In the European Union (and other countries with which the EU has a trade agreement), e-prepackaged goods can be freely traded. After Brexit, are e-prepackaged goods from the United Kingdom also allowed to be freely traded?

The trade agreement between the European Union and the United Kingdom does not cover e-prepackaged goods. As a result, anyone purchasing e-prepackaged goods from the UK becomes an importer with associated responsibilities.

Brexit has consequences for Dutch companies that want to bring e-prepackaged goods from the United Kingdom to the Dutch or European market.

Since the United Kingdom is now considered a “third country” after Brexit, responsibilities change. Until 31 December 2020, it was the responsibility of the British packager to ensure that e-prepackaged goods met the requirements. From 1 January 2021, that responsibility lies with the Dutch importer.

The importer can fulfill their responsibility in two ways:

1. The importer conducts their own measurements and inspections to ensure that the e-prepackaged goods comply before further trading. For this, the importer needs an accredited e-marking system, which can be requested from NMi (via e-merk@nmi.nl).
2. The importer requires a declaration as evidence that they have sufficient guarantees to assume responsibility. This declaration must be requested from NMi (via e-merk@nmi.nl).

Before issuing such a declaration, NMi conducts an investigation into the quality of the evidence and guarantees. NMi then provides advice on the suitability of that evidence and guarantees, which can lead to the issuance of such a declaration.

Regular procedure:

The importer can submit any type of evidence and guarantees to NMi, but typically, it includes the following information:

• Importer’s details in the Netherlands
• Packager(s)’ details in the non-EU country
• Description of the e-marking system of the packager(s)
• Assessment of the proper functioning of the e-marking system of the packager(s) by NMi or another independent qualified third party

The importer can request an “application form for import from a third country” from NMi (via e-merk@nmi.nl).

The processing time for the application is approximately 1 month.

For Brexit, there is an expedited procedure:

The application for such a declaration can follow an expedited procedure if the importer provides the following evidence and guarantees with their application:

• Importer’s details in the Netherlands
• Packager(s)’ details in the UK
• Initially, no description of the e-marking system of the packager(s) in the UK
• Visit report not older than 1 year from the local British Trading Standards Service (TSD), indicating that the e-marking system of the packager(s) complies with:
  • the Weights and Measures (Packaged Goods) Regulations 2006; and
  • Guidance v.4 from December 2015.

If there is no visit report or if it is older than 1 year, the application will follow the regular procedure.

The importer can request an “application form for the expedited Brexit procedure” from NMi (via e-merk@nmi.nl).

With the expedited procedure, the importer can import one year after the visit from the Trading Standards Service. If no trade agreement with the EU is reached during this period, there is time to initiate and complete the regular procedure.

Once all information is complete, the processing time for the expedited procedure is approximately 10 working days.