Speed up Sanitary and Phytosanitary Imports
If you import any food products, animals, animal products, plants, or plant products into the UK then you will be aware of the extra checks and regulations and why they need to exist. Border delays during transportation could negatively affect animal welfare or cause potential spoilage in plant products.
In 2024, new regulations will be introduced to simplify your life through digitalisation and a greater focus on risk management. It’s essential to be prepared so you can hit the ground running.
The new rules fall under the Border Target Operating Model, and it forms part of the United Kingdom’s modern border strategy which takes advantage of new processes, technologies and an “ecosystem of trust” to enable frictionless imports and exports. You can read about the overall UK border strategy in detail here
Some of these improvements were meant to be introduced originally in 2021 but there have been several delays since then, the most recent because of industry feedback and to give businesses a little more time to prepare.
What is the Border Target Operating Model (BTOM)?
BTOM was designed to keep effective and efficient border controls which operate within international standards whilst ensuring that imports are as simple as possible to support UK businesses.
It will cover a new, streamlined approach to the importation of sanitary and phytosanitary goods. BTOM makes sure that food is safe for human consumption and any animals or plants are clear from contamination, diseases, or pests.
Ensuring that these goods are safe before they are imported not only protects consumers but also prevents local agriculture and farming from potential infection.
You can read an easier to understand overview on Sanitary and Phytosanitary goods in our blog here.
What is included in the new approach?
The good news is that there will be less data entry required because of streamlining to remove duplication of required information. For example, using the Transit Security Accompanying Documents means that you do not need separate Safety and Security and Transit declarations.
New and simplified risk categories for relevant products from the European Union. You can check the risk category of your goods on the gov.uk website here.
A reduction in the mandatory information fields from 37 to 20.
A more efficient and standardised way of submitting safety and security information on imports and exports is by using a new online system called the UK Single Trade Window.
A simpler digital version of health certificates will be introduced, and the use of digitised phytosanitary certificates is planned for this year depending on the readiness of UK trade partners.
Pre-notification is no longer needed for low-risk plants and plant products from the European Union.
The timeline for BTOM implementation will start in January but more will be implemented throughout 2024.
Taking the headache out of imports and exports for our customers and keeping your goods moving is a key part of the service that we offer.
Talk with one of our experienced Customs Specialists about how to prepare for BTOM and other ways to optimise your imports or exports.
