After EU Exit - UK Border Checks And The New Common User Charge - Starts 30 April2024 - Who Knew when We Voted to Leave?
16th April 2024
When the United Kingdom left the EU's legal order at the conclusion of the transition period at the end of December 2020, customs and regulatory checks at the EU border were immediately imposed on UK goods being exported to the European Union. However, the UK Government delayed the introduction of routine regulatory checks on goods being imported to the UK from the EU.
After several years delay, UK regulatory checks on EU imports are now underway. Last week, the UK Government announced the charges that will be imposed on checks "for commercial movements of animal products, plants and plant products through the Port of Dover and Eurotunnel". The Common User Charge will be introduced on 30 April 2024.
This blog sets out the background to border checks, the detail of the charges that will be imposed on imports and the reaction to these charges.
Why are checks needed?
As discussed in a previous SPICe blog, goods to be sold in Great Britain which come directly from EU countries will be subject to checks in the same way goods which come from outside the EU are.
While the UK was a member of the European Union it participated in the Single Market meaning, like other EU member states, it observed the same set of rules and regulations. The UK's exit means that it is no longer required to observe EU rules - this means that over time the rules and regulations observed by the UK might diverge from those observed by EU countries. As a result, it will be necessary to carry out checks on goods being imported into the UK from the EU to ensure they comply with UK rules. For example, checks and declarations will be required to ensure that goods comply with UK safety and production standards and have met UK customs requirements.
Checks at the UK border are also needed to ensure continued biosecurity and food safety. This requires sanitary and phytosanitary checks. Sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) requirements are measures designed to protect humans, animals, and plants from diseases, pests, or contaminants. Goods subject to these measures are food products, live animals, products of animal origin, animal feed as well as plants and plant products.
However, the full implementation of these checks was delayed to allow further time for the necessary UK border infrastructure to be put in place.
Border Operating Model
In August 2023, the UK Government published its Border Operating Model which set out:
"the new approach to Safety and Security controls (applying to all imports), and Sanitary and Phytosanitary controls (applying to imports of live animals, germinal products, animal products, plants and plant products) at the border."
These new checks are being rolled out in a phased approach with an early focus on the introduction of sanitary and phytosanitary checks as set out below:
31 January 2024 - The introduction of health certification on imports of medium risk animal products, plants, plant products and high-risk food and feed of non-animal origin from the EU. The removal of pre notification requirements for low-risk plant and plant products from the EU. Pre-notification requirements remain for medium and high-risk products. Pre-notification requires importers to pre-notify authorities before high-risk goods arrive in Great Britain.
30 April 2024 - The introduction of documentary and risk-based identity and physical checks on medium risk animal products, plants, plant products and high-risk food and feed of non-animal origin from the EU. Existing inspections of high-risk plants/plant products from the EU will move from taking place at their destination to Border Control Posts. There will also be a simplification of imports from non-EU countries meaning a similar approach to checks on low-risk goods as will take place on EU goods. This will include the removal of health certification and routine checks on low-risk animal products, plants, plant products from non-EU countries as well as reduction in physical and identity check levels on medium-risk animal products from non-EU countries.
The Common User Charge
To sit alongside the introduction of physical checks on medium risk animal products, plants, plant products and high-risk food and feed of non-animal origin from the EU, the UK Government has announced the charges which will be levied on such imports to pay for these checks.
The introduction of the Common User Charge will only be levied for each consignment which enters through Port of Dover and Eurotunnel that is eligible for Sanitary and Phytosanitary checks. These charges will apply even if the authorities do not select a consignment for SPS checks. A consignment is a group/batch consigned from the same premises of origin to the same place of destination in one vehicle.
UK Government: Common user charge: rates and eligibility - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
The maximum charge for one common health entry document (CHED) will be limited to 5 commodity lines (in effect 5 different products), even if there are more than 5 commodity lines present in the CHED. This means that medium and high-risk CHEDs will be capped at £145. Low-risk POAO CHEDs and POAO transits will be capped at £50.
What about other Border Control Posts?
