How to import cod and haddock into the UK from Iceland: the controls, documents and checks, step by step

How to import cod and haddock into the UK from Iceland: the controls, documents and checks, step by step

Cod and haddock from Iceland are POAO. That single classification decides your CHED type, your IPAFFS entry and your BCP.

That one fact — that fishery products are products of animal origin (POAO) — is the load-bearing point for this whole route, so let's be precise from the first line. If you are importing cod and haddock from Iceland to the UK, you are moving POAO across the GB border. That triggers the UK's sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) controls: a pre-notification raised in IPAFFS, a Common Health Entry Document (CHED) of type CHED-P, an Export Health Certificate (EHC) signed in Iceland, and — for wild-caught fish — a validated catch certificate under IUU rules. Iceland's EEA membership does not change any of this. For fishery products, the third-country SPS regime still applies in full.

This guide walks the consignment end to end: which controls apply, who does what, the documents you raise and in what order, the checks at the border control post (BCP), and the points where importing cod and haddock into the UK most often goes wrong. It is practical guidance, not regulated advice — the rules change, so always confirm the current position for your specific commodity and route with GOV.UK or with us.

Does Iceland's EEA membership exempt cod and haddock from UK import controls?

No. Iceland is in the EEA, but for fishery products entering Great Britain the third-country SPS controls still apply. EEA membership governs Iceland's relationship with the EU single market — it does not place Iceland inside the GB SPS border. For UK import purposes, Iceland is a listed third country for fish.

This is the single most common — and most expensive — assumption on this route. Operators see "EEA" and reach for "light-touch", then discover at the port that the consignment needed an EHC and an IPAFFS pre-notification that were never raised. The fact that the UK and Iceland trade closely, and that Icelandic fish has an excellent food-safety reputation, changes none of the documentary mechanics. The listing matters because, per GOV.UK's guidance on importing fishery products, only fish from approved third countries and approved establishments can enter — and the country's listed status dictates which model EHC applies. Iceland is listed, the trade is well established, but the paperwork is third-country paperwork.

What import controls apply to cod and haddock from Iceland?

Cod and haddock import controls run on four interlocking instruments: an IPAFFS pre-notification, a CHED-P, an EHC signed by the competent authority in Iceland, and — for wild-caught fish — a catch certificate. The first three are SPS (food safety); the catch certificate is a separate IUU (illegal fishing) control. All four must be right before arrival.

It helps to separate the two regimes, because they answer to different authorities and exist for different reasons:

• The SPS regime (IPAFFS, CHED-P, EHC) exists to protect public and animal health. It is administered for GB by Defra, APHA and the port health authorities at BCPs. This is where most POAO import rules live.
• The IUU regime (the catch certificate) exists to keep illegally, unreported and unregulated-caught fish out of the supply chain. It is a fisheries-control instrument, not a food-safety one — which is precisely why ops teams who file it under "customs" get caught out. Miss the catch certificate and the fish does not move, whether or not the duty is paid.

Layered over both is the Border Target Operating Model (BTOM), which sorts SPS goods into risk categories (high, medium, low) that set how often your consignments are physically checked at the BCP. Where your specific products of animal origin sit in the BTOM risk categories affects check frequency and therefore clearance time — so confirm the current categorisation for chilled and frozen fishery products before you book a load.

Wild-caught or farmed? Why the catch certificate fork matters first

Before you touch any document, establish whether your cod and haddock are wild-caught or farmed (aquaculture), because that single fork changes the documentary path. Wild-caught marine fish require a validated catch certificate under IUU rules. Farmed fish do not — aquaculture products are outside the catch-certificate regime — but still need the full SPS document set.

Most Icelandic cod and haddock you will handle is wild-caught Atlantic fish, so plan for the catch certificate as the default. The certificate is issued and validated by the flag state's competent authority (in this case Iceland's) and confirms the fish was legally caught. It must travel with — or be matched to — the consignment. Crucially, it is not a customs document and not part of the EHC; it is a third stream of paperwork that proceeds in parallel. If you are importing value-added or processed product (say, breaded portions made from Icelandic cod), the catch-certificate position can become more involved, because processed product may need documentation tracing the raw material back to a validated catch. When in doubt on processed lines, confirm the requirement before the product leaves Iceland.

What documents do you need to import cod and haddock from Iceland?

To import cod and haddock from Iceland you need: an IPAFFS pre-notification (raised by the GB importer), a CHED-P generated from that pre-notification, an Export Health Certificate signed by Iceland's competent authority, a catch certificate for wild-caught fish, plus the standard customs entry — a commodity code, a customs declaration on CDS, and commercial documents.

Here is what each one is and who is responsible for it:

1. IPAFFS pre-notification. IPAFFS (Import of Products, Animals, Food and Feed System) is the GB service where you, the importer (or your agent acting for you), pre-notify the authorities that a POAO consignment is arriving. This is your responsibility, not your freight forwarder's — a recurring cause of BCP holds is assuming the forwarder handles SPS pre-notification when they have only booked the crossing. The pre-notification must be submitted within the minimum lead time before the consignment reaches the BCP; leave it late and the consignment waits.

2. CHED-P. The Common Health Entry Document is generated off the back of your IPAFFS entry. The -P suffix denotes products of animal origin — the correct type for fishery products. (For context, you'll also see CHED-A for live animals, CHED-D for certain feed and food of non-animal origin, and CHED-PP for plants and plant products. For cod and haddock it is CHED-P.) The CHED-P is the document the BCP works from to clear the consignment.

3. Export Health Certificate (EHC). The EHC is the health attestation signed by an authorised official in Iceland, certifying the fish meets GB import conditions. The model certificate for fishery products is published by Defra — it is fixed, official wording, not something negotiable. The original signed certificate must be arranged before the fish leaves Iceland and must reach the BCP with (or ahead of) the consignment. This is the single most common timing failure: certification arranged too late strands perishable fish at the border.

