Importers of goods who are subject to sanitary and phytosanitary controls will need to begin providing export health certificates for imports from the EU from 1 October. The UK's Fresh Produce Consortium (FPC) has issued a statement saying there is a lack of adequate preparation in the industry for the upcoming import rules, and the issue is being compounded by going staff shortages.
Traders will also be required to pre-notify customs authorities of their goods movements via the new Import of Products, Animals, Food and Feed System (IPAFFS). All imports will be subject to customs controls – including the requirement to complete frontier declarations – from 1 January 2022.
FPC Chief Executive, Nigel Jenney, stated that his members were having to bring admin staff on to the factory floor due to a lack of resources. He also said the new post-Brexit arrangements were heaping “more and more pressure” on them.
Fpcfreshtalkdaily.co.uk quoted him as saying; “We’re not saying we want to go back to how it was [pre-Brexit]. What we’re saying is we need an efficient solution for a highly efficient industry, and we don’t have the confidence that’ll be offered. The implementation delays are driven solely by the Governments failure to develop and implement their new border infrastructure and IT model on time. This situation remains unchanged.”