Closure of PEACH from 8th April 2024
From the 8th April 2024 PEACH will no longer be available to make pre-notifications. As a result all imports of regulated and notifiable consignments for Plant & Plant products into the UK will have to be submitted via the IPAFFS system. Start Using IPAFFS NOW - register here. To attend IPAFFS webinar training - register here.

No new registrations being accepted on PEACH
If you need to make import pre-notifications and you are not an existing PEACH user, you must submit your prenotifications through IPAFFS - register here.
If you are a current user of PEACH you can continue to use your account until 8th April 2024.

Commodity code change on Green Bananas
On the 1st January 2024 HMRC changed the Commodity Code for Green Bananas 0803 90 10 00 to 0803 9011 00 (Platano de Canarias) or 0803 9019 00 (Other). Changes are required to be made on the Online Trade Tariff and until further notice a manual clearance will be required. For further details see (Tariff notice)

Marketing Standards checks on EU imports
The gov.uk guidance page for importing fruits and vegetables has recently been updated – it can be accessed at this link. Please note it confirms that marketing standards controls for fruit and vegetables imported from the EU are not expected to be introduced before at least 1 February 2025.

Pre-notifications on low risk fruit and vegetables no longer required
From the 17 November 2023, you will no longer be required to make pre-notifications on PEACH for low-risk fruit and vegetables from the EU.
If your goods are of EU origin or are of non-EU origin but have entered free circulation in the EU, then you will no longer be required to pre-notify. A list of goods impacted by this can be found on the Plant Health Portal.
Risk assessments are a dynamic process, so all commodities remain under continuous review. Fruit and vegetables, including those from the EU, are being prioritised to address uncertainties to make sure they are in the most appropriate category. Trade will be given sufficient advance notification of any changes.

PEACH user guidance videos
Screen recording videos demonstrating how to do a PEACH application are available from these links. Plant Health EU import video (updated 30/03/23). HMI import video. How to complete a Plant Health CSV file for plants for planting video.
For technical assistance using PEACH or HMI issues contact the Peach Help Desk on 0345 6073224 (weekdays 07:00 to 22:00, Saturday 09:00 to 18:00, Sunday 09:00 to 14:00) and select option 1 for Government gateway issues and option 2 for all other queries. Send e-mail enquiries to PEACHEnquiries@apha.gov.uk.

For queries on Plant Health regulated goods please call The Imports Helpdesk on 0300 100 0313 (06:00 to 24:00 every day) or e-mail phsi-importers@apha.gov.uk

HMRC customs declaration codes for Peach applications
Details of document codes and identifiers used in CDS for customs clearance can be found here on Gov.uk.

Importing aquatic plants
All importers of aquatic plants should use the commodity option "Aquatics" from the drop-down list instead of "Cuttings and Young Plants" when creating an application on PEACH in order to ensure the plants are correctly risk-assessed. More details on inspection rates can be found here.

Additional Declarations
Please note that the required reference to GB legislation for all additional declarations has been corrected and should now be "This consignment complies with Item xx of Annex 7 to Great Britain’s Phytosanitary Conditions Regulation (2019/2072" Full details are given on the Plant Health Portal.

Commodity Code changes from 30th June 2023
On the 30 June 2023 changes were made to the import tariff tool that impacted several CN codes (which can no longer be used) that are regulated for Plant Health and Marketing Standard (GMS only) purposes. We are making changes to IPAFFS and PEACH notification systems, to reflect these updates. Further information can be found on GOV.UK regarding the commodity codes that are impacted. Alternative commodity codes can be found by referring to guidance documents issued for both IPAFFS and Peach.

Cucurbits and asparagus now regulated from the Americas
Produce from the Americas (including the Caribbean) of Cucurbitaceae (e.g. squash, courgette, cucumber, melons), and asparagus now require advanced notification of import via PEACH or IPAFFS in order to clear customs. Delays in notification may lead to delays in clearance and so importers are reminded to make these in good time.

Plant Health EU imports
Plant Health regulated EU imports are now categorised as either High-Priority plants or Regulated and Notifiable plants and cut flowers and have new frequencies of physical and identity checks.

The Plant Health Export Service (PHES) has replaced PEACH for HMI export applications.
The Plant Health Export Service (PHES) is replacing PEACH and eDomero through a phased migration of commodities. The new service is faster, more efficient and provides a modern and user-friendly interface for traders to submit applications.
Peach is no longer available to submit HMI export applications and these should now be done using PHES. Register now for the Plant Health Export Service to continue to make applications.
Guidance material on how to register and create notifications is available on the Plant Health Portal.

DUCR Number required on Plant Health - EU Applications
All PEACH applications for high-priority material from the EU will need to include a DUCR number. Each consignment must have a unique DUCR number. For separate consignments a duplicate DUCR numbers must not be used. However, if a single consignment has more than one PEACH entry, the same DUCR number can be used on each associated PEACH entry. This is important as importers of high-priority plant material from the EU will be charged. By doing this PEACH entries relating to a single consignment will be linked and the charges raised correctly.

Posting of Phytosanitary Certificates to York
All original Phytosanitary certificates must be posted to York (APHA, Foss House, 2nd Floor, Kings Pool, 1-2 Peaseholme Green, YO1 7PX) within 3 working days of the consignment landing in GB.

Accessing Government Gateway Services
What you need to know if you access Government Gateway on Windows XP, Windows Vista or older browsers such as Internet Explorer 6 or 7 from 1 April 2020 The access requirements are changing, please follow this link for more information.

Updated Plant Health Imports Guide
The updated imports guide is available on gov.uk. by following this link.

Our staff are here to help, and are committed to providing good customer service. We will treat you with respect, and expect you to do the same. We will not tolerate threatening or abusive behaviour towards our staff, either verbally, physically or in writing, and will take whatever action is necessary (including legal action) against any person who is involved in threatening or abusive behaviour. Our staff carry devices that can monitor and record abusive behaviour. They can summon support services and the recordings may be used in court proceedings.

Find out about Defra's standards of service. Read Defra's accessibility and privacy policies. A contingency plan has been drawn up to explain our policy on the service provision you can expect from the PEACH system in the event of an IT malfunction and can be found by following this link.

Updated: 18 January 2024