Guidance

Veterinary checks on animal products - Import Information Note (IIN) VCAP

Published 2 December 2024

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/veterinary-checks-on-animal-products-iin-vcap/veterinary-checks-on-animal-products-import-information-note-iin-vcap

1. Important information 

Import Information Notes (IINs) are technical documents containing import requirements and are for use by importers and border officials.

Please be aware that import conditions may be updated due to changes in policy or legislation. Please ensure that you check the current version of the IIN as well as the IIN specific to your commodity.

Importers should note that the information given relates only to animal health and public health conditions of import. It does not give guidance on other conditions that may need to be met. 

References to European Union (EU) legislation within this document are references to direct EU legislation which has been assimilated in Great Britain (assimilated direct legislation), as defined in the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 and can be viewed on the UK legislation website. 

Please note that any links to legislation provided in this document are for information purposes only and may not be the most recent version. 

References to imports into Great Britain (GB) any IIN also includes imports into the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.  

References to trading partners include non-EU, EU and European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries.

The Border Target Operating Model (BTOM) is the new approach to importing into GB that will be progressively introduced from the end of January 2024.

2. Scope 

General conditions applicable to animal products subject to veterinary checks imported into GB in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2017/625 and the Trade in Animals and Related Products Regulations 2011. Similar legislation is in place in Scotland and Wales. 

Animal products that are subject to official checks are listed in Regulation (EU) 2019/2007 (as amended) and include products for human consumption, animal by-products (ABPs), germinal products (semen and embryos), hay and straw. In addition, Decision (EU) 2007/275 lists the composite products (see annexes of the IIN CP/1) which are subject to official checks and the ones that are exempt.  

Detailed import conditions are laid down in each of the IINs for specific animal products. 

Live shellfish for direct human consumption is checked in accordance with veterinary checks on products of animal origin. You should contact the Food Standards Agency for advice on import conditions for live shellfish and other fishery products. 

Find information about import risk categories, inspection rates and related rules for animals and animal products imported from:

3. Pre-notification 

Animal products that require veterinary checks are checked on entry into GB to ensure that they meet the GB import conditions. These checks must be carried out at an approved Border Control Post (BCP). BCPs are approved for different categories of animal products and you should ensure your proposed entry point has a BCP approved for the category of product you wish to import. 

Contact details for UK BCPs

Checks are carried out by Official Veterinary Surgeons or, for fishery products, specially trained Environmental Health Officers employed by the local or port health authority.

Consignments may only be imported through an approved BCP. 

The person responsible for the consignment must give notice of the proposed entry of the consignment at least one working day before arrival (with a derogation to 4 hours before arrival if there are logistical constraints).

The notification shall be made to the inspection staff at the BCP using the import of products, animals, food and feed system (IPAFFS).

Any other electronic means agreed with the BCP to inform about the intended arrival of a consignment in advance are not to be considered as an official prenotification.  

Following satisfactory checks at the BCP (for which a charge is levied), consignments may then circulate freely within GB.  If the consignment does not meet the GB import requirements, the consignment may be rejected and either re-exported or destroyed.

It is a legal requirement to provide an import notification and you may be charged an additional fee or the checks may be delayed if you fail to notify the BCP in advance. 

4. Presentation at BCP 

On arrival the consignment must be presented to the BCP without delay and it will be subject to documentary, identity checks and possibly a physical examination. Importers are responsible for presenting the consignment to the BCP.  If you fail to present  your consignment,   it may be rejected for import. Consignments presented for import at a BCP must be accompanied by the required documentation for import, including the original health certificate(s). Faxed or photocopied certificates are not acceptable. The BCP will retain the original health certification unless the consignment is in transit to a third country or is being transhipped to another GB BCP for the border checks. Other documentation required for the consignment under import legislation for the specific category of product must also be presented. 

The consignment will not be permitted to leave the BCP, nor the customs clearance area, except with a Common Health Entry Document (CHED) provided by the BCP confirming that all the veterinary checks have been carried out. The products must be taken directly to the place of destination, which must be the address given on the CHED. The CHED must accompany the consignment to the place of destination. 

If veterinary checks on a previous consignment from the same establishment have identified a serious animal or public health risk, your consignment may be subject to additional checks including laboratory analysis. You will be responsible for the cost of the sampling and the consignment must be held at the BCP until the result is known. 

5. Fees 

A fee will be charged for veterinary checks carried out at BCPs on imports of animal products. Details of the charge made for BCP checks on animal products are available from the inspectors at the relevant BCP. 

BCP operators, who are independent of Defra or the local authority, may charge for the use of their facilities. The level of their fees is a matter between the operator and the importer. 

6. Transit or transhipments  

Rules for moving animals or animal products from one third country to another third country and transiting GB (England, Scotland or Wales)

Please note that different rules apply depending on the origin and destination. 

7. Common Health Entry Document (CHED) 

On completion of the veterinary checks the BCP authorised officer will complete and sign the CHED providing the necessary fees have been paid. The CHED will record the outcome of the checks. It should accompany the consignment to the specified place of destination and should be kept there for inspection by enforcement officers as proof the consignment was checked on entry. 

