant Protection Adviser, Government of India.
The treatment method shall be noted on the Phytosanitary Certificate issued by the supplier country. Imports of sawnwood are also regulated by the DPPQS, Ministry of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare.
Shipment of sawn or sized wood with or without bark must be either fumigated with methyl bromide at 48 g/cu.m for 24 hours at 21 degrees Celsius or above, or an equivalent thereof, or kiln dried at 56℃ for 30 minutes (core temperature of wood) or heat treated at 56℃ for 30 minutes (core temperature of wood) prior to shipment. The treatment shall be noted on the Phytosanitary Certificate issued at the supplier country.
The Indian domestic timber sector has proposed phasing out the requirement for methyl bromide fumigation as it is toxic and classified as a class 1 ozone depleting substance. Alternative treatments are said to be under consideration.