Belfast, Northern Ireland: Retailers will be given extra time to phase in new checks meaning food supplies from Britain to Northern Ireland do not face disruption from January – whether or not there is a Brexit deal.
This will allow supermarkets to adapt their systems to deal with new Brexit controls required by the EU. It is part of the agreement reached between the UK and EU on how the new Irish Sea border will operate.
The rules will apply whether or not the two sides can agree a trade deal.
The so-called “grace period” will initially be for three months, with six months guaranteed for chilled meat products. From 1 January, Northern Ireland will stay in the EU single market for goods but the rest of the UK will leave.That means a proportion of food products arriving in Northern Ireland from Great Britain will need to be checked.
EU rules on products of animal origin: meat, milk, fish and eggs require these products to enter through a border control post where paperwork is checked and a proportion of goods are physically inspected.
Several supermarket chains had warned the supply of some products from Britain to Northern Ireland could be reduced due to the cost of the extra administrative burden.
