Border Control infrastructure in key GB ports not ready for April deadline

The introduction of controls for EU agri-food imports at British borders will be postponed, the government has announced.

The post-transition package of customs procedures to control imports from the bloc into Great Britain has a new start date – in six months time. Pre-notification and export health certification for animal products, due to start from 1 April, will now not be required until 1 October 2021. Certification for low-risk plant and plant products will be required from 1 January 2022, the government said on Thursday (11 March).

Physical checks at the border will not take place on a range of agri-food products and high-risk plants until 1 January 2022. And physical checks on live animals and low-risk plants and plant material have been delayed until March 2022. The move comes amid reports that Border Control Post infrastructure in key GB ports is not ready for the April deadline.