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Brexit border checks on fruit and veg imported to UK from EU postponed for another year
Fruit and vegetable exporters from Spain and the EU to the UK are exempt from having to present phytosanitary certificates for another year
With the exception of potatoes, all fresh fruit and vegetables that are exported to the United Kingdom from the European Union will not have to present phytosanitary certificates or be subject to additional physical or identity checks at border points, at least until April 2024, according to the new model on import controls for agri-food products approved by the British government, known as the Border Target Operating Model (TOM).
With this ruling, one of the import requirements established by the United Kingdom after Brexit – the obligation to present phytosanitary certificates and carry out physical checks on imported fruit and vegetables – has been postponed once again.
Initially, the British authorities were to bring these checks into force in April 2021, but they have been repeatedly pushed back.
The new model for controlling the import of agri-food products in the UK, which will come into force in October 2023, is based on the categorisation of risk according to the type of product, as well as on three main pillars: prior notifications, phytosanitary certificates and physical checks.
Based on these risks, EU fruit and vegetables are considered to be low-risk products and are therefore exempt from systematic border controls and will not have to present phytosanitary certification or prior import notification, in principle until April next year. All, that is, except for potatoes, which were already considered a high-risk product and continue to be included in this category.
However, Spanish and EU exporters will still have to comply with the import requirements imposed by the United Kingdom after its exit from the EU in January 2021, which, according to the employers’ association Fepex, have meant higher administrative costs for managing shipments and more red tape. The majority of fresh fruit and vegetables still have to present the customs declaration and the certificate of conformity with marketing standards, both requirements that have been obligatory from January 2021.
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