11.10.2018
News from TTF – Timber Trade Federation
Included in DEFRA (Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs)’s list of notices, is the guidance on buying and selling timber if there’s no Brexit deal. The notice sets out how buying and selling timber or timber products covered by EUTR and FLEGT regulation would be affected if the UK leaves the EU in March 2019 without a deal.
The full guidance can be found here and follows previous TTF advice that a « no deal » scenario will involve a far greater administrative and cost burden.
After March 2019, in the event of « no deal », key points include:
Additionally, there is a notice on importing and exporting plants and plant products if there’s no Brexit deal. There is no mention of timber but does allude to Wood Packaging Material:
“As indicated in the EU’s technical notice on this topic, in the unlikely event of the UK leaving the EU in March 2019 without a deal, all WPM moving between the UK and the EU would need to be ISPM15 compliant (treated and marked). These products may be subject to official checks either upon entry to the EU or after entry. DEFRA, the Forestry Commission and other relevant UK plant health authorities are working with the WPM sector who understand what actions they will need to take to manage this new requirement in a no deal scenario.”
The TTF has organised a follow up roundtable with HMRC to discuss wider tax, VAT & customs topics related to the timber trade and will report to members in November.
