Defra - BTOM update – getting it right at the border

21 Aug 2024

New import controls were implemented on 30 April 2024. The below gives you operational information on the Border Target Operating Model (BTOM).

BTOM Updates:

• Get prepared for the single CHED D RoW and EU going live September 3
  - Update on POAO SPS Transits Notifications
  - How to comply with the BTOM and the new import controls that are now in place

• Resources to help you comply
• Contact points for urgent BTOM queries

Get prepared for the single CHED D

The single CHED D for High-Risk Food and Feed of Non-Animal Origin (HRFNAO) goes live on Tuesday 3 September. This change aligns the import notifications for both the European Union (EU) and Rest of the World (RoW) countries.

Preparing for the CHED D switch over

Make sure you are prepared for the CHED D switch over:

• You must ensure all draft CHED Ds are submitted before the switchover deadline at 12.01am on Tuesday 3 September.

Please note: You won’t be able to amend these drafts, after we switch over to the single CHED D.

• Any new CHED Ds submitted after the switch over, can be amended in the usual way
• The switch over will happen at 12.01am on Tuesday 3 September

Changes to new CHED D

There are some important changes to the new CHED D:

• For the first time traders located outside of the EU (RoW traders) will receive notification messages that they might be called for inspection.
• There is a new question which asks if the consignment is travelling via a carrier that uses Goods Vehicle Movement Service (GVMS).
• If the carrier does use GVMS and ‘Yes’ is selected for this question, hauliers moving consignments on a GVMS route will be informed via GVMS if their load has been called into a BCP for SPS check.
• If the trader does not know if their carrier uses GVMS, they must check with the haulier, so they can answer this question accurately in the CHED.
• Following user feedback, the contacts page has been revised to make it clearer where your contacts should be added.

Information on importing HRFNAO from non-EU countries is available on GOV UK.

Update on POAO SPS Transits Notifications

Since 30 April 2024, for landbridge transit POAO consignments, entering or exiting Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales), or imported POAO consignments ending the CTC movement in Great Britain, the Person Responsible for the Load (PRFL) and five nominated contacts on the Import of Products, Animals, Food and Feed System (IPAFFS) were notified on the IPAFFS dashboard and by email or text, if SPS checks were required.

On 3 September there will be changes to this.

For Landbridge Movements

Checks on entry will be notified by GVMS only.

• From 3 September 2024, for POAO goods in transit, entering Great Britain via carriers with GVMS will no longer be notified by IPAFFS. The driver will need to check on GVMS to see if their load is called for SPS checks at a named BCP.

For further details on how to register for the Goods Vehicle Movement Service and how the system works, see below.

Checks on exit will continue to be notified by IPAFFS messaging.

• For POAO goods in transit exiting Great Britain the system will remain the same. There will be no change, and you will still be notified by IPAFFS if called for inspection, in the usual way.

For Common Transit Convention (CTC) movements

• CTC movements ending in GB there will only be GVMS messaging.

• For POAO CTC movements ending in GB via carriers with GVMS, from 3 September the driver will need to check on GVMS to see if their load is called for SPS checks. You will not be notified by IPAFFS.

For POAO transit movements (land bridge and CTC movements) not using GVMS carriers

Goods moved via non-GVMS carriers will continue to be notified by IPAFFS messaging.

• If you are transiting POAO goods and your carriers are not using GVMS, (i.e. you selected ‘no’ to the question in the CHED ‘Will the transport use the Goods Vehicle Movement Service GVMS?’) the system will remain the same. You will still be notified by IPAFFS if called for SPS checks, as usual.

How to comply with the BTOM and the new import controls that are now in place: 

1. Register for IPAFFS online on GOV UK if you haven’t already done so. The person or business completing the CHED Part 1 import notification must have a UK address to register for IPAFFS.
2. Know your risk category – use the online guidance to find the risk category of your commodity.
3. Ensure that your EU supply chain is providing you with health certificates and/or phytosanitary certificates.  
   
4. Consider using a digitally signed and verifiable GB export health certificate (EHC) in place of the paper version of the certificate for live animals and POAO imports from EU and EFTA countries where the PDF health certificate can be electronically verified. We will accept verifiable PDF certificates from TRACES and other EU/EFTA MS systems listed on GOV UK. You can still use a paper GB health certificate.

Please be aware that the easement period for sending scanned copies of health certificates ended on 31st July 2024.

If you or your agent uploads and attaches a scanned copy of a paper health certificate to the Common Health Entry Document (CHED) on IPAFFS and submits it, you will be required to present the original paper certificate to the Port Health Authority (PHA) or local authority (LA) at the Border Control Post (BCP) in advance of the consignment’s arrival into GB, or upon the consignment’s arrival in GB if advised to do so by the PHA/LA.

Please note: if the original paper certificate is not available for checks on entry into GB, the consignment may be held until the original paper certificate is provided to the PHA/LA at the BCP.  To avoid unnecessary administrative burden and allow for a smoother flow through the BCP, you are strongly encouraged to use verifiable PDF health certificates.

5. Correctly submit your import notification in IPAFFS:

• Watch the webinar recording for Importing HRFNAO via the EU to GB: the new CHED Part 1 notification.
• Watch the webinar recording for Importing animal products from the EU to GB: New CHED Part 1 notification.
• Read our guidance on Import Notifications.
• Practice making CHED import notifications in the IPAFFS training environment.

6. Remind your freight forwarder or customs agent to double-check that the correct CHED import notification reference in the correct format, and the correct doc code, has been entered in the customs declaration for your consignments of EU goods, and that commodity codes and net weights are also included in the declaration. This will be important from 30 April when goods start to arrive through ports with a designated BCP.

Resources to help you comply    

Our detailed guidance has been updated with information on how to comply with your new legal responsibilities for:

• importing live animals and animal products to Great Britain
• importing plants and plant products from the EU to Great Britain
• importing plants and plant products from non-EU countries to Great Britain

Read our Leaflets to help businesses prepare for a new approach to importing goods to GB under the BTOM.

Visit our YouTube channel and watch recordings of our previous webinars for traders.

Read the Frequently Asked Questions we have received about IPAFFS and Health Certificates.

Contact points for urgent border target operating model (BTOM) queries  

Any urgent BTOM import queries for plants and plant products across England and Wales should be directed to the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), by email, in the first instance: phsi-importers@apha.gov.uk

Alternatively, you can contact them by telephone: +44 (0) 3000 200 301

Any urgent BTOM/import queries for animal products should be directed to the Port Health Authority (PHA) at your nominated Border Control Post (BCP). Find your PHA contact details at your nominated BCP on this map.

If you need technical help with IPAFFS you should call the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) helpline on 0330 041 6999 or email APHAServiceDesk@apha.gov.uk