Update: Phytosanitary inspections for export to the United Kingdom effective from 1 July 2025
After several postponed deadlines, the date of 1 July 2025 now appears to be final. As of this date, it will be mandatory to include a phytosanitary certificate when exporting, among other things, fruit and vegetables to the United Kingdom. Goods must undergo a physical inspection and comply with the applicable phytosanitary requirements in order to obtain this certificate. To support companies in this Brexit phase, various functionalities are available in GreenCommerce and the QC App.
Legislation effective as of 01-07-2025
Phytosanitary requirements are the conditions set by a country for imported products (in this case, fruit and vegetables) concerning plant diseases and pests. Upon import into the United Kingdom (UK), phytosanitary documents including corresponding inspections will become mandatory. A phytosanitary inspection can be requested via e-CertNL, after which the shipment will be assessed by the Dutch Quality Control Bureau (KCB) at the designated location. If goods do not meet the phytosanitary requirements of the destination country, export will not be permitted. This may impact the logistics process, as parts of a shipment may not be delivered or may need to be replaced with other batches, which will also require inspection.
Functionalities in GreenCommerce
The company recognition system of the KCB, VGB/VBN, GFH & NVWA has been developed to allow companies to carry out phytosanitary inspections themselves. The NVWA and KCB maintain their supervisory roles and oversight of the certificate issuance process. A range of conditions are linked to this recognition system that fresh produce companies must meet before they are allowed to perform phytosanitary inspections independently.
Within GreenCommerce, you can record the phytosanitary status of a batch. This allows you to indicate whether a batch meets the required standards. Changes in phytosanitary status can be tracked in the log, where notes can also be added. This ensures that important information is always traceable within GreenCommerce.
For a sales order, it can be indicated whether phytosanitary inspections apply. Based on this setting, further checks can be carried out on the assigned batches. The default setting (inspection required or not) is determined by the country of destination, with the option to exclude specific products if applicable.
The company recognition system also includes the possibility for the KCB to randomly select shipments for spot checks. Functionalities for this are also available in GreenCommerce, ensuring that shipments are not dispatched until they have been released.
ePhyto support and direct inspection requests
Recently, technical updates have been made to the existing integration with eCertNL to enable the use of ePhytos. For example, a new field has been added for specifying the border crossing in the destination country when creating a KCB declaration. This functionality is already active for Norway and will soon be extended to other countries.
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In the shipment planning screen, a dedicated column provides visibility into whether a KCB inspection is required for any of the items in the planning. Additionally, when submitting a declaration to e-CertNL, it is possible to request an inspection directly. This requires certain configurations within the master data. Once the KCB declaration has been submitted to e-CertNL, the KCB document is retrieved. It can also be requested immediately if an inspection is needed. After the inspection request has been submitted, the inspection list is automatically saved as a document linked to the KCB declaration.
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For goods subject to physical inspection, the description on the phytosanitary certificate must match other documents, such as the commercial invoice. To support this requirement, preferences can now be set not only at company level, but also per customer. If a customer-specific preference has been configured, it will take priority and be applied to the KCB declaration.
“The mandatory legislation has a significant impact on the day-to-day operations of exporting companies, logistics service providers, and the KCB,” says Berry van Zijp, implementation specialist at jem-id and Brexit expert. “Back in early 2018, we began developing Brexit-specific features in GreenCommerce to support our customers in making the transition as smooth as possible. Because the legislation was delayed several times, the urgency to prepare decreased. Now that the 1 July deadline appears to be final, timely and proper preparation is essential.”
Registering phytosanitary inspections in the QC App
Phytosanitary inspections also affect the inspection process for fresh produce companies exporting to the UK. In the QC App, it is now possible to carry out phytosanitary checks alongside existing quality inspections. Authorized quality staff can record the phytosanitary status of the inspected batch(es) directly within the app.
When creating a new inspection template in the QC App, quality staff can distinguish between quality and phytosanitary templates. Within these templates, additional criteria specific to phytosanitary inspections can be defined.
Questions or need more information?
Do you have questions about these developments or want to explore the available options? Feel free to contact us at info@greencommerce.nl or call +31 174-642 622.
