British fruit and vegetable trade association the FreshProduce Consortium (FPC) has welcomed plans for the introduction of anAutomatic Licence Verification (ALV) system for imports into the UK, but says“outstanding IT issues” still need to be resolved.
Theorganisation said in a statement that long awaited benefits for importers andagents from simplifying procedures for importing fresh produce should berealised when the ALV system is implemented fully around January 2010.
However,the FPC said the sector needed urgent assurance from the UK government thatoutstanding IT issues will be resolved well in advance in order to haveconfidence in the automated system when it replaces existing processes.
The system is set to feature a real-time updating facilitythat should result in the customsclearance times of containers being reduced from the current two hours down to10-15 minutes, once the inspection decision has been made.
However, FPC chief executiveNigel Jenney said that “instability” in UK customs authorities’ systems had ledto an “unacceptable” delay until the end of 2009 before the ALV facility’sstability could be guaranteed.
“Ourconcern is that any further delay may compromise a realistic ‘go live’ date,”he said.
“It isessential that the industry has a fully workable system available before a keyperiod of major activity.”
But MrJenney added: “We are keen to encourage other companies to get on board withthe phased roll out to take advantage of the improvements.
“Theindustry has waited long enough to have a streamlined process which isestimated to save the industry around £1m each year.”
The ALVprocess will cover goods, controlled by HMI (Horticultural MarketingInspectorate) or PHSI (Plant Health and Seeds Inspectorate) imported intoEngland and Wales from third countries outside the European Union.
It willalso cover imports of controlled goods sourced from third countries that enterthe EU via another member state prior to onward movement to England or Wales totheir final destination in the UK.
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