IPAFFS Explained: The Complete Guide for UK Food Importers (2026)

If you import food, animal products, or animal feed into Great Britain, you’ve almost certainly heard of IPAFFS. You may have used it, struggled with it, or handed it over to a customs agent and hoped for the best. Either way, understanding how IPAFFS works — and why it matters — is one of the most important things a food importer can do to protect their business.

At Fn Customs, IPAFFS declarations are part of our daily work. We submit them for chilled dairy consignments arriving from France, frozen fish shipments from South Asia, and everything in between. When it’s done correctly and on time, IPAFFS is simply a part of the clearance process. When it goes wrong — an incorrect commodity description, a mismatched weight, a missed pre-notification deadline — the consequences range from an last minute query from Port Health to a condemned consignment that cost you tens of thousands of pounds.

This guide is designed to give you a thorough, practical understanding of IPAFFS from the ground up. We’ll cover what it is, who needs to use it, how the risk categories work, and exactly what happens at each step of the pre-notification process. To make this as practical as possible, we’ll walk through a real worked example: importing a consignment of fresh mozzarella cheese (HS code 0406103010) from Italy — a low-risk product that nonetheless requires a correctly completed IPAFFS pre-notification before it crosses the UK border.

By the end of this guide, you’ll know how to submit a compliant IPAFFS notification yourself, what to watch out for, and where the most expensive mistakes tend to happen.

What Is IPAFFS?

IPAFFS stands for Import of Products, Animals, Food and Feed System. It is the UK government’s digital platform for submitting pre-arrival notifications for consignments of animals, animal products, food, and feed entering Great Britain from both the EU and non-EU (third) countries.

Before Brexit, EU imports entered the UK without any pre-notification requirements. Since January 2022, all commercial imports of food and animal products — including those arriving from EU member states — require a IPAFFS pre-notification. This was one of the most significant regulatory changes for food importers post-Brexit, and it caught many businesses off guard.

IPAFFS replaced the older TRACES system (the EU’s notification platform) for UK purposes. It is managed by the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) on behalf of the UK government and interfaces directly with Port Health Authorities at UK Border Control Posts.

When you submit a pre-notification on IPAFFS, the system generates a Common Health Entry Document (CHED). This CHED reference number travels with your consignment and is used by Port Health Officers at the border to identify your goods, check documentation, and determine whether a physical inspection is required.

In plain English: IPAFFS is the system you use to tell UK authorities "my food shipment is coming, here's what it is, here's where it's from, and here's when it's arriving." Without it, your goods will not be cleared at the border.

Who Needs to Use IPAFFS?

IPAFFS must be used by any UK-based business or individual importing:

• Products of Animal Origin (POAO) — meat, fish, dairy, eggs, honey, and products derived from them
• Composite products — foods containing both animal and plant-derived ingredients (e.g. frozen pastries, pizza, lasagne)
• High-risk food and feed of non-animal origin (HRFNAO) — certain plant-based products from specific countries on the UK’s high-risk list
• Live animals
• Animal by-products (ABPs) — materials derived from animals not intended for human consumption
• Germinal products — semen, embryos, and similar

Only British-registered companies or individuals may complete IPAFFS notifications. This is a critical point: if your EU supplier or overseas freight forwarder offers to submit the IPAFFS on your behalf, they cannot do so unless they are registered in the UK. The legal responsibility for the CHED sits with the UK importer, not the overseas supplier.

Pro tip: Even if your haulier or freight forwarder handles the physical movement of goods, the IPAFFS declaration is your legal responsibility as the UK importer. Errors on the CHED can result in inspections, delays, and regulatory action against your business — not your supplier's.

Understanding IPAFFS Risk Categories

Not all food products are treated equally under IPAFFS. The UK government classifies products into risk categories, which determine:

• Whether a health certificate is required
• The frequency of physical inspections at the border
• Which type of CHED is generated

Understanding your product’s risk category before you begin your IPAFFS submission will save you significant time and confusion.

