If you certify and inspect agrifoods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, you can claim back costs up to a certain amount, under the Movement Assistance Scheme (MAS). This includes movements from Great Britain to Northern Ireland through the Republic of Ireland.

The certificates covered by the scheme include: 

• Certificates of Inspection (COIs) 
• Export Health Certificates (EHCs) 
• official certificates for high-risk foods of non-animal origin (HRFNAO)
• Phytosanitary Certificates (PCs) 
• Plant Health Exports Audited Trader Scheme (PHEATS) 

If you’re an Official Veterinarian (OV) or other certifier, you must not charge for inspecting and certifying certain certification costs - up to a certain amount. You need to invoice the government for the costs of the service you provide. 

There is no requirement for certifiers to engage with Movement Assistance Scheme (MAS) if the agri-food goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland are not subject to the new Northern Ireland Protocol requirements. 

Certifiers of Export Health Certificates (EHCs) 

Movements of live animals and animal products from Great Britain to Northern Ireland may require an EHC. Businesses and traders will not incur a cost for an EHC - up to a set amount. This will be reimbursed directly to certifiers by the government through the MAS. 

You must be registered with EHC Online to be eligible for support via MAS.

What you need to do

1. Register on EHC Online if you don’t already have an account.
2. You’ll be notified of new certification requests on EHC Online.
3. After your first request, APHA will contact you with details of how to receive payment.
4. You will then receive a Purchase Order (PO) number via email, which must be used when raising invoices.
5. If you have issues getting set up, email ServiceDeliveryVetandExportInvoices@apha.gov.uk.
6. Follow the current inspection process to perform an EHC check.
7. If the goods pass inspection you can sign the certificate as you do now.
8. You’ll need to log into EHC Online after the inspection to confirm the checks have been completed, and the details in EHC Online are in line with the certification you’ve provided on the EHC.
9. When completing section 1.9 of the EHC (country of destination), indicate the name (must be Northern Ireland) and ISO country code (XI) of Member State destination of the animals or products.
10. When completing section 1.12 of the EHC (place of destination), indicate the name and address, country (must be Northern Ireland) and ISO country code (XI) of the place where the consignment is being delivered for final unloading. Where applicable, also indicate the registration or approval number of the establishment destination. 

Reimbursement information 

To get reimbursement for the costs of certifying live animals and animal products, the steps are as follows:

1. Determine whether the trader’s goods require an EHC.
2. If so, the trader applies online using the EHC Online portal for a certifier to inspect their goods. Note that EHCs must state Northern Ireland as the final destination before they can be reimbursed (where the end destination is somewhere other than Northern Ireland, certifiers should charge the trader for the EHC).
3. The trader and certifier arrange an appointment for the necessary checks and, if appropriate, the certifier provides the EHC.
4. The certifier invoices the certification costs to the government directly. The trader incurs no direct cost.

You can claim: 

• a flat rate of £150 excluding VAT plus testing costs for each non-equine EHC
• a flat rate of £325 excluding VAT for each equine EHC

You can invoice the trader for the remaining amount should the total cost exceed these limits. 

You can also claim: 

• a flat rate of £150 excluding VAT for the costs related to testing sheep for scrapie disease, as required as part of the export health certification when a trader does not have Scrapie Qualifying Status (SQS) 
• costs relating to Brucella Ovis testing in Northern Ireland prior to movement to Great Britain to attend agricultural shows before returning to Northern Ireland - flock owners will incur these costs and in turn be reimbursed by APHA up to a cap of £150 (vet administration of testing) plus VAT and £34 plus VAT (cost of test) 
• costs relating to Brucella Ovis testing in Great Britain prior to movement to Northern Ireland - the vet will not charge the flock owner but be reimbursed by APHA up to a cap of £150 (vet administration of testing) plus VAT and £34 plus VAT (cost of test)

Flock owners can claim reimbursement for Brucella Ovis testing by completing an application form and submitting it to APHA.

OVs and other certifiers carrying out Brucella ovis tests should invoice the APHA finance team by emailing ServiceDeliveryVetandExportInvoices@apha.gov.uk. 

Claims can be made for testing from 1 September 2022 for movements of live uncastrated rams from Great Britain to Northern Ireland. 

View a sample invoice for reimbursement of EHCs including costs related to scrapie testing.

How to submit an invoice 

You must invoice within 90 days of completing the work, which is classed as the date of the certification of live animals or products of animal origin. You should submit invoices at least monthly.

You must provide all the following information on an invoice: 

• cost of checks based on existing fees, a flat rate of £150 (£325 for equine EHCs) excluding VAT
• cost of laboratories processing samples and associated costs up to £34 excluding VAT where applicable 
• date of certification completion. This should match the date in EHC Online or eTrade
• certifier ID 
• EHC serial number (if generated by EHC Online) or the certificate reference (if generated by eTrade) 
• VAT (at the appropriate rate) should be shown separately on the invoice as a separate charge 
• unique invoice number 
• practice details, registered trading name, address on letterhead and VAT registration number 
• PO number, as supplied by APHA team

Make sure you:

• include all EHCs where certification checks have been completed
• use a separate line for each transaction per certifier
• do not include hand-written amendments on an invoice
• do not include any other OV tasks in these invoices 
• convert all invoices to PDF format

Email your invoice to ServiceDeliveryVetandExportInvoices@apha.gov.uk.

View a sample invoice for reimbursement of EHCs including costs related to scrapie testing .

Certifiers of high risk foods and feed of non-animal origin

Certifiers of certain high-risk foods of non-animal origin (HRFNAO) products listed in Annex 2 of regulation 2019/1793 and products originating from countries listed in Annex 1 of regulation 2020/1158, must invoice the government for official certification costs. 

Reimbursement information 

The steps required for reimbursement of the HRFNAO products listed above are as follows: 

1. You (the Local Authority) receive a request from a trader to inspect HRFNAO products.
2. If it’s the first time this has happened, you need to:
   • contact APHA to notify them and check to see if you have been set up as a supplier for payment at ServiceDeliveryVetandExportInvoices@apha.gov.uk
   • supply APHA with evidence that you have received an application from a trader to move HRFNAO to Northern Ireland such as evidence of the cost of lab sampling/analysis
   • you’ll then receive a unique PO number via email, which you’ll need to use when raising invoices
3. Follow the current inspection process to perform checks on the HRFNAO products, and if the goods pass inspection you can sign the certificate as normal.

How to submit an invoice 

Each month you should generate an invoice and submit a PDF version to APHA at ServiceDeliveryVetandExportInvoices@apha.gov.uk. 

To ensure payments are made promptly, include all the following information: 

• PO number
• official certificate unique reference number
• copy of the certificate - including date processed and destination of goods
• breakdown of costs - charge out rates, time spent on travel and lab costs
• receipt or evidence of lab sampling costs - including a copy of the invoice if not in-house lab costs

The invoices will be processed by APHA and checks carried out. Any clarifications will be sent back to you via email if required.

Payment queries 

Queries regarding the payment of invoices or  PO number should be raised with APHA:

Queries relating to invoices for organic products should be raised with Defra at: organic.standards@defra.gov.uk. 

The MAS contact helpline is not able to answer any queries about reimbursement of certifier costs.  

Read the  Movement Assistance Scheme: terms and conditions.