Pre-Notification

Importers (or agents on their behalf) are required to notify Dover Port Health Authority of all food imports in advance of their arrival by completion of an electronic pre-notification form, regardless of whether they are organic or not.

PHILIS is our Port Health Interactive Live Information System, which helps us carry out our statutory duty.

The system allows Imports (or agents on their behalf) to pre notify the following product:

Organic products
Plastics kitchenware for China or Hong Kong
Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishery Products

The importer (or agent on the behalf) will be required to register for a PHILIS account to enable completion of the online pre-notification form which may take several days to be approved.

Link to register: Register (philis.co.uk)

Please contact Suffolk Coastal Port health Authority, if you are having any issues with your registration or login.

Once approved, a confirmation email will be received by the importer which will contain their log in details and organisation number.

	Pre-Notification Required	System to be raised on	Documents Required
Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing (IUU)	2 working Hours	PHILIS DES	Common Health Entry Document - (CHED-P) * Export Health Certificate * Catch Certificate Processing Statement and / or Storage Documents for indirect imports Transport Documents – CMR or Seaway Bill Invoice Packing List *Dover does not currently have a designated BCP for POAO. These documents are requested to demonstrate the fish has been validated at an EU BCP prior to endorsing the IUU documentation.
High Risk Food Not of Animal Origin (HRFNAO)	At least 1 working day	IPAFFS	Common Health Entry Document - D (CHED-D) Official Certificate (Required for products that fall under Annex II) Results of Sampling and Analysis (Required for products that fall under Annex II) Transport Document - CMR or Seaway Bill Packing List Invoice
Organics	6 working hours	PHILIS DES	Certificate of Inspection (CoI) Invoice Packing List Transport Document - CMR or Seaway Bill
Plastics	At least 2 working days in advance of the estimated date and time of arrival	PHILIS DES	Plastic Declaration Document (PDD) Laboratory Test Results Invoice Packing List Transport Documents - CMR or Seaway Bill
POAO	At least one working day before arrival (with a derogation to 4 hours before arrival if there are logistical constraints).	IPAFFS	Common health entry document (CHED-P) Export health certificate Manufacturer’s declarations (private attestations) Lab results for specific consignments Processing schedules Product specifications Commercial documents: Bill of lading Invoices, packing lists, delivery note Weight declarations. *You may need an import licence or authorisation to import your product if there is no health certificate for your product.

User Guides can be found under the support button within the PHILIS system once you have logged in which provides information on how to submit a pre-notification. You will have to complete the mandatory boxes and then save and submit the pre-notification. A box will appear stating ‘Submitted successfully.'

We also use the Import of products, animals, food and feed system (IPAFFS) for high risk food not of animal origin and eventually products of animal origin.

Before you can use IPAFFS you must have a Government Gateway account.

Import of products, animals, food and feed system (IPAFFS) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

If you do not have a Government Gateway account, you can set one up when you select ‘start now’.

Once you’ve set up your account you’ll be able to register for the Defra service you want to use, including the IPAFFS service.

If you already use other Defra services, you can register for IPAFFS by selecting ‘register for more services’.

If you’re an import agent acting on behalf of an importer you must register for IPAFFS using your own business details. You should not select ‘intermediaries’ on the ‘Manage account’ screen in the IPAFFS service as this does not apply to IPAFFS users.

When you raise a notification in IPAFFS, you are responsible for the consignment from when it enters Great Britain until the authorities complete their checks.

Please see our High risk food page for more information on the products we are a BCP for.