EU Attestation of Equivalence application guidance
Find out how to apply for EU Attestations of Equivalence (AoE) for the export of GB hops and hops products to the EU or movement to NI
Documents
Details
You will need an EU Attestation of Equivalence (AoE) to export your consignment of hops or hops products grown or processed in Great Britain (GB) to the EU or to move them to Northern Ireland (NI).
The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) can only issue EU AoEs for hops and hops products whose country of origin is the United Kingdom (UK).
The requirements for an EU AoE for export to the EU or movement to NI only apply to traders in GB.
There are no changes to the requirements for the trading of hops and hops products between NI and the EU.
Customs authorities in the EU or NI may refuse to accept your consignment of hops or hops products unless accompanied by an EU AoE issued by RPA.
When you will need an EU Attestation of Equivalence
You will need an EU AoE issued by RPA if you export to the EU or move to NI consignments of the following products:
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hop cones, fresh or dried, whether or not ground, powdered or in the form of pellets lupulin (CN code 1210)
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vegetable saps and extracts of hops (CN code 1302 13 00)
Exceptions
You will not require an EU AoE for the following products:
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small packages for sale to private individuals for their own use
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for scientific and technical experiments
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for fairs covered by the special customs arrangements for fairs
The weight of the exempt products must not exceed:
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1kg for hop cones and hop powder
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300g for hop extracts
You must show on the packaging the weight of the product, the description and what the product will be used for.
You can only apply for an EU AoE for hops or hops products grown or processed in GB. RPA cannot issue EU AoEs for third country hops or hops products.
How many EU Attestations of Equivalence you will need
You will need an EU AoE for each consignment of GB hops or hops products that you intend to export to the EU or move to NI.
For this purpose, ‘consignment’ means a quantity of a product having the same characteristics sent by the same consignor at the same time to the same consignee.
For each application that you submit, you will receive one original EU AoE and at least 2 copies by post.
You will need to send the original and 2 copies with your consignment of hops or hops products to the EU or NI.
The customs authorities of the EU Member State or NI in which the consignment is released for free circulation will sign the EU AoE and 2 copies. They will:
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keep the original
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forward one copy to the competent certification authority for hops in their Member State
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return the second copy to the importer. The importer must keep this document for at least 3 years
You may wish to keep an additional copy for your own records.
How to apply for an EU Attestation of Equivalence
You will first need to enrol a postal address and up to 2 email addresses with us. These addresses will then be authorised to apply for and receive completed EU AoEs for your business.
We will only send a certified EU AoE to an authorised email or postal address. Find out how to enrol with the Rural Payments Agency to export hops to the EU or move hops to NI.
To get an EU AoE you will need to send all of the following completed forms/certificates.
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A completed Application for EU Attestation of Equivalence form
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An EU Attestation of Equivalence template with section 1 and sections 3 to 10 completed
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The hops certificate(s) for the consignment of hops or hops products that you are exporting
Email these documents to us at [email protected] or by post to:
Trader Routine Processing
Room 151
Lancaster House
Hampshire Court
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE4 7YH
The information provided on the EU AoE template should match the information on the Application for EU AoE form and the hops certificate(s).
We will return application forms that are incomplete or where the information provided is inconsistent. This means the issue of an EU AoE will be delayed.
We will also return your application if the email address or postal address provided on the Application for EU AoE form is not the same as one of the 2 authorised email addresses or authorised postal address previously enrolled with us.
When to apply
You can apply for an EU AoE when you have details of the consignment you intend to export to the EU or move to NI. This includes the address of the person or organisation (‘consignee’) you are sending the hops to.
How you will receive your EU Attestation of Equivalence
For each application you submit, you will receive one EU AoE original document and at least 2 copies in the post. They will be sent to the postal address that you provide on your Application for EU AoE form but it must be authorised by your business to receive an EU AoE.
We will always try to post your EU AoE within 5 working days after receiving your application but cannot guarantee this. You should also allow for postal delivery time.
We understand that orders of hops are sometimes placed less than 5 working days before shipment is required.
When you submit your Application for EU AoE form, you will need to provide the expected export date of your consignment. We will always try and get your EU AoE to you before the date you intend to export your consignment.
Electronic copies
If you need an EU AoE in less than 5 working days, make sure you tick box B.2 on the Application for EU AoE form to receive an electronic copy. However, we cannot guarantee to issue EU AoEs sooner than 5 working days after we receive the completed application.
If you requested an electronic copy of an EU AoE, this will be sent to your authorised email address.
The UK Government cannot control whether electronic EU AoEs will be accepted at the EU border. If you want to use an electronic EU AoE for the export of hops to the EU, you should first confirm that it will be accepted by the:
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relevant border agencies
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competent hops authority in the EU Member State in which the hops will be released for free circulation, or Northern Ireland
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person or organisation you are sending the consignment to
You should also make sure you have enrolled an authorised email address for you or your business with us in advance, to receive an electronic copy of your EU AoE.
Hops Certificates
All hops and hops products grown or processed in GB are issued with a certificate by an RPA approved hops certification centre. Send us the certificate(s) for the consignment of hops or hops products that you are exporting, along with your completed EU AoE template and Application for EU AoE form.
In compliance with the EU’s definition of a consignment, if your consignments consist of multiple packages of hops or hops products that have different certificates, send us all of the relevant certificates. You do not need to send the original certificate, you can email or post copies to us.
Data Protection
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is the data controller for personal data that you give to RPA or that we hold about you. This data is used in line with the General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018. For more information, read the RPA’s Personal information charter.