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The Government has decided to delay the remaining import controls on EU goods; these will not be introduced from July 2022. The below guidance is being reviewed. To find out more please click here. A Q&A is also available here. |
Importing plants and plant products from the EU
Our summary guide shows which commodities need pre-notification and a PC, and when they will be required, in 2021 and 2022. |
Since 1 January 2021 imports of high-priority plants and plant products from the EU must have:
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a phytosanitary certificate (PC)
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a pre-notification submitted by the importer in England, Scotland or Wales for documentary and identity checks
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a physical inspection at a Place of Destination (PoD).
Since 1 January 2022 you must use the relevant IT system to notify the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) or Forestry Commission (FC) that you’re importing regulated and notifiable plants and plant products.*
From 1 July 2022 all regulated plants and plant products imported to England, Scotland or Wales from the EU must then have PCs. Get a phytosanitary certificate.*
From 1 July 2022 more regulated EU plants and plant products will have identity and physical inspections and these will take place at authorised border control posts (BCPs) in GB, and inspections of high-priority plants and plant products will move from PoDs to BCPs.*
*apart from those moving from Ireland to GB
GB's phased import regime:
On 14 September 2021, the government set out a new imports regime timeline, which included changes to the timing of Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) checks on imports of live animals, products of animal origin, plants and plant products imported to GB from the EU. Find out more about the changes in the Question and Answer guide.
Before importing from the EU, you will need to check:
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whether your products are subject to plant health controls
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whether your product is high-priority and currently requires a PC and pre-notification
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whether your product is regulated and requires pre-notification since 1 Jan 2022 and a PC from 1 July 2022.
If you are importing high-priority regulated plants, familiarise yourself with the process and actions that you need to take at each step. Make sure you also check the marketing standards in this narrative map and any potential CITES requirements.
The physical checks for regulated imports have been reduced; however, there are certain plants and plant products that are more at risk of disease and will require inspection and physical checks. Find further detail of the import's inspection prioritisation. There are certain products which pose high Xylella risk levels such as Coffee and Lavandulla – find out more about risk categorisation.
Place of Destination (PoD) Scheme:
The PoD scheme has been developed by Defra to facilitate plant health import checks post customs clearance on EU regulated goods inland, to prevent delays and disruption at the border. The scheme will be in place until 30 June 2022. If your consignments are dropped off at different premises or split across lorries, there is specific guidance for you to follow which outlines the PC and pre-notification requirements for different scenarios.
Find out more about the scheme in our Question and Answer Guide. For further operational guidance on the PoD scheme, please see the Service Level Agreements (SLAs) page and the APHA operational hours Question and Answer Guide.
Border Control Posts (BCPs) and Control Points (CPs):
From 1 July 2022, there will be new controls for importing plant and plant products from EU to GB (excluding Ireland), including the requirement for all regulated plants and plant products to have physical and identity checks upon entry into GB. These checks will either take place at BCPs or CPs. Read this guidance for loading and packaging best practice.
Watch the BCP and CP webinar.
BCPs
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Please see this map of approved BCPs and inspection centre locations
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Find out everything you need to know about BCPs in the Question and Answer Guide
CPs
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Find out everything you need to know about CPs in the Question and Answer Guide
Fees and charges:
If you are importing from the EU into GB, there are fees that are applicable for import inspections on high-priority goods. Find out more about the fees and charges in this guidance and see an outline of how charges are calculated.
For indicative fees for Plant Health Import Inspections in England and Wales from 22 July 2022 please see these tables.
Pre-notification:
Traders wishing to import plants and plant products to the UK must meet the registration requirements set out in Article 65 of the Plant Health Regulation 2016/2031.
If you are importing ‘regulated and notifiable’ plants and plant products from the EU (excluding Ireland), Liechtenstein and Switzerland to GB after 1 January 2022, you will need to pre-notify them. If you are new to the process of pre-notifying your goods, please register for and use IPAFFS. If you are currently using PEACH for EU pre-notifications, please continue to do so until directed to move to IPAFFS.
See more guidance on all IT systems.
Import special requirements:
If you are importing plants for planting and produce, there are special requirements, also known as additional declarations (ADs) which you must follow. Use the following tools and guidance to establish these requirements:
Once you have checked the requirements, please follow this guidance to help you understand how these work in practice.
COVID-19:
Due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, certain easements were made to help businesses continue to import from the EU. These were in place until 31 December 2021.
