Prior notification and booking of controls - import of food of animal origin

Consignments of food and kitchenware from countries outside the EU that are to undergo border control must be pre-notified to one of the Swedish Food Agency's border control posts. Prior notification shall be made via the web-based system TRACES.NT (TRAde Control and Expert System New Technology).

This page contains information on prior notification of an import consignment and how to book a control.

Prior notification

Prior notification of an import consignment shall be made via the web-based system TRACES.NT by creating a so-called CHED (Common Health Entry Document).

A CHED-P shall be created for consignments of food of animal origin.
A CHED-D shall be created for consignments of food of non-animal origin, and kitchenware.

The operator responsible for a consignment shall give prior notification to the current border control post, at least one working day before the expected arrival of the consignment.

If you as an importer are not used to working with the administration of food imports into the EU, it is recommended to contact a freight forwarder who is experienced in handling the import of food consignments for help with prior notification in TRACES.NT and booking of the 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. One way to do this is to place a pallet of each respective consignment closest to the doors.
  • 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.

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 control

Consignments accompanied by original paper certificate

If the consignment is accompanied by a hand-signed official certificate, this needs to be delivered by post or courier, in original, to the relevant border control post. Please fill in the form "Booking of border control", and attach this together with the official certificate, so that the border control station receives the information they need to enter the control.

Consignments not accompanied by original paper certificate

Addresses and opening hours of BCP's

Reviewed 2023-11-01