The Movement Assistance Scheme (MAS) makes it easier for businesses to continue to move agri-food goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland. It includes a dedicated business advice helpline and means traders will not have to pay certification costs, which will be reimbursed by government to whoever certifies the product.
Gail Soutar, NFU chief EU exit and international trade adviser, said:
“From 1 January 2021, new requirements came in for moving live animals, products of animal origin, plants and plant products from Great Britain to Northern Ireland. We asked government to ensure assistance is available to help farm businesses deal with these new requirements and this scheme is a great help.”
The Movement Assistance Scheme applies to:
- Live animals and animal products
- Plants and plant products
- Some categories of high risk food and feed not of animal origin
- Organic products
It covers:
- Export Health Certificates (EHCs)
- Certification requirements and lab-sampling costs for high risk food and feed not of animal origin (HRFNAO)
- Phytosanitary certificates (PCs)
- Initial inspection fees and ongoing auditing or monitoring costs for the Plant Health Export Audited Trader Scheme (PHEATS)
- Scrapie – OV costs of genotype testing. Read more information.
- Organics certificate of inspection, importer/exporter licensing. Read more information.
- International Seed Testing Association (ISTA) – sample testing and certification for individual seed lots
The scheme will close at the end of December 2023.