Low Risk

Low-risk products require IPAFFS pre-notification but do not require a health certificate from the exporting country. They are subject to documentary and identity checks only — physical inspections are rare and triggered by intelligence or random selection rather than routine.

Examples of low-risk products from the EU:

• Processed dairy products (UHT milk, hard cheeses, butter)
• Processed egg products
• Canned and pasteurized fish products
• Most processed composite foods from the EU

Our worked example — fresh mozzarella from Italy — falls into this category. It is a processed dairy product from an EU member state, classified as low risk, and does not require an accompanying health certificate from Italian authorities.

Pro Tip: Due to topical animal originated diseases in the EU, time to time, DEFRA requires: products need to comply with Article 4 of Assimilated Regulation 605/2010: Commission Regulation (EU) No 605/2010 and the importers must provide a processing statement or flowchart, signed by the manufacturer, demonstrating compliance with Article 4 (including temperature, time and treatment applied), and then Port Health may be able to proceed with the release/validation of the consignment.

Medium Risk

Medium-risk products require a health certificate and are subject to documentary, identity, and periodic physical checks at a higher frequency than low-risk consignments.

Examples:

• Fresh or frozen fish from the EU and the non-EU third countries
• Raw meat products from approved third countries
• Certain composite products containing animal products from third countries
• Any type of meat products from the EU countries.

High Risk

High-risk products face the most stringent controls — mandatory documentary, identity, and physical checks on a significant proportion of consignments, often requiring laboratory analysis of samples before release.

Examples:

• Live bivalve molluscs
• Raw poultry from certain third countries
• Products from establishments with a history of non-compliance

Pro tip: If you are unsure of your product's risk category, check the UK government's import conditions tool at www.gov.uk/import-goods-into-uk before starting your IPAFFS submission. Submitting the wrong CHED type wastes time and can cause Port Health to query the consignment on arrival.

Before You Begin: What You Need

Before logging into IPAFFS, gather everything on this list. Starting a submission without complete information leads to errors, incomplete drafts, and — if submitted incorrectly — Border Control Post delays.

Business registration:

• Your GB Economic Operator Registration and Identification (EORI) number
• Your IPAFFS account (registered at www.gov.uk/guidance/import-of-products-animals-food-and-feed-system)

From your supplier:

• Commercial invoice with exact product description, net weight, and number of packages
• Packing list
• Bill of lading or CMR (road transport document)
• Health certificate reference (if required for your product’s risk category)
• Approved establishment code (for POAO from third countries)

Before logging into IPAFFS, gather everything on this list. Starting a submission without complete information leads to errors, incomplete drafts, and — if submitted incorrectly — Border Control Post delays.

Business registration:

• Your GB Economic Operator Registration and Identification (EORI) number
• Your IPAFFS account (registered at www.gov.uk/guidance/import-of-products-animals-food-and-feed-system)

From your supplier:

• Commercial invoice with exact product description, net weight, and number of packages
• Packing list
• Bill of lading or CMR (road transport document)
• Health certificate reference (if required for your product’s risk category)
• Approved establishment code (for POAO from third countries)

For our mozzarella example, the key details are:

Common mistake: Many importers look up their product's tariff code for duty purposes but don't confirm it maps to the correct IPAFFS commodity code. The IPAFFS commodity list uses CN codes, which are aligned with but not always identical to the HS codes used for customs duty calculations. Always verify both before submitting.

How to Access IPAFFS

IPAFFS is accessed through the UK government’s online portal. You will need a Government Gateway account linked to your business’s EORI number, and you must have registered specifically for IPAFFS access.

To register:

1. Go to www.gov.uk/guidance/import-of-products-animals-food-and-feed-system
2. Select “Sign in to IPAFFS”
3. Log in with your Government Gateway credentials
4. If you have not yet registered for IPAFFS, follow the registration journey — you will need your EORI number and business details

Once registered, your account will be set up as an importer. If you are a customs agent submitting on behalf of clients, you will need to register as an agent and be authorised by each importer to act on their behalf.

