Exporting into NI & EU

Exporting Guidance for Food & Drink Licensees

The EU has agreed to recognise Great Britain as equivalent for organics until 31 December 2023.

Great Britain (GB) has retained the requirements of the EU Organic Regulation, so all references remain the same but are read as GB law.

From 1st January 2021, the references to Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 and Commission Regulations (EC) Nos 889/2008 and 1235/2008 will be read as they have effect in Great Britain.

Helpful Guides

To help your business identify the correct documentation for importing and exporting into and out of GB we have created this infographic as a reference.

In addition to the guidance on this page, you can also watch our 25-minute video guide, created to help importers and exporters of organic food, feed, seed and livestock understand new certification and port clearance requirements for a number of differing trade scenarios

Exporting from GB into the EU & Northern Ireland

The following information applies to farmers and growers, manufacturers and traders certified by Soil Association Certification.

To export to the EU and/or Northern Ireland you will need to make sure all the products you are planning to export are on your trading schedule.

Please also ensure that your customers in the EU and/or Northern Ireland have identified an importer and 1st consignee who hold a valid organic licence(s).

What documentation is required for exporting organic products into the EU or Northern Ireland?

A Certificate of Inspection (CoI) must accompany every consignment of organic food products, seed, feed and livestock when exporting from GB into the EU or Northern Ireland.

This will need to be completed and submitted on the TRACES NT portal. 

Failure to do so will result in your organic goods losing status in the EU or Northern Ireland

Once approved on TRACES NT you will need to create and submit your Certificate of Inspection (CoI) for approval by the Soil Association Certification CoI team. 

For all goods exported to the EU and NI, GB exporters should:

• Ensure that a Certificate of Inspection (CoI) is approved for each consignment of organic goods exported. This is the responsibility of the exporter only. Failure to do so may result in organic goods losing status
• Ensure CoIs are approved before the shipments leaves GB. CoIs can often be approved based on draft documentation, providing the final transport documents are uploaded to the CoI in TRACES NT by the exporter’s certification body within 10 days of the issuance of the CoI and, in any case before the consignment arrives in the EU or NI.
• Complete all mandatory and non-mandatory boxes on the CoI and ensure you upload supporting documentation as outlined in the Exporting Guidance.

Authorised Trader Scheme Exemption

As outlined in the recent government Command Paper, from January 1st 2021 there will be a three-month grace period relating organic goods from GB imported into Northern Ireland. This will only apply to authorised traders (supermarkets and trusted suppliers) for goods intended for retail sale in NI.

Registering consignments on TRACES NT Portal

How do I register on TRACES NT?

• Please see below a step by step guide on how to register on TRACES NT

• If you are in the process of applying for certification you can set up your TRACES account alongside this.
• Note that the EU TRACES NT portal also applies for goods going to Northern Ireland from Great Britain

How do create a CoI?

A CoI needs to be created on the TRACES NT portal.

Once complete our CoI team will be able to view and endorse if all of the information is correct and the products you are wanting to export are listed on your trading schedule.

Please note: when creating your COI in box 1, when selecting control body please may sure you select Soil Association Certification GB-ORG-05 and not BIO-142.

The COI team are unable to view Operators and COIs selected under BIO-142 and we are working on resolving this issue to avoid confusion.

COI Endorsement

See below step by step guide outlining the information required for CoI endorsement.

Pre-purchasing COIs

You will need to pre-purchase CoI credits via our payment portal prior to submitting your CoI via the TRACES NT portal.

Failure to do so will mean our team will not be able to complete the endorsement process.

The pre-paid number of CoIs will then be added to your SA Certification account. Each time a CoIs is submitted via TRACES NT for us to endorse, we will then use a pre-bought credit.

Link to Pre-purchase page

How can I split my consignments?

Once endorsed the goods are cleared and can be split into batches. Submit a CoI for the whole consignment to be endorsed, then amend the status to ‘base for extract’.

For further information please find below TRACES NT guidance on the ‘base for extract’ process.

High-Risk Products

Please be advised that additional checks may be required if your consignment has a high-risk product or high-risk country identified in line with (EC) 1235/2008.

The COI team will inform you via email if any additional documentation or photos of the consignment is required. 

What is a Customs ID?

All businesses trading with the EU who are VAT registered will start to be enrolled into Economic Operator Registration and Identification (EORI) by HMRC.

If you are not VAT registered, you will need to register for an EORI number.

• Exporting Guidance for GB to N.I or EU

  This guidance outlines in detail the exporting requirements for consignments going from GB to the EU or Northern Ireland

  Download here

• Setting up Access to TRACES NT

  This guidance is a step by step guide outlining how to register on TRACES NT

  Read it here

• Creating a certification of inspection

  This guidance outlines how to create a CoI on the TRACES NT portal.

  Read it here

• COI Base for Extract Process

  This guidance outlines how to complete split consignments via the TACES NT portal

  Read the guidance