Brexit: tighter UK customs controls on exports from Republic to Britain come into effect

New UK customs controls on exports from the Republic to Britain have come into effect as of midnight on Wednesday.

The UK government flagged the move, delayed several times since the country left the European Union in 2021, last September.

British authorities’ demands will now include declarations and notification of goods exported from the Republic, along with health certificates for live animals, meat and some other foods.

The controls on goods shipped to Britain began from midnight January 30th, applying to anything shipped from that point.

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Exporters predict that the controls will increase red tape and costs.

Simon McKeever, chief executive of industry body the Irish Exporters’ Association, told The Irish Times last week the changes would mean extra paperwork for many businesses, increasing their costs, while there were concerns about unforeseen problems as the new system beds in.

“I think the larger Irish agri-food companies are fairly well prepared for this, but I think a lot of smaller companies are less ready,” he said.

The new rules will not affect trade between the Republic and Northern Ireland, but they will apply to exports from the State to Britain, or those using the neighbouring island as a land bridge to Europe.

The change will hit huge numbers of businesses. Despite Brexit’s impact on trade patterns, the UK still accounts for about a third of exports, and it remains the biggest market for Irish food and drink sales abroad. The bulk of this share goes to Britain.

The Government calculated earlier this month that beef exports to the UK hit €1.3 billion last year while the Republic sold €1.1 billion of dairy products there.

At a basic level, exporters’ customers or agents in Britain must register with, and make declarations to, the UK customs declaration system.

Hauliers will need the UK import declaration reference number to get a goods movement reference before departing for ports in the Republic.

British importers must notify authorities of high- or medium-risk products, which include live animals and meat, to the UK’s import of products, animals, food and feed system (IPAFFS).

Meat, live animals and some other food will require health certificates confirming they meet British standards.

In the case of meat and live animals, Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine vets have to provide this at the point of origin, which in most cases will be a factory or processor.

Consequently food exporters have to ensure they have organised this with local department staff.

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