Please find attached and below some further information regarding export health certificates from the Office for Life Sciences
As of 3 March 2021, following the meeting of the EU-UK Joint Committee on 24 February, the UK has unilaterally extended the grace period for Authorised Traders moving agri-food goods from Great Britain (GB) to NI through the continuation of the Scheme for Temporary Agri-food Movements to Northern Ireland (STAMNI). As a temporary operational easement, this extension provides further time for operators and retailers to adapt to new requirements, as part of the overall implementation plan in line with the Northern Ireland Protocol (NIP).
The STAMNI arrangements for Authorised Traders have been extended beyond 31 March until at least 1 October 2021. This means that Authorised Traders can continue to move products of animal origin (POAO), composite products, food and feed of non-animal origin from GB to NI without needing official certification, such as Export Health Certificates (EHCs), phytosanitary certificates or market standards certification, until that time.
From 1 October, phased introduction of certification for different product types will apply. There will be a review of the arrangements in advance of that point, with further guidance to be published on the phased introduction of certification.
Please note that it is key for businesses and suppliers, during all phases of the grace period and its phased stages, to ensure that they are well prepared to be fully compliant with new requirements. We encourage all traders to continue to accelerate their readiness preparations, in order to safeguard an effective flow of goods between NI and GB, its most important market, and avoiding any disruption to the critical goods flows on which lives and livelihoods rely.
For further information, please see the attached information leaflet as well as the attached letter from the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. In the information leaflet, it is worth noting the reference to further support measures including the Digital Assistance Scheme (DAS), which will help address the cost of compliance and digitise certification, and the Movement Assistance Scheme (MAS), which supports businesses with certification capacity needs.
Please ensure you continue to use the relevant compliance declaration forms:
- Find out how to get an EHC on gov.uk.
- Consult the guidance on qualifying criteria and requirements set out on Defra’s GBNI Trader Showcase site. We recommend that all traders regularly check this site for updated information, by creating a free Dropbox account.