Following feedback from industry, Defra, in collaboration with HMRC and other relevant government departments, have made improvements to processes on fish and shellfish direct landings in the EU returning to Great Britain (GB) under customs transit.

From 1 November 2024, where fish and shellfish from UK registered fishing vessels are directly landed into an EU port with the intent to move them directly into GB and not clear EU customs or SPS controls, they may be considered GB goods for both SPS and customs purposes. This is applicable for fish or shellfish that are unprocessed or subjected to primary processing only.

Legislation reference as to definition of primary processing can be found here: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/eur/2009/1224/article/4

This means that:

• Where the goods enter GB via a GVMS enabled port they do not need to be notified to IPAFFS or obtain an Export Health Certificate. They also will not be subject to routine checks at the border. They must however be moved under a T1 customs authorisation.  Please refer to HMRC guidance for transit movements: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/transit-manual-supplement. Please contact your intended port of entry to check if it is a GVMS enabled port.
• Where the goods enter GB via a non-GVMS enabled port they need to be notified on IPAFFS as a low-risk commodity, but they do not need to obtain an Export Health Certificate. They also will not be subject to routine checks at the border. They must however be moved under a T1 customs authorisation.
• Goods moving in transit to GB will need to be accompanied with evidence to support their GB origin and that they were caught by a UK vessel. This evidence can be in the form of, the ship’s logbook, a landing declaration or a catch certificate. For non-GVMS points of entry, this evidence should be uploaded to IPAFFS when the notification is made. For points of entry with GVMS, the carrier will need to provide this evidence at the point of entry.
• This guidance will also be available online at Importing or moving fish to the UK.