The UK Government announcement of the Common User Charge is only applicable to the Port of Dover and Eurotunnel as UK Government operated Border Control Posts. Around a quarter of the UK's food imports pass through Dover and the Channel Tunnel.
On the charge’s applicability to other government-run Border Control Posts, the Border Operating Model stated:
"The UK Government continues to work closely with the Devolved Governments on charging policy, and is working towards extending these arrangements to cover other government-run Border Control Posts within Great Britain in the future."
Border Control Posts operated by commercial ports across Great Britain will also be able to levy a Common User Charge. According to a recent Guardian article the delay in the UK Government announcing its charging rates has had a knock on impact on commercial ports setting their fees.
The Scottish Government had been planning for the establishment of a Border Control Post in Cairnryan to allow for the inspection of goods coming from the island of Ireland. However, in January 2024, the UK Government announced there would be no Border Control Post at Cairnryan.
Scottish Ministers and Food Standards Scotland are responsible for the designation of Border Control Posts for checks on animals, plants, plant products, wood and wood products, product of animal origin (including fishery products) and high-risk foods not of animal origin in Scotland. This means the Scottish Government and Food Standards Scotland are responsible for designating Border Control Posts at Scotland’s ports and airports where that designation is sought. However, it is not currently clear how the Common User Charge might relate to Border Control Posts at Scotland’s ports and airports as these appear to all be commercially run.
What does the EU do in terms of charging for checks?
The EU approach to importing goods is set out in this European Commission guidance.
EU Regulation 2017/625 on official controls and other official activities performed to ensure the application of food and feed law, rules on animal health and welfare, plant health and plant protection products requires Member States to collect fees or charges for mandatory checks at Border Control Posts (see Article 79) and sets out how those fees should be calculated by Member States (See Article 82).
Views of Stakeholders on the Common User Charge
Evidence provided to the Scottish Parliament’s Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee inquiry into the Review of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement by stakeholders has highlighted the lack of checks taking place on EU goods coming into the UK in contrast to the checks being carried out at the EU border on UK exports.
Witnesses suggested this has led to the lack of a level playing field and expressed hope that the new UK Government Border Operating Model will begin to address this issue.
However, when the UK Government published the Common User Charge stakeholders expressed concerns about it leading to higher food and horticulture prices for British consumers.
The National Farmers Union welcomed the implementation of more effective and efficient import controls highlighting it had been calling for such an approach since EU exit. However, NFU President Tom Bradshaw said:
“Farmers and growers will only have a few weeks to prepare for these additional costs and paperwork. We urgently need clarity about how import charges will be applied and reassurance that for these new charges they will receive a high level of service at control posts.”
William Bain, Head of Trade Policy at the British Chambers of Commerce expressed disappointment at the introduction of the new charge:
““This is an extremely disappointing decision by Defra on the common usage charge. The level of import charges shows scant regard to the interests of both businesses and consumers.
A flat rate fee for bringing most animal and plant products into the UK is a hammer blow for small and medium sized importers. It’s also deeply concerning for retailers, cafes and restaurants.
“Importing a small consignment of goods with only five different meat, poultry, egg, milk or some fish products in the medium risk category will now face a bill of £145 per package under these proposals.
“The clock is ticking to 30th April when these charges will come into force. We urge the Government to reconsider their import charge plans in the coming days. Failing to do so risks higher prices for us all, at a time when we should be bearing down on business costs and food price inflation.”
Conclusion
UK business and stakeholders have called for the introduction of UK border checks on goods coming from the EU since EU exit. The reasons for these checks being wanted are two-fold – to ensure a level playing field when compared to the checks UK exporters to the EU face, and to protect the UK from biosecurity risks and disease outbreaks.
The introduction of the UK Government’s Border Operating Model and the publication of the Common User Charge has however been received a mixed response from trade bodies (particularly within the food industry) because of concerns about higher import costs leading to higher prices for food and plant imports from the EU. Higher import costs for food could be significant as UK Government figures suggest that the UK imported 46% of the food it consumed in 2020.
Note
This article is from Spice Spotlight. To read it with more links go HERE
Comment
Whether yo voted YES or NO to leave the EU did you have the slightest knowledge of this change that will push some prices up.
