2022-04: European Union: Fish: Paperless trade eCert commences from 20 April 2022 onwards

Date of issue: 8 April 2022

Date of effect: Immediate

Reference Number: MAA2022-04

Related MAAs: 2021-16, 2021-18, 2021-23, 2021-27, 2021-29, 2022-03

Attention:

Industries—Industry bodies - Seafood Export Consultative Committee, Seafood Trade Advisory Group, Seafood Industry Australia

Export establishments

Exporters, AEPI and EXDOC users

Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment —central and regional offices

Purpose

To notify exporters of the commencement of electronic certification (eCert) which is a paperless exchange of health certificates from government to government for the export of fish and fish products and to inform exporters of the changes to expect in certificate outputs.

Summary of key points

• From 20 April 2022 onwards, health certificates for fish and fish products exported to the EU will be issued via the EU Trade Control and Export System (TRACES-NT) as an eCert. This will replace printed health certificates currently required to export these products to the EU. This change will be made progressively over the period from 20 April 2022 to 21 April 2022.

Request for permit

• The request for permit (RFP) process will not change. Information included in the RFP will be transmitted via TRACES-NT and available to border control posts in their official language.
  • During the transition phase commencing 21 April 2022, if you have RFP in progress you may receive an error indicating the template code is incorrect. If you have entered the current paper template code you will need to amend your RFP to update the certificate template code to the new eCert codes listed in the Table below. If you encounter any issues please contact exdoc.helpdesk@awe.gov.au
• For record keeping and commercial purposes only, an extract of the information transmitted by eCert will be printed. You will be able to remote print the extract. The eCert extract will not be required to be presented to the EU border control post – please advise your importers of this change.
  • If you would like further information or wish to obtain an application form to register for remote print, please contact foodexports@awe.gov.au.
• Please note that all RFPs must be completed (COMP) and have the extract issued for the eCert to be triggered and sent.

Check your EU TRACES-NT ID

• For an eCert to be lodged successfully, exporters and the registered establishment(s) that prepared the goods for export must have a valid TRACES-NT ID.
• Please ensure exporter and establishment details in EXDOC registration records, including TRACES-NT ID, match the exporter and establishment details in TRACES-NT. This includes having identical address details. It is possible that importers may have applied for a TRACES-NT ID on behalf of the exporter – so a check may be required for duplicate entries.
• To update your TRACES-NT ID number in EXDOC, email exdoc.helpdesk@awe.gov.au. Please note this does not affect your establishment registration details in the department’s establishment register (ER) or the EU listing of establishments recorded in TRACE-NT. If you become aware of any problems with the listing of an establishment, please contact Exportestablishment@aff.gov.au with a description of the problem.
• You will also be required to enter a TRACES Consignee ID within the consignee field of the RFP. You should work closely with your importer to ensure correct TRACES Consignee ID is entered.
• For help with TRACES-NT, see their help page, or report problems via the TRACES-NT login page. If, after this, you still have difficulties with validation, please email exdoc.helpdesk@awe.gov.au.

CN code

• The EU uses the Combined Nomenclature (CN) to categorise commodities for tariff purposes. The CN code is entered as a 4, 6 or 8 digit number as stipulated in Chapter 3 of Part 2 of Annex I in Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2658/87.
• You will be required to enter an appropriate CN code into ‘import authority code’ for each line of product in the RFP.

Nature of commodity and treatment type

• You will need to select from the drop down list for ‘nature of commodity’ and ‘treatment type’.

Package type changes

• The TRACES-NT system will only accept UNECE package types. The main impact on fish exports to the EU relates to polystyrene boxes. Instead of using ‘PB-Polystyrene Boxes’, exporters should use ‘QR-Plastic Expanded Box’.
  • If you receive an error advising that package type is not valid for the EU, please email exdoc.helpdesk@awe.gov.au.

Changes to template names

• Certificate templates have been re-named due to the move to eCert and the template equivalents are detailed in the following table:

Countries included in the move to eCert

• The eCert arrangement extends to all countries in the EU (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden).
• It also includes other countries in the EU single market (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland).
• Exports to Northern Ireland require EU certificates, these are available in paper only. Please contact foodexports@awe.gov.au if you intend to export to ports in Northern Ireland.
• The Manual of Importing Country Requirements (Micor) will be updated to reflect this market access advice. We encourage users of Micor to subscribe to the Micor update service for a commodity-specific email that lists changes made in the preceding week.
• The department encourages all exporters to work with their importer to ensure that product meets the current importing country requirements.

The information provided in this advice is current at the time of writing and is intended for use as guidance only and should not be taken as definitive or exhaustive. The Commonwealth endeavours to keep information current and accurate, however, it may be subject to change without notice. Exporters are encouraged to verify these details with their importers prior to undertaking production/exports. The Commonwealth will not accept liability for any loss resulting from reliance on information contained in this notice.

Further information

Contact ExportStandards@awe.gov.au if you have any queries.