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May 10, 2022
2022-0745

UK delays import checks on EU products

On 28 April 2022, the United Kingdom (UK) Government announced that import controls on European Union (EU) goods will not be introduced this year, as originally planned. Post-Brexit import controls on EU products had been due to begin in July, but the UK Government has concluded that it would be wrong to impose new administrative requirements in the current economic climate. This is the fourth time the UK has delayed imposing EU import checks since the UK left the EU on 1 January 2021.

Businesses will continue to move their goods from the EU to Great Britain1 as they do currently. The controls introduced in January 2021 on the highest risk imports of animals, animal products, plants and plant products2 will continue to apply alongside the post-Brexit customs controls which have already been introduced.

The UK Government has said that it will review how to implement the remaining controls in an improved way. It has said that its new Target Operating Model will be based on a better assessment of risk and will aim to harness the power of data and technology. It is expected to be published in the Autumn, with the new controls regime coming into force at the end of 2023.

Controls no longer being introduced for EU goods in July 2022 are:

  • A requirement for Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) checks currently at destination to be moved to a Border Control Post (BCP)
  • A requirement for safety and security declarations on EU imports
  • A requirement for health certifications for further SPS imports
  • A requirement for SPS goods to be presented at a BCP
  • Prohibitions and restrictions on the import of chilled meats from the EU

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For additional information with respect to this Alert, please contact the following:

Ernst & Young LLP (United Kingdom), Indirect Tax

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ENDNOTES

1 Great Britain consists of England, Scotland and Wales.

2 Import live animals and germinal products from the EU to Great Britain - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

 

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