The Border Target Operating Model new UK import controls effective from 31 January 2024 

 Following the previously released UK Border Target Operating Model, the introduction of full import controls for EU goods at the UK Border took place today, on the 31st of January. Guidance from DEFRA and the UK Cabinet Office has been issued to support traders. 

Changes to SPS import control compliance regulations for EU/EFTA imports to Great Britain  

Defra have published a reminder to UK traders, that the changes to SPS import compliance requirements for goods into GB were implemented from the 31st of January 2024. The changes are as follows: 

• The introduction of health certification on imports of the following medium-risk goods from the EU/EFTA countries:  
  - animal products  
  - plants  
  - plant products 
• The introduction of health certification on imports of high-risk food and feed of non-animal origin via the EU/EFTA listed in Annex II of Regulation 2019/1793.  
• The introduction of import notifications for EU/EFTA products (i.e., not Qualifying Northern Irish Goods) from the island of Ireland to Great Britain.  
• The introduction of the Common Health Entry Document (CHED) import notification in place of the IMP for import notifications of EU/EFTA imports of Products of Animal Origin (POAO) and High-Risk Food and Feed of Non-Animal Origin (HRFNAO) imported into GB via the EU/EFTA. 

Getting it Right 

 The key to the border compliance requirement is the accuracy of the risk assessment for your goods.  A link to the guidance on Risk Categorisation is below.   

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/import-risk-categories-for-animals-animal-products-plants-and-plant-products 

The following link provides further detail in searchable, spreadsheet format to classify a risk category more accurately for an import: 

Check import risk categories and related rules for animals and animal products imported from the EU to Great Britain, from 31 January 2024 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) 

Business preparation for the changes that are coming:  

1. Register for IPAFFS online on GOV UK if you have not already done so. 
   Note: 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 for your imports and plan accordingly
   Use the online published guidance and keep evidence of the risk assessment for audit purposes. 
3. Ensure that your EU suppliers are preparing to provide you with health certificates and/or phytosanitary certificates.  The UK Government are preparing for electronically verifiable EHCs.  However, paper certification is still acceptable providing the appropriate regulatory process is followed and evidenced. 

Encouraging the use of digitally signed and verifiable GB EHCs from 31st January 2024 

From 31st January 2024, GB authorities are encouraging the use of 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. 

Verifiable PDF certificates will be accepted from TRACES and other equivalent EU/EFTA Member State IT systems – a link to accepted systems recorded by the UK authorities is below:   

How to get validated PDF GB health certificates for imports of live animals and animal products to Great Britain - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) 

The UK authorities have issued certification templates to EU authorities which should be available for completion by your EU suppliers on their regulatory control systems.  However, an exporter may still use a paper GB health certificate and follow the process for paper certification previously in use, where the original certificate travels with the consignment. 

Preparing to accurately submit your import notification in IPAFFS:  

Defra has published webinars to assist traders in complying with new processes and a link to published guidance.  Links to the webinars and guidance are given at the end of this document. 

Use the IPAFFS training environment to practice making CHED import notifications 

Defra has further advised that a trader may access the IPAFFS training environment and practice the submission of CHED import notifications through the training environment using their Government Gateway account.   

A link to the Government Gateway landing page is here: 

https://www.ete.access.service.gov.uk/login/signin/creds 

Notes and actions relating to the IPAFFS training environment: 

• You will need to create a new login for the training environment using an email address that you can immediately access, to enable the receipt of your confirmation code before you can log in to the test environment. 
• To see the new import notification (CHED) questions for EU animal imports, select any EU country for the country-of-origin question, and make sure that the same country appears in the country of consignment box. 
• Users are advised that if they see any error messages when viewing pages in the training environment, these have already been reported and will be fixed in the next release. Please do not contact the service desk. 

Guidance for EU and EFTA traders using GB for land-bridge transits.   

Traders are reminded that EU and EFTA origin, live animals and animal product consignments that transit through GB as a land bridge can still pose a threat to biosecurity and public health and that such consignments will be required to meet Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) controls aligned with the Border Target Operating Model. and supporting regulations. 

Guidance on the use of GB as a transit land bridge has been published on gov.uk and includes a Step-by-Step guide that can be forwarded to your EU and EFTA suppliers for information. 

A link to the published guidance is below: 

 Defra-transiting-goods-through-Great-Britain-leaflet.pdf (publishing.service.gov.uk)   

Contact Details:  

For urgent BTOM/import queries for plants and plant products to England & Wales, please contact the Animal Plant Health Agency (APHA) via:  

• Email (priority route): phsi-importers@apha.gov.uk 
• Tel (secondary route): +44 (0) 3000 200 301 
  

For urgent BTOM/import queries for animals and animal products, please contact the Animal & Plant Health Agency (APHA) via: 

• Email (priority route): imports@apha.gov.uk 
• Tel (secondary route): +44 (0) 3000 200 301 

Links to Published Webinars and Guidance Pages 

To view the Webinar for Importing HRFNAO via the EU to GB, the link is below: 

Importing HRFNAO via the EU to GB: the new CHED Part 1 notification.  

To view the webinar recording for importing animal products from the EU to GB and the new CHED part 1, the link is below: 

 Importing animal products from the EU to GB: New CHED Part 1 notification.  

BTOM- What does this mean for exports from Ireland to GB? Link below: 

BTOM: What does this mean for exports from Ireland? (youtube.com) 

EU/EFTA to GB Import processes from 31 January 2024 – link below: 

Animal products – EU/EFTA to GB Import processes from 31 January 2024 (youtube.com) 

CHED Part 1 import notification for HRFNAO via the EU to GB from 31/01/2024 (CHED D) – link below: 

CHED Part 1 import notification for HRFNAO via the EU to GB from 31/01/2024 (CHED D) (youtube.com) 

Further guidance documents for Import Notifications are published at the links below: 

FINAL Import Notification Guide 22/12 - index Ireland (publishing.service.gov.uk) 

Border Target Operating Model: information leaflets for businesses - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)