New import controls now Live
What changes have been implemented?
· The introduction of health certification on imports from the EU/EFTA of medium risk:
- animal products
- plants
- plant products
· The introduction of health certification on imports of high-risk food and feed of non-animal origin via the EU/EFTA listed here.
· The introduction of import notifications for EU/EFTA products (i.e. not Qualifying Northern Irish Goods) from the island of Ireland to Great Britain.
· The introduction of the Common Health Entry Document (CHED) import notification in place of the IMP for import notifications of EU/EFTA imports of Products of Animal Origin (POAO) and for High Risk Food and Feed of Non-Animal Origin (HRFNAO) imported into GB via the EU/EFTA.
How to comply with changes that are now in place:
1.Register for IPAFFS online on GOV UK if you haven’t already done so. The person or business completing the CHED Part 1 import notification must have a UK address to register for IPAFFS.
2. Know your risk category – use the online guidance to find the risk category of your commodity
3. Ensure that your EU supply chain are providing you with health certificates and/or phytosanitary certificates – find out more here.
4. From today, GB authorities encourage the use of a digitally signed and verifiable GB export health certificate (EHC) in place of the paper version of the certificate for live animals and POAO imports from EU and EFTA countries where the PDF health certificate can be electronically verified. We will accept verifiable PDF certificates from TRACES and other EU/EFTA MS systems listed on GOV UK. You can still use a paper GB health certificate.
5. Correctly submit your import notification in IPAFFS:
· Click here to watch the webinar recording for Importing HRFNAO via the EU to GB: the new CHED Part 1 notification.
· Click here to watch the webinar recording for Importing animal products from the EU to GB: New CHED Part 1 notification.
· Read our guidance in Import Notifications.
6. Read our introductory information leaflets for businesses on health certificates and import notifications.
7. Please click here to practice making CHED import notifications in the IPAFFS training environment.
BTOM SPS Q&A Published
To further support traders in preparing for BTOM SPS changes, a commonly asked Questions and Answers (Q&A) document has been published. See gov.uk here.
Compliance and enforcement
Most traders will want to meet their obligations and demonstrate their best endeavors to comply with new import controls. Our compliance approach for EU movements of goods is therefore focused on enabling traders to meet the requirements of the new regime.
Read more about our approach to compliance and enforcement.
Where an importer can demonstrate that they have done their best to obtain a health certificate but cannot comply with the requirement, they should contact APHA as soon as possible. Telephone 03000 200 301 or email imports@apha.gov.uk
TRACES NT – Adding consignee/places of destination
Following discussions with the European Commission we can confirm that traders in Great Britain do not require a validated TRACES account to act as a consignee or place of destination for imports of animal products from EU suppliers.
Businesses importing goods into Great Britain should ensure that they have a record within the TRACES system. This can be created either by the GB based importer themselves via https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/IMSOC/tracesnt-help/Content/en/getting-started.html, or by the exporting party in the EU. Once a record has been created, it will be available to all exporters across the EU.
Who to contact and when?
For urgent BTOM/import queries for plants and plant products to England & Wales, please contact the Animal Plant Health Agency (APHA) via:
Email (priority route): phsi-importers@apha.gov.uk
Tel (secondary route): +44 (0) 3000 200 301
For urgent BTOM/import queries for animals and animal products, please contact Animal & Plant Health Agency (APHA) via:
Email (priority route): imports@apha.gov.uk
Tel (secondary route): +44 (0) 3000 200 301
New advice can be found in the Power Point above.