Dear subscriber,

Happy New Year and welcome to our first FSAI Brexit Ezine of 2021.

On 31 December 2020, the Brexit transition phase ended. The EU and UK have reached agreement in principle on a Trade and Cooperation Agreement.

Under the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement there will be zero tariffs and zero quantitative restrictions on eligible products, but customs procedures must be completed and food import controls still apply, so you will need to comply with these requirements to import food into Ireland. Controls are carried out on food entering the EU market to protect the safety and health of EU citizens, the health and welfare of animals, and the environment. 

Customs controls are carried out by the Revenue Commissioners and food import controls are carried out by the following agencies:

• The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM)
• The Environment Health Service of the Health Service Executive (HSE)

The type of import controls carried out depend on the food and include documentary checks, identity checks, and physical checks.

Importers, hauliers and agents must send the required import documentation to the relevant agency in advance of the consignments arrival at the port. This allows documentary checks to be carried out whilst the vehicle is travelling, minimising its delay in the port.

This Ezine focuses on:

• Documentary requirements for food imports from the UK (excluding Northern Ireland)
• Key Revenue messages for hauliers and truck drivers moving goods into Irish ports

The Protocol on Ireland / Northern Ireland applies since 1 January 2021, ensuring that many of the changes arising in our trade with Great Britain will not apply to trade with Northern Ireland. 

New rules for trading with the UK are now in place

On 24 December 2020, the EU and UK negotiating teams reached agreement in principle on a Trade and Cooperation Agreement, which came into effect from 1 January 2021. The Agreement provides for tariff-free and quota-free trade for qualifying goods.

The European Commission has provided more information on the Agreement on its website. It is important to note that even with the Trade and Cooperation Agreement in place, the end of the Brexit transition period brings substantial and lasting change, as the UK is no longer part of the EU Single Market and Customs Union. This means new procedures apply for businesses moving goods to, from or through the UK (excluding Northern Ireland).

For food import requirements the FSAI free eLearning module is available.

The Protocol on Ireland / Northern Ireland, means that no new procedures will apply to goods moving between Northern Ireland and Ireland (or the other Member States of the European Union).

Documentary requirements for food imports

Irish food businesses buying food from the UK (excluding Northern Ireland) and placing it on the Irish market are importers. Documentary checks are carried out on all food imports.

Delays will occur if import documents are not completed correctly or notified to the border control post within the required timelines. Submit your import documents in time to allow checks to be carried out before you arrive in the port.

What is a documentary check?

A documentary check is an examination of official certificates, official attestations, and other documents including commercial documents which are required to accompany the consignment. 

What documents are needed for food imports?

Depending on the nature of the consignment the accompanying documents will vary.

All food imports require the following documents:

• Customs declaration
• Commercial documents

In addition, some foods require additional documents:

• Common Health Entry Document (CHED)
  • CHED-P for foods of animal origin and composite products
  • CHED-D for foods of non-animal origin
  • CHED-PP for plants and plant products
• Health certificate for foods of animal origin and composite products subject to veterinary checks at import
• Official certificate for food listed in Annex II to Regulation 2019/1793 (as amended)
• Phytosanitary certificate for plants and plant products
• Certificate of Inspection (COI) for organic food
• Catch certificate for marine fishery products (if required)

What are commercial documents?

Are CN codes needed for import documents?

Food import documentation requires the products Combined Nomenclature (CN) code. The CN is an EU tool for classifying goods when they are declared to Customs. The CN code required on the customs declaration is a ten-digit number that corresponds to a description of the food being imported. 

Visit Revenue Classification for help with classifying your product and find the correct CN code. 

Food import checklists for food businesses

Included in the FSAI's eLearning module are import checklists for each type of food e.g. foods of animal origin, composite products, foods of non-animal origin.

Important Customs advice to hauliers and truck drivers moving goods from Great Britain into Irish ports

This week, Revenue provided important advice to hauliers and truck drivers moving goods to, from or through Great Britain (GB) into Ireland by ferry in relation to the following:

• creating a correct Pre-Boarding Notification (PBN)
• the importance of checking the customs channel prior to disembarking

Following Revenue’s advice will ensure:

1. Vehicles carrying goods to and from GB will be able to board their scheduled ferry without any difficulties
2. Truck drivers can present goods for customs controls, if any, on arrival with the minimum of delay

Revenue: Creating a correct Pre-Boarding Notification

Those responsible for transporting goods to or from Great Britain by ferry are required to create a Pre-Boarding Notification (PBN) on the Customs RoRo Service before the goods start their journey, and in advance of vehicles moving to the departure port.

Revenue has supports in place to help trade and businesses adapt to the new customs formalities.

A detailed step-by-step guide on how to create and correctly populate a PBN is available on www.revenue.ie.

Revenue has also set up a dedicated email support service to deal with all PBN related queries at CustomsPBN@revenue.ie.

Note: To create a correct PBN, and ensure the efficient movement of the goods, it is essential that the Master Reference Number (MRN) for each customs declaration for all consignments in a vehicle are included when creating the Pre-Boarding Notification (PBN). 

Customs Channel Look Up

Drivers travelling on ferries from Great Britain to Ireland are reminded to check their customs channel on the Customs RoRo Service 30 minutes out from arriving into Dublin or Rosslare ports. The customs channel will not be available before that as Revenue’s risk analysis process will be running while the ship is travelling between GB and Ireland.

The Customs RoRo Service  provides a range of trade facilitation services that minimise delays, in so far as possible, for goods coming into, and moving out of, Irish ports and involving Great Britain. The Channel Look-up service enables truck drivers to check if their vehicle can ‘Exit the Port’ or is required to ‘Call to Customs’ on arrival.

Two key things for truck drivers to keep in mind to ensure they can access their customs channel:

1. Have the Pre-Boarding Notification Identification number (PBN ID) for the vehicle or trailer
2. Check the customs channel no earlier than 30 minutes prior to disembarking.

If a driver gets a ‘Call to Customs’ channel this will be accompanied by details of the customs terminal to go to in the port. 

Detailed customs advice for truck drivers using Irish ports, including the steps to follow on how to use the Customs RoRo Service and how to look up the customs channel, can be found here. This information guide is available in 11 languages (Irish, English, Dutch, Estonian, French, Hungarian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish, Romanian and Russian).

Four steps to checking your customs channel

Key support and information can also be found at www.gov.ie/brexit.

FSAI Brexit Resources

Visit the FSAI's Brexit Resources page to find all our food business resources in one place.

Six Steps to Brexit Readiness

For up-to-date information on Brexit, visit our website at www.fsai.ie/Brexit or email Brexit@fsai.ie if you have any specific questions. 

Look out for future FSAI Brexit Ezines.  

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