EHC Online (EHCO) – What’s New?
Export Health Certificates Online is a new web-based service for the application and issuing of EHCs from GB to third countries. We have been dealing with this new system for a number of months on a limited number of certificates but as of 21/08/2020 the service has been extended to a greater number of EHCs. Online application for EHCs that are available through EHCO is now mandatory and the number of EHCs available via EHCO is likely to increase significantly in the next 12 months.
The list of EHCs that need to be applied for through EHCO as of 03/08/2020 can be found here: https://www.oakhill-vets.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/EHCO.pdf
To summarise the process:
- The exporting company needs to register as an ‘exporter’ via the Government Gateway portal.
- The exporter then makes an online application for the relevant EHC – unlike previously there is no PDF to email to APHA and no EXA form to complete although you will have to fill in a series of questions similar to those found on the old EXA forms.
- Select Oakhill as the ‘certifier’
- As the exporter you will be able to view all your applications on the online dashboard (a similar dashboard is available to us to view all the EHCs that have been assigned to us). In addition, each application should have a status assigned depending on whether it is being processed by APHA (Processing), sent to Oakhill (Dispatched) or signed off by us following completion (Completed).
The actual inspection and certification process that then involves us is very similar to before. A signed and stamped original EHC must still accompany the consignment and we need to keep a ‘certified copy’ of all EHCs at the practice.
An additional change worth noting is that ‘Cancel & Replace’ certificates will now need to be requested by the certifier rather than the organisation that applied for the original EHC.
Further information is available through the APHA website: http://apha.defra.gov.uk/official-vets/Guidance/exports/ehc-online.htm
