Brexit: UK delays border checks on EU products for six months

The government said the new timetable would help businesses affected by the Covid-19 pandemic to recover. 

The checks on meat and milk products that had been due to come in from July will now begin in January 2022 and requirements for health certificates will be pushed from April to October.

It comes days after the UK started a row with the EU over its decision to delay a separate set of border checks on British goods arriving in Northern Ireland.

Checks between the rest of the UK and Northern Ireland had been agreed as part of Boris Johnson’s deal reached in December. 

The UK said delaying these checks were lawful but the EU has threatened a legal challenge on the unilateral decision. 

While the latest extensions are unlikely to improve deteriorating tensions between the UK and the EU, it is a move that has been warmly welcomed by the UK retail sector.

BRC director of food and sustainability Andrew Opie said: “We are pleased that the government has listened to us and postponed border checks until the systems and border posts are ready. 

“With many of the key Border Control Posts currently little more than a hole in the ground, the six-month easement comes in the nick of time. Until the infrastructure is in place, with IT systems ready and established processes for checks and paperwork, it would be foolhardy to introduce full requirements for EHC documentation, pre-notification of imports, physical checks and more. 

“We welcome the government’s decision, which will ultimately reduce the impact on consumers from the 1st April, who might otherwise have seen empty shelves for some products. The government must not rest on its laurels, and the next six months must be used to establish and communicate the new systems with UK retailers and EU suppliers.”