4. Catch certificate (wild-caught only) — as above, validated by Iceland's authority under IUU rules.

5. Customs entry. Separate from SPS, you still need the customs side: the correct commodity code for your exact product (fresh, chilled, frozen, fillet, whole, processed — each can sit under a different code), a customs declaration submitted on CDS (the Customs Declaration Service), and the commercial paperwork (invoice, packing list, transport documents). The commodity code matters beyond duty — it must agree with what your CHED-P and EHC describe. When the three disagree, you get queried.

How do the checks work at the border control post?

At the BCP, your consignment is matched against its CHED-P and undergoes up to three layers of check: a documentary check (every consignment), an identity check, and a physical check. How often identity and physical checks happen is set by the BTOM risk category for your goods. Perishable fish is held until the relevant checks clear.

The documentary check confirms the paperwork is present and correct — the EHC matches the CHED-P, the catch certificate is valid, the commodity description is consistent. The identity check confirms the consignment is what the documents say it is. The physical check — temperature, condition, sampling — happens on a risk basis. The practical point for an ops lead is that the documentary check happens on every consignment, so document alignment is non-negotiable, while the physical check frequency depends on where fishery products sit in the current BTOM categorisation.

Chilled cod is perishable: a BCP hold compounds by the hour. Every hour at the border is shelf life and cold-chain integrity you do not get back. This is why the discipline is documents right before arrival, not after — there is no fixing a missing EHC while the fish sits on a chilled bay waiting.

A worked example: a chilled wild-caught cod consignment, end to end

Walk one consignment through to make the sequence concrete. A GB importer is bringing chilled, wild-caught Atlantic cod fillets from an approved Icelandic establishment.

Before the fish leaves Iceland. The importer confirms the Icelandic supplier is on the approved-establishments list and that Iceland is a listed third country for this product (it is). The supplier arranges the EHC — the Defra model certificate for fishery products — to be signed by Iceland's competent authority. Because the fish is wild-caught, the catch certificate is validated by the Icelandic fisheries authority in parallel. The importer confirms the correct commodity code for chilled cod fillets so the customs and SPS descriptions will agree.

Pre-notification. The importer raises the IPAFFS pre-notification, entering the species, the wild-caught status, the chilled state, the establishment, and the arrival BCP — and submits within the minimum lead time. IPAFFS generates the CHED-P.

In transit. The signed EHC and validated catch certificate travel with the consignment. The customs declaration goes in on CDS.

At the BCP. Port health runs the documentary check against the CHED-P: EHC present and matching, catch certificate valid, commodity description consistent across documents. Identity and any physical check follow per the risk category. Everything aligns — the consignment is released, and the cold chain is preserved because the paperwork was right before arrival, not scrambled at the port.

The failure version of this story is mundane: the importer assumed the forwarder would handle the pre-notification, no IPAFFS entry exists, no CHED-P generates, and chilled fish sits at the border losing shelf life by the hour while the paperwork is reconstructed. The difference between the two stories is sequencing, not difficulty.

How does this interact with commodity codes, duty and labelling?

The SPS controls run alongside, not instead of, the customs and labelling work. The commodity code drives both your duty position and the description your CHED-P and EHC must match. Labelling rules apply once the fish enters the GB market. Each is a separate workstream, and each can stop or cost you if it is wrong.

On duty and origin: do not assume the UK–Iceland trading relationship makes everything duty-free. Tariff treatment depends on the commodity code and on meeting any applicable rules of origin — "free trade" is never automatic, and origin has to be demonstrable. Get the commodity code right first, because it is the hinge for duty, for SPS document matching, and for any relief you might claim.

On labelling: once the fish is destined for the GB market, food information rules apply — species name, country of origin, the appropriate commercial designation, allergen information where relevant, and storage and use-by information for chilled product. If you are also planning to move any product onward into the EU, the labelling and certification position changes again, and is worth scoping before you commit to packaging. Labelling is its own discipline; the point here is simply that clearing the border is not the end of the compliance work.

Where do cod and haddock imports from Iceland most often go wrong?

The recurring failures are sequencing and ownership, not complexity. The most common are: assuming EEA status exempts the consignment from SPS controls; assuming the freight forwarder raises the IPAFFS pre-notification; arranging the EHC too late to travel with the fish; treating the catch certificate as a customs document; and a commodity code that doesn't match the CHED-P description.

None of these are exotic. Every one is avoidable with the right order of operations and a clear owner for each document. The pattern is always the same: the consignment is physically fine and the supplier is legitimate, but a piece of paper is missing, late, or inconsistent — and perishable fish does not wait for paperwork to catch up. Walk the consignment backwards from the BCP — catch certificate, EHC, IPAFFS, CHED-P, commodity code — and find where your paper trail breaks before the fish does.

Bringing it together

Importing cod and haddock from Iceland is well-trodden ground, but it is third-country ground. The fish is POAO, so the SPS regime applies in full: pre-notify on IPAFFS, raise the CHED-P, get the EHC signed in Iceland before the fish leaves, and validate the catch certificate for wild-caught product — all matched to the right commodity code on your CDS declaration, all correct before arrival at the BCP. EEA status changes none of it. Get the sequence right and a chilled consignment clears cleanly; get it wrong and it sits, losing value by the hour.

Borders are complicated. We aren't. Rules on listing, risk categorisation and certification do change, so confirm the current position for your exact product and route — or tell us the goods and the route, and we'll tell you exactly what you need.

Something held, or moving soon? The Falsum Helpdesk triages live customs & SPS issues — support.falsum.co.uk.

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