Changes in UK Regulations for Veterinary, Sanitary and Phytosanitary Products.

The first phase begins on January 31, 2024 with veterinary, sanitary and phytosanitary products categorised as high, medium or low risk and the introduction of health certification requirements for medium risk animal products, plants, plant products and high risk food and feed of non-animal origin. Pre notification requirements for low risk plant and plant products from the EU will be removed.

From April 30, 2024 documentary and risk-based identity and physical checks on medium risk animal products, plants, plant products and high risk food and feed of non-animal origin from the EU will be introduced. Existing inspections of high risk plants/plant products from the EU will move from destination to Border Control Posts.

The final phase commences on October 31, 2024 with new safety and security declarations and reduced dataset requirements aimed at streamlining and removing duplication across different pre-arrival and customs datasets.

If your company imports veterinary, sanitary and/or phytosanitary products from the EU to the UK, we advise you to review the guidelines carefully to ensure smooth handling of your future exports.

Here’s three things you can do to prepare for the upcoming changes:

• Know your risk-category. You can use this online tool to find the risk category of your commodity.
• Ensure that your EU supply chain is preparing to provide you with health certificates and/or phytosanitary certificates. Click here for more information from HMRC.
• Make sure you are ready to correctly submit your pre-notification in IPAFFS. Click here for more information from HMRC.

Full details on risk categories and import rules can be found on the UK government’s website. Companies with questions about the new import regulations should contact our customs experts for assistance in navigating these changes: compliance.uk@gaston-schul.com.