IMPORTANT FOR EU IMPORTS: ENSURE CERTIFICATES ARE ALIGNED WITH NEW DEFRA GUIDELINES

Update – SPS controls on the movement of fish and shellfish landed in the EU and moved into Great Britain 
 
After DEFRA received feedback from the industry on their SPS border control on fish and shellfish direct landings. As a result, they have taken action to improve their processes on fish and shellfish direct landings in the EU returning to Great Britain (GB) under customs transit, in collaboration with their colleagues in HMRC and relevant government departments. The following guidance will apply from 1st November 2024.  

Where fish and shellfish from UK registered fishing vessels are directly landed into an EU port with the intent to move them directly into GB and not clear EU customs or SPS controls, they may be considered GB goods for both SPS and customs purposes. This is applicable for fish or shellfish that are unprocessed or subjected to primary processing only.   

Legislation reference as to definition of primary processing can be found here: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/eur/2009/1224/article/4  

This means that:  

• Where the goods enter GB via a GVMS enabled port they do not need to be notified to IPAFFS or obtain an Export Health Certificate. They also will not be subject to routine checks at the border. They must however be moved under a T1 customs authorisation.  Please refer to HMRC guidance for transit movements: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/transit-manual-supplement. Please contact your intended port of entry to check if it is a GVMS enabled port. 
• Where the goods enter GB via a non-GVMS enabled port they need to be notified on IPAFFS as a low-risk commodity, but they do not need to obtain an Export Health Certificate. They also will not be subject to routine checks at the border. They must however be moved under a T1 customs authorisation.   
• Goods moving in transit to GB will need to be accompanied with evidence to support their GB origin and that they were caught by a UK vessel. This evidence can be in the form of, the ship’s logbook, a landing declaration or a catch certificate. For non-GVMS points of entry, this evidence should be uploaded to IPAFFS when the notification is made. For points of entry with GVMS, the carrier will need to provide this evidence at the point of entry. 
• This guidance will also be available online at Importing or moving fish to the UK. 
  
  

Update – Changes to the CHED D journey 

DEFRA have been working to streamline the CHED D, making it easier for importers to GB to navigate the IPAFFS system and to ensure improved traceability and intelligence gathering.  

These improvements are scheduled to take place in November, when importers using CHED D will notice small changes to the questions asked on screen, when submitting their IPAFFS details.   

From 7th November, IPAFFS users will see a small change on screen when submitting their details for CHED D. When asked the main reason for importing the consignment, the option ‘for transfer’ will no longer appear.   

Instead, you will be given the option to check:   

• ‘Internal market’ if your consignment is intended for use in Great Britain (England Scotland or Wales)   

or 

• ‘Non-internal market’ if your consignment is not intended for use in Great Britain and will be exported to a different country.  
• Traders with goods intended for Northern Ireland will need to check ‘non-internal market’.  

From 21st November, the EU and EFTA countries will be removed from the searchable drop box, when asked the ‘Origin of the animal or product’.   

How to comply with the BTOM and the new import controls 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 is providing you with health certificates and/or phytosanitary certificates.   
4. Consider using 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.  

Please be aware that the easement period for sending scanned copies of health certificates ended on 31st July 2024. 

If you or your agent uploads and attaches a scanned copy of a paper health certificate to the Common Health Entry Document (CHED) on IPAFFS and submits it, you will be required to present the original paper certificate to the Port Health Authority (PHA) or local authority (LA) at the Border Control Post (BCP) in advance of  the consignment’s arrival into GB, or upon the consignment’s arrival in GB if advised to do so by the PHA/LA.  

Please note: if the original paper certificate is not available for checks on entry into GB, the consignment may be held until the original paper certificate is provided to the PHA/LA at the BCP.  To avoid unnecessary administrative burden and allow for a smoother flow through the BCP, you are strongly encouraged to use verifiable PDF health certificates. 

5. Correctly submit your import notification in IPAFFS:   

• Watch the webinar recording for Importing HRFNAO via the EU to GB: the new CHED Part 1 notification.    
• Watch the webinar recording for Importing animal products from the EU to GB: New CHED Part 1 notification.      
• Read Defra’s  guidance on Import Notifications. 

6. Reminder for freight forwarder or customs agents to double-check that the correct CHED import notification reference in the correct format, and the correct doc code, has been entered in the customs declaration for your consignments of EU goods, and that commodity codes and net weights are also included in the declaration. This will be important from 30th April when goods start to arrive through ports with a designated BCP.  

Resources to help you comply     

Defra’s detailed guidance has been updated with information on how to comply with your new legal responsibilities for:       

• importing live animals and animal products to Great Britain       
• importing plants and plant products from the EU to Great Britain       
• importing plants and plant products from non-EU countries to Great Britain      

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