Prior notification and booking of controls - import of food of animal origin
Are you importing food of animal origin that need to undergo border control? You will have to pre-notify the consignment to one of the Swedish Food Agency's border control posts. This page contains information on how to pre-notify and book the control.
Importing food of animal origin from outside the EU is complicated. There are special companies, called customs or forwarding agents, that can help when importing food. Search the internet for the words "customs agent" or "forwarding agent" and "import" to get examples of agents that can help you.
Prior notification
Each consignment of food of animal origin must be notified in advance in the web-based system TRACES.NT (Trade Control and Expert System New Technology). All consignments must be pre-notified at least one working day before the expected arrival to EU territory. This also applies to consignments that have been reloaded within the EU. You pre-notify by creating the document type CHED-P (Common Health Entry Document) in TRACES. NT. Part I of the CHED-P is the prior notification itself, and Part II is the decision of the border control.
Grouped consignments
Grouping consignments into a single transport is called ‘groupage’ and means that different types of products are transported together. Two examples of this are LCL (less than container load) and groupage trailer. A groupage can consist of either products for delivery to the same recipient or products intended for multiple recipients.
The importer is responsible for ensuring that border controls are conducted
If you use groupage for the transportation of goods that are subject to border controls, then you also bear the responsibility for ensuring these goods are pre-notified and undergo border controls before the transport enters the EU. When a consignment is checked at the border this results in the entire container or trailer being temporarily detained.
Points to bear in mind with grouped consignments:
- Remember the border control staff must see all consignments that have an official certificate or private attestation. Each certificate or attestation counts as one consignment.
- Load goods that are subject to border controls closest to the doors. In this way they are easily accessible for inspection when the unit is opened.
- Load each individual consignment in a manner that allows the border control staff easy access to all of the consignments.
- Place the official documents in the trailer’s document box. In conjunction with this, make sure to remove any outdated documents from the document box. You can also place the documents on the pallet closest to the doors, in this way they are readily available when the doors are opened.
- It is advisable to load room-temperature, chilled and frozen goods in separate trailers rather than mixing them. It is difficult for the border control staff to inspect a groupage trailer with partition walls, for example a trailer with both chilled and frozen goods. The presence of such partition walls means that the border control staff are required to unload goods and dismantle the partition walls in order to access all consignments requiring inspection. This process can potentially lead to delays.
The operator responsible for the consignment covers any costs related to unloading or rejection
Failing to ensure accessibility of goods for inspection within a groupage can result in significant expenses. In such cases the border control staff can demand that the container or trailer be unloaded at the cost of the operator responsible for the consignment. Unloading must take place in the port area.
If a consignment within a groupage is rejected, then the whole container or trailer will be temporarily detained. This can result in delays for the other consignments in the unit and can lead to problems if they are intended for different recipients.
Transit of consignments from another EU country via a third country
Consignments from Ireland or Northern Ireland that are transported through the United Kingdom and then arrive in Sweden, or another EU country, must be pre-notified with CHED-P to the border control post for re-entry into the Union. Normally, only document control is carried out on the CHED-P and accompanying documents, such as packing list, invoice, CMR and transit documents from the Swedish Customs (T2 documents). No official certificate is required for these consignments, as they are EU goods. Identity and physical checks are only carried out in cases of suspected non-compliance.
The consignments must be transported in sealed containers, i.e. in a sealed truck trailer, for example.
If the consignment is to be reloaded within the EU
If your consignment is to be reloaded between vessels or air freight at a port or airport within the EU, it is called a transhipment. It's essential to notify the border control post at the respective port or airport in these cases. This notification informs them that the consignment will be present within their jurisdiction (see article 16 in Regulation (EU) 2019/2124). You need to consult the border control post for specific guidelines on how this notification process should be carried out.
If the transhipment period exceeds a specified time limit (three days for an airport or 30 days for a port) the border control post where the transhipment occurs will undertake an inspection of the consignment’s documentation. For consignments containing honey or wild-caught fish, a 90-day transhipment period is applicable regardless of whether it is a port or an airport. Even consignments that have been transhipped must be pre-notified on CHED-P in TRACES.NT to the border control post in Sweden, in accordance with the instructions above.
Reloading to a road vehicle is not permitted
Please note that a consignment must be reloaded onto an airplane or boat to its final destination in Sweden. If the consignment is reloaded onto a road vehicle (lorry/truck) before the border control authority has carried out its inspection, then the consignment will be rejected entry upon arrival in Sweden (see article 47.1 b in Regulation (EU) 2017/625).
Booking of border control at an airport
Once you have made a prior notification, you need to book the border control of the consignment. You can do this by sending an email to the airport's border control post. Enter the CHED-P number and the desired control date in the subject line of the email and attach a completed booking form, "Form for booking border control" (in case of several consignments, fill in one booking form per consignment).
If the consignment is accompanied by an official certificate signed by hand, the original paper certificate needs to be delivered by post or courier to the border control post. Please note that if you send original documents by registered mail to the border control post, the delivery and opening hours of the post office may result in delays of the control.
If the official certificate has been issued in TRACES.NT, with a valid electronic signature, no original certificate in paper form is required. If you are unsure whether a certificate in TRACES.NT is signed with a valid electronic signature, you can contact the relevant border control post.
At present, Arlanda airport is the only airport in Sweden that has an approved border control post. Food subject to border control that is transported by air to Sweden can therefore only be pre-notified to the Arlanda border control post.
Booking of border control in a port
Once you have made a prior notification, you need to book the border control of the consignment. Border control in a port must be booked at least one working day before the desired control date. In cases where the legislation requires an official certificate and analysis report, it must be attached to the CHED-P in TRACES.NT.
Consignments accompanied by original paper certificate
If the consignment is accompanied by an official certificate signed by hand, the original paper certificate needs to be delivered by post or courier to the relevant border control post. Please note that if you send original documents by registered mail to the border control post, the delivery and opening hours of the post office may result in delays of the control.
Consignments with an electronically issued official certificate
If the official certificate has been issued in TRACES.NT, with a valid electronic signature, no original paper certificate is required. If you are unsure whether a certificate in TRACES.NT is signed with a valid electronic signature, you can contact the relevant border control post.
The border control needs the email and any original documents at least one working day before the desired control date.
