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Misc |
From the Native Food Forum
(use the link to the left to go to the forum itself.)
Posted by: Rimbaud
Ratbag
Joined: 16 Jul 2005
Posts: 424
Location: NSW
Posted: Thu Mar 23, 2006 10:45 am
Post subject: An important legal announcement regarding Nicotiana species
Believe it or not guys, the Tax Office has a very different view of the botanical world than you or i! (surprise surprise)I made an enquiry with the ATO and was contacted by an intelligence officer this morning.
He advised that the sale or even possession (i.e. cultivation) of any plants which both:
1. possess a common name with the word "tobacco" (ANYBODY'S common name!!!! For example the "Blue Tobacco Tree")
2. belong to the Nicotiana genus is illegal without a tobacco growers license.
Astonishingly, this applies to native tobacco plants like Nicotiana suaveolens and Nicotiana gossei.
As a consequence of this advice, all Nicotiana seeds have been removed from my web site, & all Nicotiana plants i own have been destroyed (by me). No doubt i'll see them popping up from time to time as weeds... and when i do, sorry little fellas, but i gotta remove ya.
Native "Aboriginal tobacco" seeds are illegal to sell without a license(on initial advice) because the Act groups all plant parts together (it lists seed, leaf, flower etc. together). If you have a lawyer & want to dispute the matter with the ATO (good chance you'd win) then maybe you could take a risk here. Unfortunately i can't afford a lawyer
And of course to BUY tobacco seeds you ALSO need to be licensed. A pretty small market there!
Botanical gardens possess specific licenses for the growing of species in the Nicotiana genus (and if they don't, they are committing a crime).
Hmmph.