diff --git a/pkg/ccl/importccl/import_processor.go b/pkg/ccl/importccl/import_processor.go
index a6c33a8fb676..152fecb8072a 100644
--- a/pkg/ccl/importccl/import_processor.go
+++ b/pkg/ccl/importccl/import_processor.go
@@ -16,11 +16,9 @@ import (
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/ccl/storageccl"
-	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/internal/client"
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/jobs/jobspb"
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/keys"
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/roachpb"
-	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/settings/cluster"
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/sql/execinfra"
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/sql/execinfrapb"
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/sql/row"
@@ -31,7 +29,6 @@ import (
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/storage/storagebase"
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/util/ctxgroup"
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/util/hlc"
-	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/util/log"
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/util/protoutil"
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/util/tracing"
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/errors"
@@ -255,45 +252,12 @@ func (cp *readImportDataProcessor) emitKvs(ctx context.Context, kvCh <-chan row.
 	return nil
 }
 
-func (cp *readImportDataProcessor) presplitTableBoundaries(ctx context.Context) error {
-	// TODO(jeffreyxiao): Remove this check in 20.1.
-	// If the cluster supports sticky bits, then we should use the sticky bit to
-	// ensure that the splits are not automatically split by the merge queue. If
-	// the cluster does not support sticky bits, we disable the merge queue via
-	// gossip, so we can just set the split to expire immediately.
-	stickyBitEnabled := cp.flowCtx.Cfg.Settings.Version.IsActive(cluster.VersionStickyBit)
-	expirationTime := hlc.Timestamp{}
-	if stickyBitEnabled {
-		expirationTime = cp.flowCtx.Cfg.DB.Clock().Now().Add(time.Hour.Nanoseconds(), 0)
-	}
-	for _, tbl := range cp.spec.Tables {
-		for _, span := range tbl.Desc.AllIndexSpans() {
-			if err := cp.flowCtx.Cfg.DB.AdminSplit(ctx, span.Key, span.Key, expirationTime); err != nil {
-				return err
-			}
-
-			log.VEventf(ctx, 1, "scattering index range %s", span.Key)
-			scatterReq := &roachpb.AdminScatterRequest{
-				RequestHeader: roachpb.RequestHeaderFromSpan(span),
-			}
-			if _, pErr := client.SendWrapped(ctx, cp.flowCtx.Cfg.DB.NonTransactionalSender(), scatterReq); pErr != nil {
-				log.Errorf(ctx, "failed to scatter span %s: %s", span.Key, pErr)
-			}
-		}
-	}
-	return nil
-}
-
 // ingestKvs drains kvs from the channel until it closes, ingesting them using
 // the BulkAdder. It handles the required buffering/sorting/etc.
 func (cp *readImportDataProcessor) ingestKvs(ctx context.Context, kvCh <-chan row.KVBatch) error {
 	ctx, span := tracing.ChildSpan(ctx, "ingestKVs")
 	defer tracing.FinishSpan(span)
 
-	if err := cp.presplitTableBoundaries(ctx); err != nil {
-		return err
-	}
-
 	writeTS := hlc.Timestamp{WallTime: cp.spec.WalltimeNanos}
 
 	flushSize := storageccl.MaxImportBatchSize(cp.flowCtx.Cfg.Settings)
diff --git a/pkg/sql/distsql_plan_csv.go b/pkg/sql/distsql_plan_csv.go
index c2a69009abd6..b459f1233ce7 100644
--- a/pkg/sql/distsql_plan_csv.go
+++ b/pkg/sql/distsql_plan_csv.go
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/keys"
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/roachpb"
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/server/serverpb"
+	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/settings/cluster"
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/sql/execinfrapb"
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/sql/physicalplan"
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/sql/rowcontainer"
@@ -601,6 +602,39 @@ func (dsp *DistSQLPlanner) loadCSVSamplingPlan(
 	return samples, nil
 }
 
+func presplitTableBoundaries(
+	ctx context.Context,
+	cfg *ExecutorConfig,
+	tables map[string]*execinfrapb.ReadImportDataSpec_ImportTable,
+) error {
+	// TODO(jeffreyxiao): Remove this check in 20.1.
+	// If the cluster supports sticky bits, then we should use the sticky bit to
+	// ensure that the splits are not automatically split by the merge queue. If
+	// the cluster does not support sticky bits, we disable the merge queue via
+	// gossip, so we can just set the split to expire immediately.
+	stickyBitEnabled := cfg.Settings.Version.IsActive(cluster.VersionStickyBit)
+	expirationTime := hlc.Timestamp{}
+	if stickyBitEnabled {
+		expirationTime = cfg.DB.Clock().Now().Add(time.Hour.Nanoseconds(), 0)
+	}
+	for _, tbl := range tables {
+		for _, span := range tbl.Desc.AllIndexSpans() {
+			if err := cfg.DB.AdminSplit(ctx, span.Key, span.Key, expirationTime); err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
+
+			log.VEventf(ctx, 1, "scattering index range %s", span.Key)
+			scatterReq := &roachpb.AdminScatterRequest{
+				RequestHeader: roachpb.RequestHeaderFromSpan(span),
+			}
+			if _, pErr := client.SendWrapped(ctx, cfg.DB.NonTransactionalSender(), scatterReq); pErr != nil {
+				log.Errorf(ctx, "failed to scatter span %s: %s", span.Key, pErr)
+			}
+		}
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
 // DistIngest is used by IMPORT to run a DistSQL flow to ingest data by starting
 // reader processes on many nodes that each read and ingest their assigned files
 // and then send back a summary of what they ingested. The combined summary is
@@ -688,6 +722,10 @@ func DistIngest(
 		return nil
 	})
 
+	if err := presplitTableBoundaries(ctx, phs.ExecCfg(), tables); err != nil {
+		return roachpb.BulkOpSummary{}, err
+	}
+
 	recv := MakeDistSQLReceiver(
 		ctx,
 		&metadataCallbackWriter{rowResultWriter: rowResultWriter, fn: metaFn},