Introduction of Animal Health Regulations

There are changes to EU law from 21 April 2021 that will affect traders who move certain live animals, germinal products and products of animal origin to Northern Ireland, or who export them to the EU. All EU Export Health Certificates (EHCs) need to be updated to reflect the new rules, but this will be phased in between April and August 2021.

The EU is also introducing new rules for the export of composite products with new EHCs for composite products and new documentation for composite products exempt from export heath certification.

Including those for composites, a total of five new EHCs are needed from 21 April.

The Animal Health Regulations will apply in Northern Ireland. Traders moving goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland will need to ensure that they meet the new requirements too.

Businesses on the Authorised Trader list moving goods from GB to NI will not be required to complete new composites EHCs or private attestations until the relevant phase of compliance comes into effect from 1 Oct 2021. Instead, their STAMNI (Scheme for Temporary Agri-food Movements to Northern Ireland) declarations will meet these requirements in the meantime, in line with the movement criteria. However, all goods moved by Authorised Traders from GB to NI must comply with the regulatory requirements for composite products.

All EU Export Health Certificates (EHCs) and Notes for Guidance are being updated to reflect the new rules by August 2021. Only those needed for use by traders from 21 April will be available from April, on EHC Online (EHCO), with the remainder uploaded and available by August 2021.

What does this mean for Traders from April 2021?

Certain composite products that currently do not need an EHC to be exported to the EU will now need one. Other composite products that are exempt from certification will require a new document, called a ‘private attestation’.

Traders can choose to use the existing composite product EHC, until August 2021, if under the current EU law, they need an EHC for export to the EU. Traders must use the new EHC if their product doesn’t currently require an EHC to be exported to the EU but will require an EHC from April under the new law. In that case, the option to use the old EHC is not available.

From 1 April, traders will be able to view the new EHCs, and the accompanying Notes for Guidance, on EHC Online. These include:

• Three new products of animal origin (POAO) EHCs
• Two new composite EHCs
• A private attestation document for composites exempt from certification.

Traders should familiarise themselves with the new EHCs and private attestation document to ensure they meet the new requirements.

The new regulations also introduce EHCs for certain live animal species and germinal product exports for which there is currently no EU EHC. The final legislation is yet to be published and we will make these certificates available at the earliest opportunity once they are finalised by the EU.

We will continue to keep businesses informed about the phasing of the new EHCs and will provide guidance and information so they can be prepared for these changes.

Help and Support

We are running a series of QandA webinars with an expert panel to explain what these changes mean for those exporting to the EU or moving goods to NI. Please contact them direct for this information.

The new composite EHCs and Notes for guidance will be available to view on form finder from 1 April 2021

Further information about requirements for April 2021, new composite product rules and NI movements click here

Frequently Asked Questions click here

Composite Product Decision Tree – click here to help you determine whether your product is a composite or not.

Instructions for registering for the live QandA sessions:

• Please choose the live QandAs webinar/s you wish to attend from the list above
• To join your chosen webinar/s, simply select the link in the ‘Register here’ column at your preferred time and date
• Once selected, you will be asked to confirm your name, email address, and organisation.
• This will register you for the webinar for the live QandA with our expert panel
• Once registered, you will receive a confirmation email that will include a link to add the live QandA webinar to your calendar
• You do not need to download any software to access the webinar, the link will open in your browser (Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge etc.)
• Please join your chosen webinar/s 5 minutes prior to the start time.

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