Step-by-Step: Creating an IPAFFS Pre-Notification

We’ll now walk through the complete IPAFFS submission process using our mozzarella example — a consignment of fresh mozzarella cheese (0406103010) arriving from Italy by road freight via the Channel Tunnel.

Step 1: Start a New Notification

Once logged into IPAFFS, you will see your dashboard showing any existing notifications and their status.

Select “Create a new notification” from the main menu or dashboard.

You will be asked to select the type of notification. The options are:

• CHED-A — Live animals
• CHED-D — Certain animal products, composite products, and products of animal origin (POAO)
• CHED-P — High risk food and feed of non-animal origin
• CHED-PP — Plants and plant products

For our mozzarella consignment — a dairy product — select CHED-D.

Pro tip: Selecting the wrong CHED type is one of the most common IPAFFS errors. Once submitted, a CHED cannot be changed — it must be cancelled and resubmitted, which wastes time and can cause confusion at Port Health if the first submission has already been received. Double-check your CHED type before proceeding.

Step 2: Part 1 — Consignment Details

This section captures the high-level details of the consignment. Work through each field carefully.

Country of origin: Select “Italy” from the dropdown.

Country from where consigned: For our example, also Italy (the goods are being dispatched directly from the Italian supplier). Note: country of dispatch and country of origin can differ — for example, if goods are consolidated in a Dutch warehouse before shipping to the UK, the country of dispatch would be the Netherlands.

Does this consignment conform the regulatory requirements: Select yes for the UK market (import) shipments. You can select No if it’s transit or a transshipment to the UK.

Will the consignment change vehicle or means or transport after the Border Control Post (BCP): If the transport vehicle/vessel don’t change at the border; the answer is no.

Step 3: Commodity Details

This is the most technically detailed section and the one where most errors occur. Take your time here.

Commodity code: Enter 0406103010 — fresh mozzarella cheese. IPAFFS will populate the commodity description automatically. Verify it reads as expected before proceeding.

Species: For dairy products, you’ll be prompted to confirm the animal species. Select Cattle/Bovine for cow’s milk mozzarella. If your mozzarella is capri’s mozzarella, select Capra hircus — this is a common oversight that Port Health will notice on documentary check.

Treatment type: For fresh mozzarella, this will be “Not applicable” or “None” depending on the IPAFFS version — it has not been heat-treated to full pasteurisation in the same way as UHT products. However if it’s your product is treated with UHT or pasteurized heat treatment, select the correct heat treatment.

Main reason for the consignment: Select “Internal market for human consumption” for our mozzarella.

Step 4: Confirming Low-Risk Status and Health Certificate

For our mozzarella from Italy, the system should confirm that this is a low-risk product from an EU member state and that no health certificate is required.

If IPAFFS prompts you for a health certificate for a product you know to be low risk from the EU, stop and review your selections:

• Is the country of origin correctly set to Italy (EU member state)?
• Is the commodity code correct?
• Is the CHED type set to CHED-D rather than CHED-P?

One of these is likely incorrect. Do not proceed and attach a document you don’t have — if Port Health receives a CHED that has been submitted with incorrect selections, it complicates the clearance and can trigger an inspection.

Important: The regulatory position on EU dairy imports has evolved since Brexit and continues to be updated. Always check the current import requirements for your specific product on the UK government's import conditions tool before submitting, as risk categories and health certificate requirements can change with little notice.

Step 5: Commodity Details (Step 2)

Number of packages: Enter the exact number of boxes, cartons, or pallets as shown on the packing list.

Net weight: Enter the net weight in kilograms exactly as shown on the commercial invoice. Even a minor discrepancy — 499kg on IPAFFS versus 500kg on the invoice — can trigger a query at Port Health.

Gross weight: Enter the total gross weight including packaging.

Total volume (if applicable): For liquid products or products sold by volume, enter here.

Step 6: Documents

Upload the shipment documents correctly at this point onto IPAFFS. Carefully select the correct document type and enter the invoice number, CMR and/or health certificate Document reference number carefully. If your document doesn’t have a doc type here, you can select the other type. And if you suppose to submit the processing statement, flow charts, product related statements, upload each of the documents one by one.

