Thursday 16 February 2024

HTA Borders & Trade Roadshow 21 February

Places are still available for our free in-person Trade Roadshow at Provender Nurseries 10:00-14:00 on Wednesday 21 February. You will be able to ask questions and talk directly to representatives from Defra, APHA and Border Force about the upcoming changes to border controls expected on 30 April 2024.

Spaces are limited so if you would like to attend, please register here.

BCP opening hours

Defra & APHA have released the proposed opening hours for BCPs after 30 April 2024. You can check your preferred port of entry’s opening times here. Harwich, which handles 85% of EU plant imports will be open 24 hours a day 7 days a week.

IPAFFS

If you haven’t already started using IPAFFS to make your import prenotifications, then please start to do so. PEACH will close on 8 April 2024. You can register for a free training webinar by visiting the Plant Health Portal

e-Phyto go-live this week

Following on from cut flowers & bulbs, IPAFFS prenotifications can now handle electronic phytosanitary certificates for plants, if the PC is raised in the Netherlands. The e-phyto can be attached to your pre-notification if you have the certificate number and the country of origin from your EU supplier. Further regions and sectors will be rolled out to other regions and sectors in the coming weeks and months.
Defra is holding a 30-minute e-phyto training webinar on Friday 16 February at 3pm – register here.

HTA "BTOM Asks" and MP template letter

Following our Borders & Trade members meeting on 29 January we have written a short one-page summary of our asks of government. This summarises our position in the lead-up to the 30 April date for the introduction of Border Control posts & the cessation of the POD system for import inspections. It can be used alongside our members template letter for writing to your local MP about the forthcoming changes.

Common User Charge — we still await a government announcement

The Government is yet to make an announcement on what the Common User Charge (CUC) will be for using its own Border Control Post (BCP) at Sevington. The CUC is the fee that will be levied to cover the cost of operating the Sevington BCP. At other privately run BCPs, like Harwich or Killingholme, this is often referred to as the port user fee. Most port operators are yet to announce what their fee will be for handling EU goods at newly built BCPs, nor how it will be charged, as they are waiting to see what the Government will be doing at Sevington. HTA strongly advocate for port user fees (CUC or otherwise) to be applied to consignments covered by one phytosanitary certificate rather than by commodity code or line. We will wait to see what the Government chooses to do, although with only 10 weeks to go before BCPs are to be used for EU goods, it is too late for the impact of any fee to be fully assimilated into any pricing structures for 2024.

AOS Pilot — EOI Open

Applications to take part in the Authorised Operator Status pilot are open. You need to either be designated as a Control Point or in the advanced stages of designation in order to be eligible. You can submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) by filling out the application form

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