EU Border..Food

EU Border..Food

Author
Discussion

chrisring

Original Poster:

206 posts

152 months

Tuesday 12th January 2021
quotequote all
I'm seeing news reports of vehicles being checked entering the EU and checks being made for food and meat and dairy etc being confiscated.

I imagine many of us when visiting Le Mans would be taking some of our own food over?
I would have taken steaks, bacon and Spam etc..
Are we no longer going to be allowed to do this??


eps

6,436 posts

276 months

Tuesday 12th January 2021
quotequote all
Not sure they'd be able to tell if SPAM was POAO or not.... The rest would be binned.

You can buy steaks in supermarkets in France and bacon - if you arrive early enough. We usually freeze a bit of bacon though and then use for a couple of days while there..

This is what we've signed up to.

Printertosh

567 posts

175 months

Tuesday 12th January 2021
quotequote all
I was just thinking about this. What if it's a sealed pack of Danish bacon. I wonder if it had to be packed in the EU as well as sourced from there! Surely they can't ban people from taking in their own produce. Saying that it is the EU wobble
I don't mind getting everything there but it's sometimes handy having some milk and butter in the motorhome fridge for travelling frown
I wonder if we'll start banning it coming the other way! French cheese, Jambon de Paris, Merguez, etc. Usually stock up on the way back eek

//j17

4,616 posts

230 months

Tuesday 12th January 2021
quotequote all
Printertosh said:
I was just thinking about this. What if it's a sealed pack of Danish bacon. I wonder if it had to be packed in the EU as well as sourced from there! Surely they can't ban people from taking in their own produce. Saying that it is the EU wobble
The EU has long-standing rules about the import of 'processed animal products' from outside the EU without the full supporting paperwork that, following Brexit now apply to the UK. In the example of Danish bacon it has been exported from the UK and you are trying to re-import it from outside the EU. Re-importing is importing so not permitted.

And yes, they surely can ban people from taking in their own produce - if that produce is being imported into the EU from outside the EU it's being imported into the EU so the EU import regulations apply.

And as for "Saying that it is the EU", well these are not new rules, they are the long standing ones that have been in place since way before 2016 and as such the rules we all knew we were voting to have applied when we voted to leave the EU.

Truckosaurus

12,047 posts

291 months

Tuesday 12th January 2021
quotequote all
More importantly, how much beer can we bring back? biggrin

LawrieC

583 posts

111 months

Tuesday 12th January 2021
quotequote all
Sounds like the Percy Pig rules. Marks and Spencers sweets, made in Germany, and sent to the UK cannot be sent to France,

Yes Minister Rules OK

OvalOwl

928 posts

138 months

Tuesday 12th January 2021
quotequote all
Truckosaurus said:
More importantly, how much beer can we bring back? biggrin
Less than you used to be able to..

42 litres of beer, 18 litres of non sparkling wine, 9 litres of fizz.

https://www.gov.uk/duty-free-goods/arriving-in-Gre...

However, it seems that you can bring meat and dairy from the EU into Britain; so load up with nice cheese, saucisson sec and mreguez. smile

ecsrobin

17,840 posts

172 months

Tuesday 12th January 2021
quotequote all
I guess factor in time to do a shop once you’re in France?

Will be interesting if this is a temporary thing or if an agreement will be put in place.

gruffalo

7,686 posts

233 months

Tuesday 12th January 2021
quotequote all
OvalOwl said:
Truckosaurus said:
More importantly, how much beer can we bring back? biggrin
Less than you used to be able to..

42 litres of beer, 18 litres of non sparkling wine, 9 litres of fizz.

https://www.gov.uk/duty-free-goods/arriving-in-Gre...

However, it seems that you can bring meat and dairy from the EU into Britain; so load up with nice cheese, saucisson sec and mreguez. smile
Those limits are for Duty Free which did not exist between the UK and France while in the EU.

If you are talking about French bought beer and wine then fill your boots just like before, if you go to what is now a Duty Free shop in the terminal the the limits you posted apply.

//j17

4,616 posts

230 months

Wednesday 13th January 2021
quotequote all
gruffalo said:
Those limits are for Duty Free which did not exist between the UK and France while in the EU.

If you are talking about French bought beer and wine then fill your boots just like before, if you go to what is now a Duty Free shop in the terminal the the limits you posted apply.
Yes and no.

Yes those are the duty free IMPORT limits.
Yes, you can still fill your boot and bring back more that the duty free limits BUT you'll need to declare the excess and pay the appropreate import duty. If you use the ferry you'll need to check for your specific route but for the Eurotunnel there's no "red channel" at Folkstone as it wasn't a customs border when it was built, so you need to complete the declaration before you return (https://www.eurotunnel.com/uk/post-brexit-travel/ and https://www.gov.uk/duty-free-goods/declaring-goods...