Step 7: Search for an approved establishment

After entering your commodity details, IPAFFS will prompt you to provide information about the establishment where your product was produced, processed, or packed. This section is one of the most important — and most frequently mishandled — parts of the entire submission. What is required here depends on whether your goods are coming from an EU member state or a non-EU third country, so read this section carefully before entering any details.

EU Origin Products — Our Mozzarella Example

For our fresh mozzarella from Italy, IPAFFS will ask you to identify the food business establishment where the cheese was produced or packed. This is your Italian supplier’s dairy facility — not their head office or sales address, but the actual production site.

You will need to enter:

• Establishment name — the name of the dairy or food business as registered with the Italian competent authority (in Italy, this is the Ministero della Salute — Ministry of Health)
• Establishment approval number — the official approval number assigned to the facility by the Italian authorities. This typically follows the EU format: IT (country code) followed by a numerical approval code, for example IT 1234 CE
• Establishment address — the physical address of the production site

Your Italian supplier should be able to provide their establishment approval number immediately — it is a standard part of their food business registration and will appear on their health certificates, export documentation, and company letterhead. If your supplier cannot provide it or is unfamiliar with it, that is a red flag worth investigating before you place further orders.

Non-EU (Third Country) Products — When the Approved List Applies

If your product is coming from outside the EU — for example, mozzarella from the United States, fish from Vietnam, or meat from Brazil — the approved establishment requirement becomes significantly more stringent and carries serious consequences if overlooked.

All POAO imports from third countries must originate from an establishment that is officially approved by the UK government to export that product category to Great Britain. The UK maintains its own approved establishments list, which is separate from the EU’s list and is published and regularly updated on GOV.UK.

Step 8: Addresses

Enter the parties; exporter, consignee, importer and place of destination addresses correctly.

Exporter/consignor: For low-risk EU products, this is the supplier’s details. Enter the supplier’s business name and address.

Consignee details: This is the UK importer — your business name, address, and EORI number.

Importer/agent details: If you are submitting as an agent on behalf of the importer, enter your own details here and confirm you are acting as agent.

Step 9 : Transport to the port of entry

This section captures the details of how your consignment is physically travelling to the UK Border Control Post. It sounds straightforward, but it is one of the sections most frequently submitted with errors — largely because transport details are often confirmed late, change at short notice, or are simply copied incorrectly from the hauler’s documentation. Port Health uses these details to match your CHED to the physical consignment arriving at the BCP, so accuracy here matters.

Border Control Post of Entry

Select the specific BCP through which your goods will enter Great Britain. This must match the actual port of entry — you cannot notify for Dover and then send the truck through Sevington.

The main BCPs for food imports by road from the EU are:

Mode of Transport

The first field asks you to select the mode of transport being used to bring the goods into Great Britain. The options are:

• Road vehicle — for truck or trailer movements, including Channel Tunnel and ferry crossings
• Aeroplane — for air freight
• Ship — for sea freight arriving directly by vessel
• Railway — for rail freight (rare for food imports outside of certain bulk commodities)

For our mozzarella example arriving by road from Italy via the Channel Tunnel or Dover-Calais ferry, select Road vehicle.

If your consignment is arriving by sea freight in a container — for example, a reefer container of frozen food from a non-EU country — select Ship. The subsequent fields will change depending on your selection, so make sure you choose the correct mode before proceeding.

Transport Document Reference Number

This field requires the reference number from the transport document accompanying the consignment. The correct document depends on the mode of transport:

For our mozzarella example, enter the CMR number exactly as it appears on the road consignment note issued by the haulier. This number is how Port Health cross-references your CHED against the physical vehicle arriving at the BCP.

Vehicle Registration / Trailer Number

Enter the registration number of the vehicle or trailer carrying the consignment. For road freight, this is typically the trailer plate number — the trailer is what carries the goods and what Port Health will be looking for on arrival.

