What Licences Do I Need to Import Wine?

By: Dave Howell - Updated: 28 Jun 2017 | *Discuss

 

Q.

My father-in-law is interested in setting up a business with me where I would import wine from the Ukraine to the UK for sale to retail superstores.

I would just like to know what licenses or any other information that is relevant for this business venture. I have visited the HRC site but found very little information on this specific matter.

A.

Importing wine into the UK will mean you must be aware of, and comply with a range of legislation. As wine is defined as a foodstuff, the import regulations you will need to comply with relate to food labelling, tariffs, and your products safety. Also, as the Ukraine is outside of the European Union (EU), you may require additional import licences that wouldn’t apply if you were importing from an EU member state. Lastly, you will also have to comply with tax regulations that include VAT and import duties if these apply to your specific products.

Your first port of call should be the Food Standards Agency (FSA). They will be able to give you detailed information about food labelling regulations that your wine imports must comply with. The FSA have a Wine Standards Inspector that can give you specific responses to any detailed questions you may have. Consult the FSA website for your regional inspector’s contact details. The FSA website also contains a handy guide to wine law that sets out the legislation your import business should be aware of.

You should also consult the BERR website as contains information about weights and measures that will impact on your wine imports. Your labels must display certain information by law including the weight and volume of the wine.

As you are intending to sell to the retail trade, you may also require a licence as you hinted at in your question. Your Local Authority Trading Standards department will be able to advise you about this aspect of your wine import business. A retail licence is not the same as an import licence that you will need if you intend to import more than 3,000 litres of wine into the UK from a country outside of the UK. The licence is issued by the Rural Payments Agency. You can visit their website or call them on: 0191 226 5066.

Because you are importing your wine from a none EU country, you must have appropriate documentation that shows your consignments country of origin. You do this by completing form VI1. You may also need the VI2 form that is a subsection of the VI1 form. The VI2 shows how any consignment you divide into separate packages travels across EU boundaries. A Certificate of Origin may also be required to accompany your consignments. The FSA can give you more information and a decision on whether a Certificate of Origin is needed. Lastly, you may need a AAD (Administrative Accompanying Document) if you are bringing wine into the UK with any duty suspension attached to it. Consult HMRC for more information about this point.

As wine attracts duty it is important that you have correct information about your consignments and how Customs treat the particular wine you are importing. The Tariff gives details about how your consignments are defined when it comes to any duty you have to pay. HMRC have detailed information about the Tariff that you should consult. If the wine you are importing from Ukraine is organic, you may also need a certificate that support this statement. Defra has a section on its website that covers the importation of organic produce.

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