The Wine and Spirit All Party Parliamentary Group (WSAPPG) is pleased to announce a call for evidence into the potential impact on the UK wine trade of rolling over current EU regulations on wine import documentation (known as a VI-1) once the transition period ends.  The inquiry will be facilitated by the APPG secretariat, the Wine & Spirit Trade Association.

The aim of the inquiry is to examine the purpose of the VI-1 form and how the current rules work in practice, the implications of introducing this requirement for wine from the EU, whether such a system is fit for purpose for a UK outside of the EU, and what improvements/changes could be made to encourage future trade. A report will be produced based on evidence and made publicly available, including recommendations to Government.

The APPG is planning to take written and oral evidence from any stakeholders with an interest or experience in the wine industry or trade facilitation who can offer a constructive contribution to the inquiry.

Terms of reference

Please read the Terms of Reference (TOR) before submitting your evidence. Submissions that do not meet the criteria outlined in the TOR will not be considered.

Guidelines

• Evidence should clearly state whether it has been submitted by an individual or an organisation/business. If you are responding on behalf of an organisation/business, it would be helpful to identify what your role is within that organisation.
• Written evidence should not exceed 3,000 words in length.
• There is no requirement to answer all the questions in the Terms of Reference (TOR) and it is acceptable for submissions to respond to only one or two questions.
• All submissions should include an executive summary of evidence as bullet points.
• You must submit your evidence in Word.
• Please indicate in your submission if you wish to give oral evidence to the Committee. The Committee makes no guarantee that all those who indicate they are available to provide oral evidence will be asked to do so due to time and resource constraints.
• Written submissions should be sent to rebekah@wsta.co.uk.
• Please specify if you would like your submission to NOT be made publicly available on the APPG Secretariat’s website.
• The deadline for written submissions is 5pm GMT, Monday 17 August. We would however encourage respondents to submit their response as soon as possible, as oral evidence sessions will conclude before House of Commons Summer Recess begins on 22 July.

Questions 

• How VI-1s work in practice
  Do you have any experience in using VI-1 forms? If so, please outline your experience (cost, impact on your business etc.)
• Is the fact that the form is paper, as opposed to electronic, an issue for your business? If so, how?
• How simple is it to meet the requirement to have wine imports tested by a laboratory?
• There are exemptions for some wine, for example for wine being moved in consignments under 100 litres and for wine bottled in the EU and being returned to the EU. Would these exemptions help your business?

Purpose of the VI-1 form  

• Do you believe VI-1 forms in their current guise are fit for purpose?
• Do you believe the information included on a VI-1 form is necessary?
• Is there any information which is not included on a VI-1 form which would be helpful for your business?
• What is the different between a simplified VI-1 form and a full VI-1 form? Is the simplified form fit for purpose?
• How do the current import rules for wine and spirits from outside the EU differ?

Implications of introducing VI-1s for wine moving between the EU and UK 

• What impact would the introduction of VI-1 forms on 1 January 2021 have on
  • wine imports into the UK?
  • wine exports to the EU?
  • your business? Please information such as the potential cost, IT infrastructure, administration, time, storage, number of VI-1 certificates etc.
• Do you believe your business is ready to trade with VI-1 forms from 1 January 2021?
• The Government has stated that ‘it will be the EU producers’ responsibility to provide the VI-1 certificate and the responsibility of the relevant authority in each Member State to certify that the form meets the UK requirements’. Do you believe your supply chain (producers/suppliers, freight forwarders etc.) is ready to trade with VI-1 forms from 1 January 2021?
• Do you believe the UK Government is ready to introduce VI-1 forms on 1 January 2021?
• How would the introduction of VI-1s affect your supply chain and cashflow? Does the introduction of VI-1s affect delivery times?
• The Government has stated that ‘the EU introduced the VI-1 form for third country imports, and will become subject to the rule themselves as they become a third country importer to the UK.’ What ramifications, if any, might this have for the UK wine industry?
• If you are unable to import/export wine to and from the EU, would preferential trade deals with third countries offset any potential losses?

What improvements/changes could be made to encourage future trade

• Some countries do not currently require wine import certification. How does this impact your trade with those countries?
• Are there any lessons the UK could learn from how other countries trade in wine?
• How would implementing a simplified VI-1 or a wine import document such as the one used for wine from the US impact your business?
• How would removing the VI-1 wine import certification help your business?