Oh, and I seem to remember reading that the UK is dropping VAT reclaim for personal imports, so for say supermarket bought alcohol you'll be paying, but unable to reclaim French VAT, then for anything over the duty free limit, need to pay UK duty on the French 'inc. VAT' price of the goods. Getting to pay UK tax on the value of French tax, another Brexit dividend.

Your theoretical best option, other than being in a customs union of course, would be to fill your boot from the Duty Free Shop. You'll still only be able to import the same amount into the UK without paying UK import duty but wouldn't be paying French VAT on the rest, so only paying UK duty on the pre-tax price. But like I said that's the theoretical best option based on the assumption the price for a bottle of X is cheaper in the Duty Free Shop than on a French supermarket shelf, which is quite a big assumption...

Edited by //j17 on Wednesday 13th January 10:25

LawrieC

583 posts

111 months

Wednesday 13th January 2021
quotequote all
Thanks. I think I might manage on 7 cases of beer, 24 bottles of wine and 12 of fizz or port (or 5 of Scotch) plus 200 fags

eps

6,436 posts

276 months

Wednesday 13th January 2021
quotequote all
So can we take tea bags with us??? Might be a deal breaker

ecsrobin

17,840 posts

172 months

Wednesday 13th January 2021
quotequote all
LawrieC said:
Thanks. I think I might manage on 7 cases of beer, 24 bottles of wine and 12 of fizz or port (or 5 of Scotch) plus 200 fags
Not forgetting that’s an individual allowance so it really isn’t that bad.

chasingracecars

1,696 posts

104 months

Wednesday 13th January 2021
quotequote all
I’m soo glad I live in Ireland and will not have this problem! We get all the usual U.K. stuff in the supermarkets and we are still in the EU!

Burrow01

1,909 posts

199 months

Wednesday 13th January 2021
quotequote all

chrisring

Original Poster:

206 posts

152 months

Thursday 14th January 2021
quotequote all
eps said:
So can we take tea bags with us??? Might be a deal breaker
Tea Bags, Spam, Bacon...its all madness wink

I think the days of the jolly wave through I used to get at Roscoff maybe over!

Previously I would have travelled over on the Saturday ferry arriving Sunday morning.
Then a drive down to Le Mans arriving mid afternoon.

As we know, the French keep most of their shops shut on a Sunday so I would have always taken provisions for a couple of days with me.
....and half a cow in steaks!!

Now, I know French beef is OK but I'm not sure if my Dental insurance will cover me over there now!! wink





pincher

9,035 posts

224 months

Thursday 14th January 2021
quotequote all
I’m sure it will all have been sorted in time for the first time you can actually go to the race......next year frown

//j17

4,616 posts

230 months

Thursday 14th January 2021
quotequote all
eps said:
So can we take tea bags with us??? Might be a deal breaker
Tea and tea bags aren't POAO (Products Of Animal Origin) so shouldn't be effected. Even if they are the Carrefour in Center Sud actually has quite a good little British food section that includes British tea bags, McVities Digestives, etc.

//j17

4,616 posts

230 months

Thursday 14th January 2021
quotequote all
chasingracecars said:
I’m soo glad I live in Ireland and will not have this problem! We get all the usual U.K. stuff in the supermarkets and we are still in the EU!
Provided you go direct from Eire to France of course. If you transit Eire -> UK -> France first off when you exit the EU/enter UK you'd need to check any UK import regulations, and would then come under UK-> EU rules when you exit the UK/re-enter the EU.

Thankfully (for you) that should be esier/more pleasent given Stena Line's announcement that, due to Brexit the new "Belfast/Liverpool" boat, Stena Embla, ISN'T going on the Belfast/Liverpool route but is actually going onto the Rosslare/Cherbourg route instead - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-556...

Printertosh

567 posts

175 months

Thursday 14th January 2021
quotequote all
//j17 said:
Printertosh said:
I was just thinking about this. What if it's a sealed pack of Danish bacon. I wonder if it had to be packed in the EU as well as sourced from there! Surely they can't ban people from taking in their own produce. Saying that it is the EU wobble
The EU has long-standing rules about the import of 'processed animal products' from outside the EU without the full supporting paperwork that, following Brexit now apply to the UK. In the example of Danish bacon it has been exported from the UK and you are trying to re-import it from outside the EU. Re-importing is importing so not permitted.

And yes, they surely can ban people from taking in their own produce - if that produce is being imported into the EU from outside the EU it's being imported into the EU so the EU import regulations apply.

And as for "Saying that it is the EU", well these are not new rules, they are the long standing ones that have been in place since way before 2016 and as such the rules we all knew we were voting to have applied when we voted to leave the EU.
And there I was thinking that how EU and UK dealt with each other after 1st January 2021 wasn't agreed until 24th December 2020. Thanks for pointing everything out type