Goods arriving from countries outside the EU/EEA and Switzerland that are subject to veterinary or phytosanitary restrictionsand required to have a Common Health Entry Document (CHED), must be approved by the Norwegian Food Safety Authority before undergoing any customs procedure. These changes entered into force on the 1st of January 2023.
Goods that are required to have a CHED and that are subject to veterinary or phytosanitary restrictions, must also be declared if they are subject to the procedure customs warehousing.
The main objective of these changes is to ensure thatanimal and non-animal foodstuffs, feed and the likes are imported in accordance with the provisions of the EEA Agreement and do not spread infectious and dangerous animal and plant diseases.
Please note that only goods that are obligated to use CHED will be subject to the declaration requirement. Goods subject solely to national plant health rules are not covered by this requirement and maybe declared as usual. These goods include, for example, cut flowers, potted plants, and Christmas trees.
Moreover, goods arriving under a transit procedure directly from a third country with Norway as its final destination, must undergo a separate customs procedure. Apart from this, goods may be declared in an ordinary manner. Reference to CHED must be provided in box 44.
The declaration requirement leads to changes in procedures for importation, placing goods in customs warehouses, and the issuance of unloading permits. To avoid delays, it is important to adhere to the procedure. The procedure and technical adjustments are described further down on this page.
CHED-obligatory goods arriving in Norway via an EEA country or Switzerland
Please note that CHED-goods that must be declared for the procedure customs warehousing also applies when the goods in question are imported to Norway via an EEA country or Switzerland. For such goods a CHED-certificate must be issued before the goods arrive in Norway.
For further information as to what goods are subject to CHED, please consult the webpages of Norwegian Food Safety Authority (Food and beverages | Mattilsynet).
Procedure description for declaration and unloading permit for CHED-obligatory goods from third countries subject to inspection by the Norwegian Food Safety Authority
1. The goods must be reported in TRACES - CHED part 1 in accordance with the deadlines provided by the Norwegian Food Safety Authority.
2. A declaration is submittedin TVINN to clearance unit 448001 for the procedures customs warehousing or release for free circulation, depending on the following customs procedures and available information. The CHED-number must be provided in box 44.
3. The customs representative sends an email to ched@toll.no notifying Norwegian Customs that the declaration may be reviewed. The declaration-ID must be included in the email.
4. The declaration and CHED part 1 is manually reviewed by the Norwegian Customs.
5. Notification of a limited issuance of loading permit is returned to the importer/customs representative.
6. The importer/customs representative must submitthe declaration-ID from TVINN in the box labelled “Customs Document Reference” in CHED part 1 in TRACES. This is to ensure an expedited process between the Norwegian Customs and the Norwegian Food Safety Authority.
7. The goods must be unloaded at the location decided by the Norwegian Food Safety Authority. When the goods are unloaded, the contents will be inspected.
8. The Norwegian Food Safety Authority enters the result of the inspection and approves or rejects the CHED in TRACES.
9. If the goods do not pass the inspection, further action is decided by the Norwegian Food Safety Authority. This normally results in either the goods being returned or destroyed. If this happens, the declaration will be rejected in TVINN with reference to the decision made by the Norwegian Food Safety Authority.
10. The Norwegian Food Safety Authority notifies Norwegian Customs with the outcome of the inspection. The CHED will be reviewed and if everything is in order, the goods will be clearedin TVINN and will be assigned a clearance and serial number. At this point, the goods may be handled in accordance with the chosen customs procedure.
Technical and practical overview for declaring goods subject to CHED
New clearance unit
A clearance unit in TVINN named “CHED-unit” (number 448001) has been established. It enables the necessary dialogue between the Norwegian Food Safety Authority and Norwegian Customs needed to conduct their respective reviews and inspections simultaneously. The clearance can also review a customs declaration up to five days prior to crossing the Norwegian border.
New type of declaration for customs warehousing
A clearance type 7 for declaring goods that are to be placed in customs warehouses has been established. While this clearance type is not new, declarants who are just beginning to use it must ensure that their own software supports this clearance type.