The British government is reminding importers to be ready for the introduction of new controls on EU goods entering the UK.

As part of the roll-out of the UK’s Border Target Operating Model (BTOM), physical checks on medium and higher risk animal- or plant-based imports are slated to begin from tomorrow (30 April).

DEFRA advice

In an email to importers on Friday (26 April), the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) advised firms to “ensure goods arrive through an appropriately designated Border Control Post (BCP) or Control Point (CP) for your commodity type”.

Hauliers called for inspection at either a BCP or CP will need to “present the consignment for documentary, physical and identification inspections”.

This documentation includes export health certificates for animals or animal-origin products and phytosanitary certificates for plants and plant-based products. Importers and their EU suppliers have been required to attain these certificates since January this year, but inspections of the consignments and their accompanying documentation will begin tomorrow.

A ‘Common User Charge’ of up to £145 per consignment will also apply to any goods entering through the Port of Dover or Eurotunnel, regardless of whether they’re stopped for checks.

Costs concern

The UK’s commercial port operators, who have invested millions of pounds to ensure they can fulfil the checks, are reported to be frustrated about a lack of information from government regarding how many imports will be subject to inspections.

Richard Ballantyne, CEO of the British Ports Association, and Rhett Hatcher, CEO of the UK Chamber of Shipping, wrote a letter to Cabinet Office last week warning that it needed access to government data to understand how many goods require checks and who they needed to invoice for the associated charges.

According to Politico, they need access to the government’s Import of Products, Animals, Food and Feed System (IPAFFS) in order to have a “realistic opportunity to recover costs from users and importers.”

Without this, they said they wouldn’t be able to know “how many eligible goods are being transported through ports as well as who to invoice a blanket charge”.

Institute of Export & International Trade (IOE&IT) director general, Marco Forgione, has also expressed concern over the impact of the £145 Common User Charge on smaller businesses.

“While larger businesses have the capacity to absorb this cost, it will be small businesses that will feel the full force of these charges,” he said.

Sevington controversy

The government confirmed at the end of last week that an inland border facility in Sevington will be among the designated BCPs at which inspections can be completed, despite concerns from Dover District Council (DDC) about goods at risk of contamination needing to travel 22 miles inland before being checked.

Robbie Douglas-Miller, undersecretary of state for biosecurity, issued a letter in response to these concerns saying that goods can continue to be stopped at the point of entry where there are concerns over their legality – for instance, goods for which customs declarations or pre-notifications to the Import of Products, Animals, Food and Feed System (IPAFFS) have not been made.

Forgione said he welcomed the government’s confirmation of the designated BCPs, saying it will give “clarity” for businesses ahead of the new checks, but said there could have been better “communication” during the process.

“Businesses need clarity to plan and with just a few days until the physical checks are due to start critical detail and information has been lacking,” he said.

Difficult implementation, but welcome

Introducing physical inspections on EU goods has proven to be a hurdle for the UK in the past, with the government delaying the controls five times. There was a report in the FT earlier this month that the government was even mulling not implementing the checks in their entirety from tomorrow, though this has since been denied.

Forgione says the delays and lack of clarity have “frustrated many businesses”, while saying that is now “vital that businesses affected by these charges are aware of what is happening and how they need to prepare”.

However, he said that BTOM will help to establish the UK as “world-leading in the way in which our border and trade processes operate”, praising the “digital first, risk-based approach” that’s been taken.

Traders can read more about how BTOM will affect them and the support IOE&IT is providing to help them prepare for it here.