Your haulier should confirm the trailer number when they collect the goods from your supplier. For EU road movements, this is usually a European trailer plate — for example, an Italian or French-registered trailer. Enter it exactly as it appears, including the country prefix if shown.

What if the trailer is changed en route?

This happens more commonly than you might expect — particularly on long-haul EU movements where tractor units and trailers are swapped at transit hubs, or where a trailer develops a mechanical issue and the load is transferred. If your haulier informs you that the trailer number has changed, log into IPAFFS and update the vehicle registration field immediately. Do not wait until the goods are at the BCP.

Seal Number (Where Applicable)

For containerised sea freight and some road movements, the consignment will be sealed with a numbered security seal. If your goods are travelling under a customs seal — for example, under a T1 transit procedure from an EU port — enter the seal number here.

For standard road freight from the EU direct to a UK BCP, this field may not be mandatory, but if a seal is present on the trailer, entering it adds an additional layer of traceability and assists Port Health during identity checks.

Will the transport use the Goods Vehicle Movement Service (GVMS)?

The answer is yes for most of the EU – UK road shipments. And the answer is no for air, sea and rail shipments.

Step 10: Review and Submit

Before submitting, IPAFFS will present a summary screen showing every field you have completed. This is your final opportunity to check everything against your commercial invoice, packing list, and any other documentation.

Go through each section methodically:

• Consignee details match your business registration
• Commodity code 0406103010 — correct species
• Net weight matches commercial invoice exactly
• Number of packages matches packing list
• BCP of entry is correct for your routing
• Expected arrival date and time is realistic
• Batch/lot numbers are entered
• Use-by dates are correct and the earliest date is shown
• No health certificate required — low risk EU confirmed

When you are satisfied, click “Submit notification.”

The system will generate your CHED reference number — this is your pre-notification confirmation. Note this number immediately and share it with your haulier, supplier, and any Port Health contacts.

Step 11: Provide the CHED Reference to Your Haulier

Once your CHED is submitted and the reference number is generated, immediately pass it to:

• Your haulier or transport company (they will need it)
• Your supplier (so they can reference it on any accompanying documentation)
• Your internal records
• Customs agents to declare the CHED reference on your import customs declaration

In many cases, the Port Health Authority will also want the CHED reference in advance of arrival — your AEO-authorised customs agent (if you are using one) will typically manage this communication directly.

Pro tip: Save your CHED reference in your shipment tracking system alongside the CMR number, invoice number, and arrival date. When Port Health calls with a query, having all reference numbers immediately to hand speeds up resolution significantly

What Happens at the Border Control Post

When your haulier arrives at the BCP — in our mozzarella example, Sevington or Dover — Port Health Officers will search for your CHED on the IPAFFS system using the reference number.

Documentary check: Port Health reviews your CHED against any accompanying documentation. For our low-risk Italian mozzarella, this is the primary check. They will verify the commodity description, weight, batch numbers, and use-by dates against your commercial invoice and packing list. They may also check that the product is from an approved food business registered in Italy.

Identity check: A proportion of consignments — even low-risk ones — will be selected for an identity check. An officer will physically verify that the consignment matches the CHED — correct number of packages, correct labelling, correct species.

Physical check: For low-risk EU products like our mozzarella, routine physical inspections are uncommon. However, they can be triggered by intelligence (for example, a previous non-compliance by the same supplier), a random selection, or a discrepancy identified during the documentary check.

Clearance decision: If all checks are satisfactory, Port Health completes Part 3 of the CHED on IPAFFS and the consignment is released. Your haulier can proceed to the delivery address.

If there is a problem: Port Health will contact the importer (you) directly or via your customs agent. They may request additional documentation, hold the goods for further inspection, or — in serious cases — issue a refusal of entry.

Updating and Amending an IPAFFS Notification

Circumstances change — hauliers are delayed, vessels miss their slot, arrival times shift. Here is what you can and cannot do after submission:

You can update: Arrival date and time, transport details, BCP of entry (before the goods arrive), consignee address if corrected.

