From 1 January 2021, we have left the EU and the transition period, therefore if you trade with the EU you may find the process different. Please see the following pages for more information.
If you cannot find guidance for specific issues relating to the above please contact euexit@sasa.gov.scot.
last updated: 22/01/2021
The UK has left the EU.
The four UK administrations continue to work together to ensure fertiliser regulations remain operable and allow continued protection of human health and the environment, and stability for businesses and consumers.
The current EC label requirement will be replaced with a UK label requirement and conformity tests will be required to be carried out by UK labs. There will be a two year transition period for fertilisers marketed in the UK under current EU regulations, that is, products sold as EC fertilisers can continue to be marketed in the UK with the same packaging for two years as long as they continue to comply with EU regulations. We expect supply of fertilisers to remain consistent.
More information on the new UK fertiliser label, trading with the EU and EEA and ammonium nitrate imports can be found in a guidance note, prepared by Defra in consultation with the devolved administrations.
last updated: 29/01/2021
The UK has left the EU with the transition period having ended on 31 December 2020.
Fruit and vegetables moved from GB to NI need to enter through designated points of entry and meet EU import marketing standards requirements.
A risk-based approach applies to controls on fruit and vegetables from GB at points of entry in NI. In line with the very low risk posed by GB goods, Specific Marketing Standard (SMS) and General Marketing Standard (GMS) goods can be released into free circulation in NI without needing a GB certificate of conformity (CoC).
This may change on the basis of risk.
You need to follow third country import requirements in the EU marketing standards regulations if you export fruit and vegetables from GB to the EU.
Produce subject to Specific Marketing Standard (SMS) requires a CoC issued by GB to clear export customs processes in GB. This includes products going to the EU.
You do not need a CoC issued by GB for General Marketing Standard (GMS) goods to clear customs.
You may also require an import CoC that’s issued at entry to the EU by the importing member state. This depends on the member state’s risk assessment for GMS and SMS goods.
There are no changes to existing UK marketing standards processes for:
A small sample of imports from the EU are selected for checks to ensure they’re complying with GB (England, Scotland and Wales) marketing standards.
If your consignment is selected for checks, you’ll be notified if it requires a GB-issued certificate of conformity (CoC). You’ll need to submit an application for that consignment through the Procedure for Electronic Application for Certificates from the Horticultural Marketing Inspectorate (PEACH) system or by contacting the SASA Horticulture and Marketing Unit on hort.marketing@gov.scot.
An EU-issued CoC is not required for release into free circulation in GB.
The process for EU Member States to request GB Approved Inspection Services (AIS) status will be published before 1 January 2023.
An inspection certificate is needed for imports of green bananas from the EU to GB.
If you’re an exempt trader, you:
You need to provide notifications about your consignment on PEACH in the same way as for non-EU imports. Both exempt traders and traders that are not exempt must do this.
You need to follow third country import requirements in the EU marketing standards regulations if you export green bananas from GB to the EU.
If you require any further information please contact the SASA Horticulture and Marketing Unit on hort.marketing@gov.scot.
For further information please see also the UK Government website on: Fresh fruit and vegetable marketing standards.
last updated: 22/12/2021
New plant health controls on products imported from the EU, Switzerland and Liechtenstein are being phased in. This starts with ‘regulated and notifiable’ EU produce and cut flowers requiring pre-notification.
The pages below tell you what you need to do from January 2021 and 2022.
For urgent enquiries regarding consignments, please call the helpline 0300 244 1455.
If you are an importer or exporter based in England or Wales please see the UK Government guidance on how to trade plants and plant products, including trees, inside and outside the EU and between Great Britain and Northern Ireland from 1 January 2021.
The UK has left the EU and we will now be subject to third country import requirements for the export of regulated plants and plant products to the EU and Northern Ireland.
The process for sending regulated plants and plant products to the EU will be the same as the current process for sending them to other non-EU countries. When you export regulated plants and plant products to third countries, you need to:
Controlled plant and plant products exports to the EU from the UK may be subject to import checks at the EU border.
PCs will not be required for fruits of bananas, coconuts, dates, durian and pineapples. Plant products such as fruit and vegetables that have been processed and packaged to the point that they no longer pose a biosecurity risk, will also be exempt from the controls. Composite products like nut and seed butters containing processed fruit or vegetables do not fall within plant health controls.
Northern Ireland
Due to the Northern Ireland Protocol, phytosanitary checks are required at the Northern Ireland border for regulated plants and plant products.
For all goods that require a phytosanitary certificate moving to Northern Ireland there will be no charge to the trader for these inspections. This will run until further notice.
