How to Import Groundnuts (Peanuts) into the UK from Paraguay: Controls, Documents and Checks, Step by Step

How to Import Groundnuts (Peanuts) into the UK from Paraguay: Controls, Documents and Checks, Step by Step

No animal origin doesn't mean no SPS controls. Groundnuts from Paraguay carry some of the tightest food-import checks GB runs.

Groundnuts — peanuts — are a plant product, not products of animal origin (POAO). So it's reasonable to assume they clear like any other ambient dry good. They don't. Groundnuts from Paraguay sit on the GB list of high-risk food not of animal origin (HRFNAO) subject to increased official controls, because of the aflatoxin risk. That means a pre-notification in IPAFFS, a CHED-D raised against the right commodity code, arrival at a Border Control Post (BCP), and a documentary, identity and — at a set frequency — physical check that can include aflatoxin sampling with a laboratory turnaround. This guide walks the consignment forward, step by step, and names what each stage actually needs.

This is practical guidance, not regulated advice. The HRFNAO list and its sampling frequencies are reviewed and amended periodically, so always check the current rules for your specific commodity code and origin — or ask us.

Why are groundnuts from Paraguay treated as high-risk?

Groundnuts from Paraguay are listed as high-risk food not of animal origin because of aflatoxin — a naturally occurring mould toxin that forms in groundnuts under certain growing and storage conditions. GB's increased official controls regime, retained from EU Regulation 2019/1793, names specific country-commodity pairs and sets a sampling frequency for each. Groundnuts and aflatoxin are on that list.

The control isn't about the peanut as a foodstuff; it's about the hazard the foodstuff can carry. The FSA and Defra treat aflatoxin as a high-risk contaminant because it's carcinogenic and there are strict maximum levels in retained EU law (Regulation 1881/2006, as retained and amended in GB). That's the whole reason a plant product attracts SPS-style border controls it would otherwise escape. The increased-controls list — published and updated on GOV.UK — is the document that decides whether your consignment gets sampled. Your freight forwarder books the entry; the list, not the forwarder, sets your hold risk.

Two things follow for the importer. First, "it's just a dry good" is the assumption that lands groundnut importers in unexpected holds. Second, because the list is reviewed periodically, a sampling rate that was right last quarter may have moved — check it before you book, per the current GOV.UK guidance for HRFNAO.

Do groundnuts need a CHED-D or a CHED-P?

Groundnuts need a CHED-D, not a CHED-P. The CHED-D — Common Health Entry Document for feed and food of non-animal origin — is the document type that applies to HRFNAO consignments under increased controls. CHED-P covers products of animal origin; because peanuts aren't POAO, CHED-P is the wrong form, and using it is a common error.

It's worth defining the family once, because mixing them up is where avoidable delays start:

• CHED-A — live animals.
• CHED-P — products of animal origin (POAO): meat, dairy, fish, composite products containing them.
• CHED-PP — plants and plant products under phytosanitary controls.
• CHED-D — feed and food of non-animal origin under increased official controls. This is the one for your Paraguay groundnuts.

The CHED is generated when you complete your pre-notification in IPAFFS — the Import of Products, Animals, Food and Feed System. You don't fill in a separate paper CHED; IPAFFS produces it from your notification, and the reference travels with the consignment. Get the CHED type wrong and you've effectively pre-notified the wrong control regime, which is exactly the kind of mismatch that surfaces at the worst possible moment.

What is the step-by-step process to import groundnuts from Paraguay?

The end-to-end flow is: classify the goods, register for the systems, pre-notify in IPAFFS to raise the CHED-D, route the consignment to a BCP, then clear the documentary, identity and (where selected) physical/sampling checks before release. Documentary clearance is not the same as physical release — with aflatoxin sampling, the lab result can arrive days after the paperwork passes.

Here's the consignment walked forward.

1. Classify the goods (commodity code)

Everything downstream hangs off the commodity code. Groundnuts sit in Chapter 12 of the tariff — broadly under heading 1202 (groundnuts, not roasted or otherwise cooked, whether or not shelled or broken), with the precise code depending on whether they're in shell, shelled, or for sowing. Get this right first, because the commodity code is what tells you whether increased controls and the aflatoxin sampling frequency apply, what duty rate you'll pay, and what your CHED-D must be raised against. Use the GOV.UK Trade Tariff tool, and if there's any ambiguity, get the classification confirmed before you book — a wrong code can mean both an incorrect duty position and a control regime mismatch.

2. Register for the systems you'll use

Before the goods move, you need:

• An EORI number beginning GB, to act as importer of record.
• Access to IPAFFS (via a Government Gateway account) to raise the pre-notification and CHED-D.
• A means of submitting the customs declaration on CDS (the Customs Declaration Service) — usually through your customs agent or broker.

You don't necessarily need to do the CDS declaration yourself; most importers use an agent. But the IPAFFS pre-notification is the importer's responsibility, and it's the step most often left too late.

3. Pre-notify in IPAFFS and raise the CHED-D

Pre-notify the consignment in IPAFFS before it arrives at the BCP. Under GB's Border Target Operating Model (BTOM), HRFNAO consignments must be pre-notified, and the notification generates the CHED-D. There is a minimum notice period — check the current requirement on GOV.UK, as the timing has changed across BTOM phases — but the operational rule of thumb is simple: raise it early, before the goods are at the port, not after. Sampling and lab turnaround add days; you don't want to start that clock late.

Your IPAFFS pre-notification declares the commodity, the quantity, the origin (Paraguay), the consignor and consignee, and the BCP the goods will arrive at. Inspect what it actually says — particularly that the CHED-D is matched to the commodity code you classified in step one.