You cannot change: Commodity code, net weight, country of origin, or risk category after submission. If these details are wrong, you must cancel the existing CHED and resubmit a new one.

Cancelling a CHED: Go to the notification in your IPAFFS dashboard, select “Cancel notification,” and provide a reason. Create a new notification with the correct details. If the goods are already at the BCP, contact Port Health immediately to explain the situation — do not simply cancel without communicating.

Pro tip: If your haulier tells you the truck will arrive 6 hours later than planned, log in to IPAFFS and update the arrival time immediately. Port Health BCPs are busy — they prioritise consignments by expected arrival slot. A consignment that arrives several hours later than notified may face additional queuing time while officers attend to other flagged shipments.

Common IPAFFS Errors and How to Avoid Them

In the course of processing IPAFFS notifications for our clients, these are the errors we see most frequently — and the ones that cause the most disruption:

1. Net weight mismatch The single most common cause of a Port Health documentary query. Even a rounding difference of 0.5kg between the CHED and commercial invoice will be noted. Always copy the weight directly from the invoice — do not round or estimate.

2. Wrong Border Control Post Your CHED must show the BCP your goods will actually enter through. Hauliers occasionally change routing at short notice — Eurotunnel versus Dover ferry, for example. If this happens, update your IPAFFS before the goods arrive.

3. Generic or vague commodity description “Cheese” is not sufficient. “Fresh mozzarella — cow’s milk — 0406103010” is. Port Health Officers check commodity descriptions against the goods they inspect. Vague descriptions trigger identity checks.

4. Submitting too late IPAFFS requires pre-notification at least one working day before arrival. For practical purposes at busy BCPs, we recommend submitting as soon as documentation is received from your supplier — often 24–48 hours before arrival. Submitting the morning of arrival for a same-day delivery creates unnecessary risk.

5. Incorrect species for products For instance fishes and sea foods are ver complicated with Latin species names and are classified differently in IPAFFS. The species selection must match the actual product. If your supplier produces both and mixes batches, clarify with them before submitting.

6. Missing or incorrect use-by dates For fresh products, Port Health checks use-by dates as part of the documentary review. If your mozzarella has a 21-day shelf life and the use-by date on the CHED has already passed by the time the goods arrive — even by one day — the consignment may be refused.

7. Submitting a CHED-P instead of CHED-D (or vice versa) CHED-D covers certain animal products and composite products. CHED-P covers POAO. Dairy products from the EU typically fall under CHED-D. Selecting the wrong CHED type means Port Health cannot process your consignment correctly on the system.

IPAFFS Fees: What Does It Cost?

IPAFFS itself is a government system and does not carry a direct submission fee. However, associated costs include:

Port Health document fee: It is around £10 and it’s exactly £10 for Ashford Port Health for EU road shipments.

Common User Charges: You must pay the common user charge for your goods if they meet all of the following conditions. They:

• are imports entering Great Britain, or are a type of transit movement entering or leaving Great Britain
• are commercial movements of animal products, high risk food and feed of non-animal origin (HRFNAO), high and medium risk A plants and plant products
• move through the Port of Dover or Eurotunnel
• are eligible for sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) checks at the government-run border control post (BCP) in Sevington, Kent, even if the authorities do not select your goods for checks

IPAFFS and Your AEO Customs Agent: How It Works Together

If you use an AEO-authorised customs agent to manage your imports, IPAFFS pre-notification is typically part of the service — and should be. The CHED and your customs entry (the import declaration submitted to HMRC on the Customs Declaration Service) are interlinked documents, and errors or inconsistencies between them can trigger enquiries from both Port Health and HMRC simultaneously.

A specialist food customs agent, like Fn Customs will:

• Receive your shipping documentation from the supplier
• Cross-reference all details before submission
• Submit the IPAFFS pre-notification well in advance of arrival
• Communicate the CHED reference to your haulier and Port Health BCP
• Monitor the consignment status through the BCP
• Alert you immediately if Port Health raises any queries
• Manage the customs entry in parallel so both declarations are consistent

AEO (Authorised Economic Operator) status adds an additional layer of confidence at the border. AEO-authorised importers and their agents benefit from reduced physical inspection rates and priority processing — which, for perishable food imports, can make a material difference to how quickly your goods clear.

