Background
As part of preparations for exiting the EU, Defra are continuing
to create guidance to ensure that businesses are aware of
forthcoming changes and ready for day one in a potential ‘no
deal’ scenario. The Agri-Food Chain Stakeholder Engagement team
has shared seven key food, drink and agriculture related
government communications that have been released in recent days
and weeks.
How to import organic produce if the UK leaves the EU with no deal
– Certificate of Inspection
If the UK leaves the EU with no deal, the way in which we import
organic produce will change as we will lose access to TRACES NT.
Imports from third countries (excluding the EU, EEA and
Switzerland until 31 December 2020) will still require a
Certificate of Inspection (CoI). This will be a UK CoI and will
be a manual system for an interim period until an electronic
replacement is available. This system mirrors the system that was
in place 17 months ago.
Defra have circulated the CoI template, guidance and resources to
a number of stakeholders and are working on updating their
webpages.
For any questions contact megan.young@defra.gov.uk
Food and drink sector link to EU Exit assets
Please find information that
the food and drink sector need to know before we leave the EU.
This is a helpful tool that can be shared with your members and
supply chains. Included are social media assets, flyers,
animations and posters.
Nutrition and health claims on foods if there’s no EU Exit deal
The UK nutrition and health claims register sets out all
authorised and rejected nutrition and health claims. In the event
of a no-deal EU Exit, only authorised claims in the register may
be used in the UK. Find more information from
Department for Health and Social Care.
Vitamins and minerals in foods if there’s no EU Exit deal
Department for Health and Social Care have also released
the UK register and associated
guidance which specifies which vitamins and minerals may
be added to foods, and any substances that are banned or
restricted, in the event of a no-deal EU Exit.
VAT on goods you move from Ireland to Northern Ireland if the UK
leaves the EU without a deal
HMRC have released information and
guidance for UK businesses who move goods from Ireland
to Northern Ireland. If the UK leaves the EU without a deal,
import VAT will be due on goods that are moved from Ireland to
Northern Ireland at the relevant rate. If you move goods into
Northern Ireland from any other country, or from Ireland directly
to Great Britain, you should follow the relevant customs procedures.
Customs procedures for goods moving between Ireland and Northern
Ireland if the UK leaves the EU without a deal
There is HMRC guidance for
businesses who move goods between Ireland and Northern Ireland.
These goods will face different procedures compared to other
UK-EU trade if the UK leaves the EU without a deal.
UK signs trade continuity agreement with Caribbean countries
Department for International Trade have published a press
releasehighlighting that the UK has signed a trade continuity
agreement with a series of countries in the Caribbean.
Food and Drink and Farming landing pages
We recommend that stakeholders continue to check for updated no
deal guidance on our dedicated landing page for the food
and drink sector. There is also a farming sector landing
page. These pages have been created to ensure that EU Exit
guidance is easy to find. The landing pages combine all relevant
EU Exit guidance in the case of a no deal scenario for the Food
and Drink and farming sector stakeholders and are updated
regularly with new no deal communications as they become live.