Note a PC cannot be issued for house plants. This means if you are moving to NI and wish to take your house plants with you, you will not be able to.
Exporting prohibited and high-risk plants
From 1 January 2021, you cannot export some prohibited commodities such as GB high-risk plants and seed potatoes.
These prohibitions and requirements fall into 4 categories:
(1) High-risk plants and plant products
These are plants and plant products that have been assessed by the EU as presenting a pest risk of an unacceptable level for the Union territory. See the full list of high-risk plants.
The high-risk plant list is continually reviewed by the UK and the EU. The list above will be updated when any changes occur.
1b) From 11 April 2022, the EU import requirements for plants for planting changed. This means that any plants for planting, including house plants, moving from GB to the EU are required to have been grown in registered nurseries before they can be certified for a Phytosanitary Certificate (PC). A PC is required for all movements of these plants into the EU. Because personal house plants aren’t grown in registered nurseries, this means that the competent authorities in Great Britain will be unable to issue PCs for these plants as they do not meet the EU’s import requirements.
All other regulated plants and plant products in passengers' personal luggage are prohibited from entry into the EU, unless accompanied by a certified PC. Further information can be found on the EU’s website.
(2) Seed and other propagating material requiring third country equivalence
You cannot export seed potatoes to the EU. See the Plant Varieties & Seeds Q&A document for more information and note that this document will be constantly updated as it is an evolving situation.
(3) Prohibited plants
Some plants and plant products will be prohibited on plant health grounds, including current EU third country prohibitions. See the list of prohibited plants on the GOV.UK website.
(4) Used farm machinery (including forestry machinery)
Your used Agricultural, Horticultural and Forestry machinery and vehicles will need to be issued with a plant health (phytosanitary) certificate prior to export when you are exporting to the EU and the rest of the world. This will be issued to you following an inspection of your machinery by government officials.
For destinations outside Europe check with the plant authority in that country to confirm what conditions you have to comply with. Please ensure you receive an official document explaining the conditions for the country and how to comply. This will help UK inspectors to prepare your export correctly.
For EU used Agricultural, Forestry and Horticultural Machinery and vehicles contact RPIDplanthealth@gov.scot to apply for a phytosanitary certificate.
The Combined Nomenclature (CN) codes covered are:
Additional information
If you require more information about export requirements or wish to apply for a PC, contact the Horticulture and Marketing Unit by email at hort.marketing@gov.scot
Last updated: 15/07/22
In January 2021, trading in plants and plant products from the EU changed and a further announcement was made on 14 September 2021. To find out more on the changes refer to: Imports of Plants and plant products from the EU to GB Q&A.The information below sets out what you need to do as a business based in Scotland.
Before importing from the EU, you will need to check:
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 details about the import inspection prioritisation. There are certain products which pose high Xylella risk levels such as olive and Lavandulla – find out more about risk categorisation. To summarise:
If you are new to the process of pre-notifying plants and plant products, you should register and use IPAFFS from 1 January 2022, otherwise please continue using PEACH until you are directed to move to IPAFFS during the course of 2022.
PEACH
On PEACH if you are importing plants for planting or seeds, during the pre-notification stage you will be prompted for additional questions. Please provide the necessary data, as this will help to ensure that your goods are inspected at the right frequency and charged the correct fee. The three additional questions are:
For importing seeds,
To register to use the IPAFFS system traders will need to set up a Government Gateway account and create a Defra account. A training video and guidance on how to create and complete a pre-notification on IPAFFS is available on our microsite.
Horticulture and Marketing Unit (HMU) Pre-notification
You must pre-notify your consignment to HMU at least 24 hours in advance of arriving into Scotland, whether by a sea port or by air. Please direct any queries to hort.marketing@gov.scot.
Share your notification reference with whoever deals with customs for you to complete your customs declaration
From 1 January 2022, staged customs controls are ending on goods imported from the EU to Great Britain, except for goods moving from Ireland to Great Britain where existing arrangements will remain. This means that when staged customs controls end, goods must be accompanied by a full custom import declaration that is submitted as the goods are imported.
Your customs agent will need to include your IPAFFS or PEACH notification reference number as a licence number following the country code and licence type CVD in Box 44 on CHIEF or in the document identifier segment of DE 2/3 (Documents produced) on CDS following the country code and licence type CHD.
In box 44 or DE 2/3, the CHED document code should still be used to reflect the commodity (plants and plant products) that you are importing to ensure successful tariff validation.
You need to ensure that you share the IPAFFS or PEACH notification reference number with your customs agent. Your customs agent must enter this number to submit the declaration. Failure to notify and provide this information will delay your custom agent’s ability to complete the declaration and could therefore delay the departure of your consignment.