4. Route the consignment to a Border Control Post

HRFNAO under increased controls must enter GB through a BCP designated to handle food of non-animal origin. Not every port has one, and not every BCP is designated for every commodity type. Confirm — with your forwarder and against the GOV.UK list of designated BCPs — that your point of entry can handle a CHED-D food-of-non-animal-origin consignment with sampling capability, before the goods are loaded. Arriving at the wrong port is an expensive way to learn this.

5. Clear the checks: documentary, identity, physical/sampling

At the BCP, the consignment faces up to three checks:

• Documentary check — the CHED-D, commodity code, and supporting paperwork are reviewed. Every consignment gets this.
• Identity check — the goods are matched to the documents (seals, marks, labelling).
• Physical check, including aflatoxin sampling — applied at the frequency set on the increased-controls list. If your consignment is selected, samples go to a laboratory and the goods are held pending results.

This is the stage that surprises first-time HRFNAO importers. The documentary and identity checks can pass and the consignment can still be held for the lab result. The aflatoxin sample is the step you can't speed up. If the result is within the GB maximum level, the consignment is released; if not, it can be rejected, re-dispatched or destroyed.

6. Release and onward movement

Once the CHED-D is finalised as "acceptable" and the customs declaration is cleared on CDS, the goods are released for onward movement. The CHED reference closes out the SPS side; the CDS entry closes out the customs and duty side. Both have to be complete.

What documents do you actually need?

You need a commodity code, an EORI, an IPAFFS pre-notification generating a CHED-D, a commercial invoice and packing list, transport documents, and the customs declaration on CDS. Unlike POAO, groundnuts don't need an Export Health Certificate (EHC) — that's an animal-product instrument. The HRFNAO regime is documentary-plus-testing, not certificate-led.

A practical checklist for a groundnut consignment from Paraguay:

• Commodity code confirmed against the GOV.UK Trade Tariff (Chapter 12 / heading 1202).
• GB EORI number for the importer of record.
• IPAFFS pre-notification raised before arrival, generating the CHED-D.
• Commercial invoice and packing list — accurate description, quantity, value and origin.
• Bill of lading / airway bill and any transit documents.
• Customs declaration on CDS, usually via your agent.
• Proof of origin if you're claiming a preferential duty rate under any applicable arrangement — don't assume one exists; check the current position for Paraguay before relying on it.
• Any supplier testing/analysis the increased-controls regime requires for that commodity — check the current GOV.UK guidance, as some HRFNAO entries require accompanying sampling results and laboratory analysis from origin.

That last point matters: for some HRFNAO country-commodity pairs the rules require an analytical report and a specific certificate accompanying the consignment. Whether that applies to groundnuts from Paraguay can change as the list is amended, so verify it against the current GOV.UK HRFNAO guidance for your exact code and origin before shipping.

How does this interact with duty, labelling and cost?

Border control and customs duty are separate workstreams that both have to clear. The commodity code drives the duty rate; the increased-controls listing drives the SPS checks. Aflatoxin sampling can add laboratory turnaround time, and any storage while a consignment is held at the BCP is a cost the importer carries.

Three adjacent things a real groundnut importer hits:

• Duty and origin. The Chapter 12 commodity code sets your duty rate. Don't assume EU-style duty-free treatment applies to Paraguay; rules of origin and any preferential arrangement have to be checked and evidenced, not assumed. "Isn't it duty-free?" is a question that has cost importers money.
• Labelling. If the groundnuts are going to UK consumers, food information rules (FIC) apply — and groundnuts are one of the 14 declarable allergens, so allergen labelling is mandatory and unforgiving. Build that in before print, not after.
• The cost of a hold. A sampled, held consignment isn't moving, and storage compounds. The way to manage that isn't to speed up the lab — you can't — it's to get the classification, the CHED-D and the BCP routing right so you're not adding avoidable days on top of the unavoidable sampling wait.

A worked example

Say you're an ops lead importing 20 tonnes of shelled groundnuts from Paraguay, arriving by sea. You confirm the commodity code under heading 1202 and check the GOV.UK HRFNAO list — groundnuts/aflatoxin are listed with a sampling frequency. You make sure your EORI is live and your agent is set up on CDS. Two things now run in parallel: your agent prepares the CDS declaration, and you raise the IPAFFS pre-notification, which generates your CHED-D against the confirmed commodity code. You've already confirmed the port of entry is a BCP designated for food of non-animal origin with sampling capability.

The goods arrive. The documentary and identity checks pass. The consignment is selected for physical check and aflatoxin sampling — so it's held while samples go to the lab. The paperwork has "cleared," but the consignment hasn't. Days later the result comes back within the GB maximum level, the CHED-D is finalised as acceptable, the CDS entry clears, and the goods are released. The importers who planned for that gap absorbed it; the ones who didn't paid for storage and a missed onward slot.

That gap between "booked" and "released" is the whole point of doing this in the right order.

Closing

Groundnuts from Paraguay aren't a simple dry-good import. They're HRFNAO under increased official controls, they need a CHED-D raised in IPAFFS against the right commodity code, and they can be held at the BCP for aflatoxin sampling you can't accelerate. Get the code, the document type, the timing and the BCP routing right, and you remove every delay that's within your control.

Borders are complicated. We aren't. The HRFNAO list changes, and the detail for your exact commodity code and origin matters — so before your next booking, check the current position, or let us check it for you.

Something held, or moving soon? The Falsum Helpdesk triages live customs & SPS issues — [support.falsum.co.uk](https://support.falsum.co.uk). Tell us the goods and the route — we'll tell you exactly what you need.

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