UK-EU import: private certificates to be issued in French for SIVEP as from 1 January
From 1 January goods of animal or vegetable origin from the United Kingdom must be accompanied by a certificate in French.
From 1andJanuary 2023, the private certificates provided to the SIVEP (Veterinary and Phytosanitary Inspection Service at the Border) of Calais, for the importation of products of animal or plant origin from the United Kingdom, shallMust be written in French.
This provision is well provided for in Regulation 2017/625* on official controls to ensure compliance with food law. But in practice, until now, these documents, which make it possible, in particular, to draw up the DSCE (Common Sanitary Documents of Entry), were often written in English by British manufacturers, suppliers or customs representatives. This practice will no longer be tolerated. In fact, SIVEP has recently indicated that English is not « the official language of the border control post in Calais, this led to difficulties of understanding and could lead to errors of assessment as to the validity of the documents submitted ».
Attention, all shipments accompanied by a private certificate written in a foreign language after 1 January 2023 will beblocked at border checkpoints. A certificatein Frenchwill be required to release the goods.
This measure appliesfor all border crossing points, so also if the passage is via Dunkirk port.
We invite you to inform your trading partners to anticipate this change.
* in particular by Articles 3 (item 28) and 91
Source(s): ACTE International Network
Editor(s): C. Bedouin