Preparations for the Brexit

Latest update: 24-08-2020

You have probably not missed the news about the Brexit. The United Kingdom (UK) left the European Union (EU) on January 31, 2020. This makes the UK, after the transition period, a so-called "third country". Just as for exports to other countries outside the European Union, it is likely that there will be more rules for exports to the UK. Do you have a lot of trade contact with the UK? Or are you going to work with other customs systems? Then it is important to actively seek preparations now.

The requirements that will be imposed on the import and export of fruit and vegetables and floriculture products to and from the UK after December 31, 2020 are not yet known. It is therefore possible that the departure from the UK (with or without a 'deal') will lead to new phytosanitary and quality requirements for the export or import of plants, vegetables, fruit and plant products.

In addition, it is also important to submit requests for links to other customs systems to us as quickly as possible. Will you soon be working with new customs systems, or are you now entering everything manually via your current system? Report it to us by sending an email to remco@jem-id.nl

What will change?
Before exporting to the UK, it is important to check the shipment for UK requirements. The Quality Control Bureau (KCB) will then have to re-inspect the shipment. Are you not yet registered with the KCB? Register via the KCB website.

After the shipment has entered the UK, the UK authorities will carry out entry checks on the items exported. In addition, the costs for the checks by the KCB and for the NVWA export documents must be taken into account.

What do I need?
Before you can start exporting to a "third country", you need a phytosanitary certificate, eHerkenning and access to e-CertNL (formerly CLIENT Export). In addition, it is important that you have an EORI number. Without this number it is not possible to trade with the United Kingdom.

Phytosanitary certificate
The first step is to apply for the phytosanitary certificate when exporting to a "third country". This certificate contains a description, weight, country of origin and final destination of the exported items. It is not yet known exactly for which products a phytosanitary certificate is required when exported to the UK.

eHerkenning
To apply for phytosanitary certificates via e-CertNL, you need eHerkenning. There are also costs associated with this. Don't have eHerkenning yet? Request eHerkenning here.

e-CertNL
To apply for an export certificate via e-CertNL, you must be registered as a relation with RVO (Netherlands Enterprise Agency). Via eHerkenning you arrive in e-CertNL where all necessary information for export must be registered. The inspection services can use this system to check whether all export requirements have been met. If this is the case, the inspector of the KCB can prove the phytosanitary certificate in the presence of an unpaid NVWA official.

Package for exporters
The UK left the EU on January 31, 2020, which means that export data must first be digitally checked by the KCB.

To support the electronic declaration of export data within GreenCommerce, a link with the KCB has been developed, with which sales orders and sales order lines can be automatically submitted to the KCB.

GreenCommerce connects with the system (nowadays e-CertNL) of the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality. The package offers the functionality to enter export requests via KCB declarations directly into GreenCommerce, so that not all orders that are exported outside the European Union need to be entered manually.

Would you like to know more about the Export package? Let Remco advise you via remco@jem-id.nl.