At Fn Customs, every IPAFFS submission goes through a mandatory cross-referencing check against the commercial invoice, packing list, and transport document before submission. It takes an extra 15 minutes. In the time we've been doing this, it has prevented dozens of consignments from being held at the border unnecessarily.

A Complete Documentation Checklist for Your Next IPAFFS Submission

Use this checklist before every submission:

Before you start:

• IPAFFS account active and accessible
• EORI number to hand
• Commodity code confirmed (verify on UK trade tariff)
• Product risk category confirmed (low / medium / high)
• Correct CHED type identified (CHED-D / CHED-P / CHED-PP / CHED-A)

From your supplier:

• Commercial invoice with exact product description, net weight, country of origin
• Packing list with number of packages, gross weight, batch/lot numbers
• CMR or Bill of Lading with transport details
• Health certificate (if required for your product/risk category)
• Approved establishment details (for non-EU POAO)

During submission:

• Country of origin matches invoice
• Country of dispatch entered correctly
• Net weight copied exactly from invoice (do not round)
• Species entered correctly (cattle, buffalo, poultry, etc.)
• Batch/lot numbers entered
• Earliest use-by date entered
• BCP of entry matches haulier’s planned route
• Arrival date and time are realistic

After submission:

• CHED reference number recorded
• CHED reference shared with haulier
• CHED reference shared with your customs agent (if separate)
• Customs entry submitted and consistent with CHED details

Frequently Asked Questions About IPAFFS

Can my EU supplier submit IPAFFS on my behalf? No. Only UK-registered businesses or their UK-registered agents can submit IPAFFS notifications. Your EU supplier cannot access or submit on the IPAFFS platform.

What happens if I forget to submit IPAFFS before my goods arrive? Your goods will be held at the BCP. Port Health cannot release a consignment without a CHED.

Do I need IPAFFS for every single shipment, even small ones? Yes, if the product falls within IPAFFS scope. There is no minimum quantity threshold for commercial food imports. A single pallet of mozzarella from Italy needs an IPAFFS pre-notification exactly as a full truck load does.

Can one CHED cover multiple product types? In some cases, yes — where products are of the same CHED type and risk category, they can be included in a single notification. However, if your consignment includes products of different risk categories or different CHED types, you will need separate notifications for each. When in doubt, submit separate CHEDs.

How long does IPAFFS pre-notification take? For a straightforward low-risk EU product like our mozzarella example, a complete and accurate IPAFFS submission takes approximately 20–30 minutes. Complex consignments with multiple commodity lines, health certificates, or third-country origin requirements take longer.

Can I update the CHED after submission? You can update certain fields — arrival time, transport details — after submission. You cannot change commodity codes, weights, or country of origin. For significant changes, cancel and resubmit.

Need Help With Your IPAFFS Submissions?

IPAFFS is manageable once you know the system — but getting it consistently right across every shipment, every week, requires attention to detail that is difficult to maintain alongside running an import business. One missed submission, one incorrect weight, one wrong BCP selection — and your perishable cargo is sitting at the border accumulating storage charges while Port Health works through the queue.

At Fn Customs, IPAFFS pre-notification is part of our core food import service. We handle submissions for dairy, meat, seafood, pet food, and composite food products arriving from EU and non-EU origins. Our AEO status means your consignments benefit from priority processing and reduced inspection rates at Border Control Posts. And our transparent fee structure means you know exactly what you’re paying before your goods arrive.

If you’re spending time wrestling with IPAFFS submissions yourself — or if your current agent isn’t giving you the proactive communication and documentary rigour your food imports deserve — get in touch with our team. We’ll review your current process, identify the risk points, and take the IPAFFS burden off your desk entirely.

Fn Customs Limited is an AEO-authorised customs clearance and freight forwarding agency based in Nottingham, specialising in food and perishable imports into the UK.