The safety of food products placed on the market in the European Union has been and remains a constant concern of the European Commission and member states, the priority direction is the automation and simplification of control when such products enter the market.

The TRACES NT (Trade Control and Expert System), developed and used in the European Union since 2004, is an electronic platform for sanitary and veterinary certification for the import and export of live animals and foodstuffs of animal/non-animal origin. In many member states, this system is already used on a mandatory basis.

Currently, in Romania, the use of the TRACES system is optional for mandatory sanitary-veterinary controls, a large part of these formalities is performed manually, on paper (for example, by informing border posts by fax of arrival). transportation and filling and manual signing of the import document of products for which a sanitary-veterinary visa has been issued).

However, November 2022 brings good news for this segment as well. According to the emergency order issued by the ANSVSA (National Sanitary Veterinary and Food Safety Authority) in close cooperation with the customs authorities, starting this month all sanitary and veterinary inspection formalities for the import of food intended for human consumption will be mandatory through the electronic TRACKS platform.

For example, in the case of the import of food products of non-animal origin, the business entity is obliged to inform the checkpoint on the border with Romania in advance about the expected date of arrival of the transport, as well as its nature. . This notification will be made in a mandatory manner using the TRACES NT electronic system, through which the sanitary-veterinary visa will be obtained. In practice, the entry document pre-filled by the business entity and the relevant documents will be sent to the veterinary inspectors through the TRACES NT platform. After the inspections, the inspectors grant or refuse an entry visa for products on the Romanian market, also through this system.

At the same time, this system will facilitate the transition to a paperless working environment based on a qualified electronic signature and electronic seals. In practice, the use of TRACES NT should lead to a reduction in the processing time of sanitary and veterinary control formalities at Romanian border points, with direct benefits for importers.

What economic operators should be aware of at this time is that the use of the TRACES NT system requires access authorization obtained in advance from ANSVSA. Therefore, they still have until the end of October 2022 to apply and adapt to the new simplified veterinary visa system to avoid delays.

EY’s international trade team can guide affected operators at every stage of the use and implementation of the TRACES NT system.

The article was signed by Cosmin Dinka, EY Romania International Trade Manager and Mihai Petre, EY Romania International Trade Director

Article supported by EY Romania