Changes to the Simplified Procedure Value (SPV) system for calculating import duty payments are likely during the course of 2005 and the proposal on the table offers significantly reduced coverag of the industry.

The European Commission is considering the abolition of the system. If this were accepted, the alternative methods of duty calculation - invoice value and account sales methods - would have to be used. So far this has been opposed by some EU member states.

An alternative system currently being considered would involve a reduced number of products and a reduced number of sources of price information (which is used to calculate the product value and subsequent duty liability).

The proposal under discussion would be different to the current system as it has operated in the UK in that it would be compulsory to use the invoice value as the customs valuation method if a contract exists or a price has been agreed. The proposed SPV-replacement system would only be available for use where no contract exists or no price has been agreed.

The products covered by the SPV system are:

New potatoes, onions, garlic, leeks, cabbage, broccoli, Chinese leaf, carrots, radish, peas, beans, asparagus, aubergines, celery, chanterelles, sweet peppers, sweet potatoes, pineapples, avocado, oranges, clementines and other soft citrus, limes, grapefruit, grapes, water melons, melons, pears, apricots, cherries, peaches, nectarines, plums, strawberries, raspberries, bilberries, kiwifruit, pomegranates, kakis.

The proposal for a replacement system would only cover about half of the products that the current SPV system covers:

New potatoes, onions, garlic, beans (Phaseolus ssp. Vulgaris var. compressus savi), sweet peppers, pineapples, avocados, sweet oranges (other than sanguine and semi-sanguine oranges), clementines, monreales and satsumas, limes, grapefruit, table grapes, watermelons, melons, pears, cherries, plums and kiwifruit.

The FPC has requested a meeting with HM Customs to express concerns with the overall position. It has stated its objection on behalf of the industry to the limited range of products to Defra and HM Customs & Excise and have requested that as many products as possible be included within a replacement system. The FPC priority products for re-inclusion are carrots, peas, beans (Vigna Spp. Phaseolus spp.), green asparagus, sweet potato, sanguine and semi-sanguine oranges, mandarines and wilkings, tangerines and other soft citrus, apricots, peaches, nectarines, strawberries, raspberries and bilberries.

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