If you encounter any difficulties with the process above and you or your customs agents are unable to generate an IPAFFS or PEACH reference number, you can enter the document status code XW (waiver) into box 44 on your CHIEF customs declaration, in line with the guidance below:
See the list of deregulated plants and plant products that do not need a PC for import to GB.
Imports of used farm machinery (including forestry machinery/lawn cutters)
Importers must ensure that machinery or vehicles of this kind are accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate, detailing that they have been cleaned and are free from soil and plant debris. A phytosanitary certificate can only be obtained from the relevant authorities in the exporting country. The requirements do not apply to new machinery and vehicles.
The Combined Nomenclature (CN) codes covered are:
The requirements for machinery and vehicles can be found at The Plant Health (Phytosanitary Conditions) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (legislation.gov.uk) – Annex 7 item 3.
For EU goods imported into Scotland both direct into Scottish ports or via England, goods will need to be entered onto PEACH. All physical inspections will continue to be undertaken by HMU, therefore please direct any queries to hort.marketing@gov.scot.
You are required to notify your consignment onto the PEACH system 4 working hours before arrival into the UK if arriving by air or via a RoRo port, or 1 working day if arriving by a sea port.
Import Fees
These are mandatory charges for import inspections on certain plants and plant products arriving in Scotland. The inspections involve 3 types of checks: doucmentary, physical and identity checks and are carried out by the plant health inspectors from the Horticulture and Marketing Unit. Each consignment will receive a documentary charge and if applicable both an identity and physical inspection charge.
The charges are set out in the Plant Health (Import Inspection Fees (Scotland) Regulations 2014 (Prinpcial Order).
EU Plant Health Checks
Due to leaving the EU, these checks are now applicable for certain plants, plant products and other products arriving in Scotland. Although these checks have been carried out since January 2021; in order for business to adjust these fees were introduced in stages. Refer to The Plant Health (EU Exit) (Scotland) (Amendment) Regulations 2021.
Note: these changes should be read alongside Principal Order.
At the end of April 2022, an announcement was made by the UK Government that the remaining import controls for plants and plant products from the EU are no longer being introduced, this year, but the frequency of plant health checks methodology and inspection fees calculation would proceed.
Further details can be found at question and answer (Q&A).
Reduced Frequency Checks - Risk-Based Targeted Inspection Regime
Due to the introduction of the risk-based targeted inspection regime, the fees as set out in the principal order have been realigned to meet the new frequency rates. These fees will apply from 22 July 2022 and can be viewed in The Plant Health (Fees) (Miscellaneous Amendment) (Scotland) Regulations 2022.
For more details see:
Targerted Operating Model (TOM)
Under the Targerted Operating Model, a completely new approach to import controls is being developed with the aim to have this in place by end of 2023. This new approach aims to increase digitalisation, simplification of certificates, and to bring EU goods on the same level as goods from the rest of the world. Further details on this will be published in autumn 2022.
Importing plants, plant products and used farm machinery (including forestry machinery) from the EU
last updated: 8/2/22
Plant health inspections on high priority plants, products and used farm machinery (including forestry machinery) from the EU (including Switzerland and Liechtenstein) will be carried out at POD’s from 1 January to 30 June 2022. An operator who wants to act as a POD must meet certain requirements.
(1) Transport and storage
The operator should make sure that during transport to, and storage at, the POD, the consignment is:
The consignment must not leave the POD before the competent authority decides whether the import passes all of its document, identity and physical checks.
Inspectors must have access to a safe, demarcated area on site to conduct the inspection and there must be systems for safe working in place.
Staff have to be available to present the consignment for inspection.
(2) Equipment
Suitable equipment must be available for the type and volume of physical inspection required, including:
(3) How to register as a POD
If you wish to act as a POD for plant health physical inspections on EU regulated high priority goods, please complete the [registration form] and email to hmupod@gov.scot.
We are also asking you to register on the PEACH system and for those who have already registered with us as a PoD, you will be required to do the same and we will be in touch.
For PODs in England and Wales, contact APHA by completing the [registration form] and email it to PODRegistrations@apha.gov.uk. Contact the Forestry Commission by completing the [registration form] for regulated wood, wood products, bark or used forestry machinery.
Inspection fees for EU imports will apply from 1 June 2021.
For further guidance on the EU phased import regime and checks can be viewed in the updated Border Operating Model. Please note this only applies to EU goods.
Last updated: 04/03/2021
From 1 January 2021, the UK plant passport regime has changed to reflect post-transition period plant health regulation. For full details please see the [fact sheet].
Changes have happened in the following areas: