All EU- and GB-COIs must be issued before the shipping of the goods

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Dear client,


Please share the following information with all colleagues who might find it relevant.

As you know, since January 2020 the EU regulation states that all EU-COIs must be issued BEFORE the goods leave the third country of export or origin.
(EU-COIs = all COIs for the import of organic products into the EU, EEA (European Economic Area), Switzerland or Northern Ireland.)

As the UK has retained the EU-regulation, this rule also applies for all GB-COIs (= all COIs for imports of organic products into Great Britain).

This rule is also part of the new EU regulation, see EU Delegated Act 2021/2306, Article 4:

We can only issue the EU-/GB-COI, if we receive the application as well as the complete and correct documentation in time before the shipment.

Please make sure to send applications as early as possible, with enough time for us to check the documents and clarify any potential questions. Also, please carefully check that the documentation is complete and correct before sending the application.

Kindly consider our general handling times as well as weekends and German bank holidays (these do not count as working days). (An overview of our general handling times will soon be available on our website as part on a short instruction for how to apply for (N)COIs.)

Thank you very much for your kind cooperation and attention.

Best regards,
COI-Department of CERES GmbH (Germany)