Exporting organic products to the European Union (EU), Northern Ireland, Norway or Switzerland

Certificate of inspection requirements

Organic products can only be exported under the Official Organic Assurance Programme (OOAP) to the EU, Northern Ireland, Norway, or Switzerland if they have a certificate of inspection (COI). COIs are issued by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) through the EU Information Management System for Official Controls (IMSOC) (formerly known as Trade Control and Expert System (TRACES-NT)).

You must have a COI for each consignment of organic products. This must be issued on or before the date your consignment leaves New Zealand.

You will need a recognised agency to participate in the OOAP. OOAP recognised agencies are organic certification bodies that are recognised by MPI, such as AsureQuality or BioGro. Your recognised agency will:

• validate your use of IMSOC
• verify your consignments are eligible for a COI.

Notes

• COIs must be issued before the goods leave New Zealand.
• Exporters must factor in enough time for COI requests to be processed, and issued, before the goods leave New Zealand.
• MPI recommends that you submit your request at least 3 complete working days prior to the estimated date of departure.
• If you have submitted a request in good time but have not heard back, you are responsible for following up with MPI.
• If you are unable to allow at least 3 working days, you must contact both MPI and your recognised agency to discuss if it will still be possible to process the request in time.
• COI requests submitted after the goods have left New Zealand will not be processed.

Great Britain (England, Wales, Scotland, Channel Islands, Isle of Man, and Gibraltar)

From 1 January 2021 you do not need to use IMSOC to get a COI. However, you must still ensure that the GB-COI has been issued before the goods leave New Zealand.

Northern Ireland

From 1 January 2021 Northern Ireland remains aligned with EU organic product export requirements. You must ensure the COI has been issued through IMSOC before the goods leave New Zealand.

Norway

Norway applies the EU regulations to imports of organic products from third countries. You must ensure the COI has been issued through IMSOC before the goods leave New Zealand.

Get a IMSOC COI

To get a COI, you need a IMSOC account. If you haven't got an account, you will need to set one up.

Once you have an account, you can apply for official assurance (a IMSOC certificate of inspection). For every consignment, you'll need to:

• submit a COI in IMSOC
• complete an official organic assurance application form
• send your completed COI and application form to MPI.

Get an official organic assurance (IMSOC COI)

You need to get a COI for every consignment exported to the EU or Switzerland.

The COI must be issued by MPI before your consignment leaves New Zealand. You need to complete your application early enough to make sure this can happen.

Make sure you complete all parts of the application without any errors. Simple mistakes, such as missing information or copying errors, will mean the application must be sent back to have these corrected. This can cause delays.

Your application will be sent to your recognised agency for verification. MPI is not responsible for the time it takes for your recognised agency to verify the details in your COI.

Submit a COI in IMSOC

The IMSOC website has instructions to help you create a COI.

After you submit your COI in IMSOC, save a PDF copy on your computer. Note the COI reference number, which is in the format "COI.NZ.YYYY.0000123" – you'll need this for your official organic assurance application form.

If you need help with requesting a COI in IMSOC, email organics@mpi.govt.nz

Read the instructions for creating a COI – TRACES-NT

Complete an official organic assurance application form

Instructions are provided on the form.

Download the official organic assurance application form [XLSX, 161 KB]

Send your completed COI and application form to MPI

Send the completed official organic assurance application form and a copy of the COI to organic.certification@mpi.govt.nz

We recommend submitting your application form and COI at least 3 working days before your consignment leaves New Zealand. Verification of the consignment by the recognised agency and certification by MPI certifiers are separate procedures. You need to ensure your application and COI are submitted early enough for both to be completed in time.

MPI will check that you haven't missed anything obvious. We'll then forward your application and COI to your recognised agency. If your consignment contains products certified by both AsureQuality and BioGro, we will send the application form to both agencies.

Your recognised agency will verify the details in your COI and application form. They will then send the verified application back to MPI. They'll also confirm with MPI that your products have been certified and are eligible for export to the EU or Switzerland.

MPI will make a final check.

If you need to contact MPI about documentation, email organic.certification@mpi.govt.nz

Receive your official organic assurance

If your application for an official organic assurance is successful, we'll issue your COI in TRACES.

The COI will be issued electronically – no hard copy will be generated. If you need a hard copy for your records, or your importer needs a PDF copy, you can download a copy of the issued COI from TRACES.

If your application isn't successful, we'll email you and your recognised agency. We will explain why it wasn't successful, and your recognised agency can advise you what to do next.

Who to contact

If you have questions about exporting organics to the EU or about getting a IMSOC COI, email organics@mpi.govt.nz