Britain's exit from the European Union has dramatically affected imports and exports from the remaining member countries. When it comes to transporting livestock, major changes have also been noted. Therefore, instead of the existing EU TRACES system, a new solution - Import of products, animals, food and feed system, called IPAFFS was presented. It is used for the transportation of goods such as animals, food products, plants, animal products, biological products, high-risk non-animal foods, and complex food products. Thus, in addition to the usual import declaration, an IPAFFS will be required when transporting the above products.
How is the inspection based on IPAFFS carried out?
IPAFFS inspection is usually carried out in the following steps:
- Pre-import evaluation. This is where the evaluation of whether a product is suitable for transport takes place. Here, it is checked whether food, animals and plants meet certain standards.
- Import clearance. At this point, documents such as certificates of origin, health certificates and various related certificates are verified. Delivered to the relevant departments for verification.
- Inspection and testing. The next step will be to physically verify that the imported products, animals and food meet certain standards. It should be noted that this point does not always occur, and it all depends on which sanitary service is present at the port.
- Certification. The relevant government agency or certification body issues a certificate here. Such a document indicates that the transported food, animals or plants meet all the requirements placed on them and are suitable for import.
- Post-import monitoring: that is, monitoring the goods that have been imported and checking that all standards are met here.
How to register with the IPAFFS system?
To use the IPAFFS system, you should have a Government Gate account. If you already have an account, you will be able to proceed to the next point, which is to register with Defra to unlock access to the IPAFFS service. If you are an import agent who acts on behalf of an importer, you will need to provide your own business details to register. By registering with IPAFFS, you are responsible for the shipment from the moment it enters the UK until the responsible authority completes its inspection.
You are required to submit your application between 4 and 24 hours before the scheduled clearance. In the case of livestock, shortening the clearance time is certainly beneficial. In doing so, it should be noted that as of January 1, 2022, the importer is required to provide the 7-digit identification number that was assigned to him during the initial IPAFFS declaration to his customs declaration in the Customs Declaration System(CDS). Without providing this number, you will not be able to complete the customs declaration.
If you need help completing and going through all the steps in the IPAFFS system, then OTSBroker will be happy to assist you. As a customs agency, we know exactly what needs to be done. You don't have to worry about all the complicated documentation - we'll handle everything for you.