If the consignment is to be split in the port as it is destined for 2 or more locations, the operator, when giving pre-notification, must declare the BCP as the place of destination in the CHED for the entire consignment.  

When the CHED for the entire consignment has been finalised by the inspector, the operator must request that the consignment be split and must submit a CHED for each part of the split consignment. The inspector will finalise the separate CHEDs for each part of the load, provided the quantities do not exceed the quantities specified in the CHED for the whole consignment: an additional fee will be charged for each CHED.  

The operator is responsible for ensuring that a copy of the CHED for each part of the split consignment accompanies the relevant part to the place of destination and until released for free circulation.  

8. Rejected consignments 

If your consignment fails to meet the import requirements for that product the consignment may be rejected. If your consignment is rejected it must be re-exported or destroyed or subjected to special treatment. If the BCP inspector considers the consignment to be a risk to public or animal health, they will take reasonable action to ensure compliance with Regulation (EU) 2017/625, which may include requiring products to be destroyed. 

Consignments rejected by the BCP, which are to be destroyed, are classed as Category 2 ABPs and destruction should be carried out in accordance with the Animal By-Products Regulations. 

If the consignment is to be re-exported, you will need to confirm to the BCP that the consignment will be accepted by the relevant third country of destination before the BCP authority releases the consignment for re-export. 

9. Exemptions from the veterinary checks 

Some animal products do not require veterinary checks on entry into GB. See Annex 1 for a list of some of the products exempt from checks. If in any doubt, contact the Animal and Plant Health Agency’s (APHA) imports team (contact details below) as your consignment may be rejected if you incorrectly do not present it for veterinary checks. 

10. Monitored consignments (post-import controls) 

Consignments of animal products which are considered to be a higher risk to animal health must be taken directly to the specified destination on the CHED. The importer must confirm the arrival of the consignment to APHA (see contact details below). The BCP will advise you if your consignment is subject to these additional controls. 

11. Consignments returned to the UK from a third country 

Consignments which have been exported and returned to GB following rejection at the border in a third country must be checked on entry. Special rules are in place for returned consignments. Details are available in IIN RPTC/1.

12. Safeguard measures

Emergency safeguard action can be taken at very short notice to prohibit or restrict the importation of certain products from certain countries following an outbreak of disease or a public health issue. 

Updates on disease outbreaks which may affect imports into the UK

Further information on the international and UK monitoring of animal diseases may be found in the animal disease monitoring guidance. 

Importers can get the latest news about exotic notifiable disease outbreaks from the APHA exotic notifiable disease outbreak subscription service.

13. Legislation.gov.uk  

Consolidated legal texts, which integrate the basic instruments of assimilated EU legislation with their amendments and corrections in a single, non-official document, are available. Each consolidated text contains a list of all legal documents taken into account for its construction.  

You can search for consolidated texts by inputting the ‘document number’ and ‘year’ and then clicking the option ‘All UK Legislation (including originating from the EU)’ on legislation.gov.uk.

Once you press ‘search’, you can find the relevant legislation listed with the full title of the legislation. Once you have selected the legislation, you may see the following message at the top of the page: 

“Changes to legislation: There are outstanding changes not yet made to XXX. Those changes will be listed when you open the content using the Table of Contents below. Any changes that have already been made to the legislation appear in the content and are referenced with annotations.”

Please note that the consolidated text may not contain the latest amendment to the legislation, as it takes several weeks for this to be updated. EU Exit amendments to legislation may also take several months. We advise to read the legislation alongside the EU Exit amendments made in the following UK laws:

Texts provided in this section are intended for information only. Please note that these texts have no legal value. For legal purposes please refer to the texts published on legislation.gov.uk.

Further information on changes in relation to EU legislation and UK law can be found on legislation.gov.uk. Please continue to use legislation.gov.uk to find EU retained law applicable to GB. Please avoid using the EU Commission website for information on imports into GB.

14. Contact for further information 

For more information about import requirements, contact the APHA imports team:

Centre for International Trade - Carlisle
Eden Bridge House
Lowther Street
Carlisle
CA3 8DX

Email: imports@apha.gov.uk 

Telephone: 03000 200 301 

To confirm arrival of monitored consignments, please contact: 

Annex 1 

The following are exempt from veterinary checks:

  • certain personal imports which form part of travellers’ luggage and small consignments sent to a private person. Personal imports of meat, milk, and meat or milk products are not permitted

  • incoming ship or aircraft stores brought in on one vessel or aircraft for direct transfer to another

  • research and diagnostic samples, which remain subject to licensing prior to importation. However, some samples may need to go to a BCP (see IIN ABP/30 on research samples). 

  • fresh fishery products immediately landed from a third country flagged vessel

  • products listed in Annex II of Decision (EU) 2007/275

  • products not subject to animal health controls under assimilated EU law. Consignments may need to be licensed prior to import.

  • composite products that meet the requirements of Article 6 of Retained EU Decision 2007/275 (see IIN CP/1 on composite products for more information) 
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