Policy & Compliance
for animals are set out below. These include lower check rates for some types of high health equines (eg racehorses) from low-risk countries, some zoological animals and some live aquatic animals. • Import of consignments categorised as medium risk will require pre-notification, simplified health certificates, documentary checks and be subject to risk-based identity and physical checks at the border. Some will be set at 1% physical and identity checks, although other goods will be considerably higher based on specific risks. A Trusted Trader scheme for medium-risk consignments will be piloted. • Import of consignments categorised as low risk will have minimal routine border controls applied. There would be no requirement for health certification or routine physical border checks, although there will be provision for intelligence-led intervention on low-risk products. Provision of a pre-notification data set and commercial documentation will be required for all low-risk animal products. Goods classified as low risk would still need to enter via a port that has a Border Control Post designated for that type of commodity Aligned with the above approach, traders will have the opportunity to join the appropriate pilot scheme with a view to becoming a Trusted Trader. The proposed Accredited Trusted Trader Scheme (ATTS) is a single modular framework that will provide businesses with flexibility and choice in how they engage with the Trusted Trader approach. Businesses will be able to build a package of facilitations that aligns with their specific operational needs rather than needing to engage with a one-size-fits-all solution. It is envisaged that one significant advantage for traders accredited to a Trusted Trader Scheme will be fewer frontier checks and inspections. However, the trader will have to ensure standards equivalent to those at the frontier. This effectively shifts greater responsibility, albeit under government supervision, onto the private sector for border control and in particular biosecurity. For traders involved in moving plants under the Authorised Operator Status (AOS), it is proposed that a trader, with appropriately trained personnel and internal control systems, can achieve authorisation, meaning their level of expertise is sufficient to perform physical and identity import checks. However, this authorisation scheme needs to be piloted to evaluate feasibility, both for the trader’s operational competency and biosecurity risks. The aim is for this scheme to be adopted on a Great Britain-wide basis. Trade with the island of Ireland When reading the document, one point that stands out is the level of agreement between Whitehall and the devolved governments, which is particularly important when considering the controls to be introduced on imports from Southern Ireland and non- qualifying imports from Northern Ireland. Many of those goods enter the Great Britain mainland via Welsh ports. From 31 January 2024, movements from the island of Ireland will face full Customs controls and the requirement for pre-notification and certification when
EU. Existing inspections of high-risk plants/plant products from the EU will move from destination to Border Control Posts. Simplification of imports from non-EU countries will also begin. This will include the removal of health certification and routine checks on low-risk animal products, plants, plant products from non-EU countries as well as reduction in physical and identity check levels on medium-risk animal products from non-EU countries. 31 October 2024 – The requirement for Safety and Security declarations for imports into Great Britain from the EU, or from other territories where the waiver applies, will come into force from 31 October 2024 as set out in the original Target Operating Model (TOM). Alongside this, a reduced dataset for import Safety and Security declarations (ENS) and use of the UK Single Trade Window will be introduced to cut the duplication of data being input. Effectively, the three-month delay in publishing the BTOM is reflected in the first two dates referred to having been deferred by the same period. It should be noted that the last date of 31 October 2024 remains as published in the draft TOM. In other words, trade has lost three months of the originally planned implementation period. The document re-affirms the move to a risk-based approach for managing the importation of SPS goods including animals, fruit and vegetables, and processed foods. According to the BTOM, document controls will be applied to such goods proportionately based upon their risk categorisation: • Import of consignments categorised as high risk (predominantly live animals, germinal products and goods under safeguard measures) will require pre- notification, simplified health certificates, documentary checks, and identity and physical checks at the border. In most cases, live animals will be subject to 100% identity and physical checks. Some exceptions to the requirement for 100% checks
“ It is envisaged that one significant advantage for traders accredited to a Trusted Trader Scheme will be fewer frontier checks and inspections
October 2023 | 15 Continued on Page 16
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