The Joint Customs Consultative Committee (JCCC) has issued another reminder about new border checks on food and drink products coming into effect at the end of this month.
It has also shared new practical guidance for UK importers, as the government ushers in the next stage of the UK’s post-Brexit trading arrangements.
BTOM
From 30 April, new border checks are being introduced on certain sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) goods, as part of the government’s Border Target Operating Model (BTOM).
The first stage of BTOM was introduced on 31 January, with animal and plant goods classed as ‘medium risk’ requiring certificates export health or phytosanitary certificates.
Take ‘all necessary steps’
The JCCC has urged traders to take all necessary steps to make sure they are prepared for the new changes.
To ensure goods meet the new SPS requirements, from 30 April traders will need to:
- Create Part 1 of a Common Health Entry Document (CHED) import notification using the Import of Products, Animals, Food and Feed System (IPAFFS) in advance of the consignment arriving in GB, ideally at least one day before departure
- Make a customs declaration using the Customs Declaration Service (CDS)
- Pre-lodge customs declaration using the Goods Vehicle Movement Service (GVMS), if the port of entry uses GVMS
Making your declarations
JCCC is also reminding traders on CDS that they must provide the CHED import notification reference in the customs declaration format, which will appear as a ‘customs declaration reference’, as well as the CDS document code.
The customs declaration reference and CHED reference numbers will be formatted differently, with the former having a format of ‘GBCHDYYYY.XXXXXXX’.
If this CHED reference is incorrect, the goods won’t pass customs and will instead be sent to a border control post.
Practical advice
Traders are being urged to check both IPAFFS and CDS dashboards regularly, until the consignment has cleared the border.
Any errors will need correcting before passing through customs controls, and the government is advising importers that they should correct any discrepancies before goods reach the port of departure.
HMRC says that the CDS and IPAFFS dashboards will show if the information is not matching, with an email being sent in some cases.
More information
Traders can read government guidance on IPAFFS here and advice on CDS here
Institute of Export & International Trade (IOE&IT) members can read an exclusive ‘Ask the Experts’ article about BTOM checks here.
You can also download a copy of IOE&IT’s BTOM whitepaper here.
