STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONS OF BORDER

INSPECTION VETERINARY POST (BIP)

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Gergana Nikolova

Dr. Ivanka Lazarova

“Public Veterinary Activities and Legislation”

Faculty of Veterinary Medicine
Trakia University – Stara Zagora, Bulgaria
 І. Subjects of border veterinary control

•The BFSA, through the Directorate of Border Control, controls the import, export and transit
through the Community of the following consignments coming from third countries:
•1. animals;
•2. germinal products;
•3. raw materials and foodstuffs of animal origin;
•4. animal by-products and products derived therefrom;
•5.specific plant products, feed materials, feed additives, premixes and compound feedingstuffs.
•6. the vehicles by which the consignments are transported.

•The requirements for the BIP and the conditions and procedures for conducting the border
control checks are governed by regulations of the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Forestry.
BIPs have been approved by the European Commission on the proposal of the Executive
Director of the BFSA, provided they meet the requirements for:
•1. building and technical equipment;
•2. staff, procedures and documentation.
•and are published in the State Gazette and on the BFSA website in the form of lists.
 The official control
of the commercial
consignments of products of
animal origin, feed and live
animals is carried out by
border veterinary inspectors
at the 8 border inspection
posts approved by the EC as
follows (Figure 1): Port of
Bourgas, Port of Varna West,
Bregovo, Kalotina, Kapitan
Andreevo, Zlatarevo,
Gyueshevo and Sofia Airport.

Fig.1. Location of BIPs approved for carrying out

control activities at the external border of the
Republic of Bulgaria / EU with third countries
 ІІ. Scope of border veterinary control

• The conditions for carrying out border inspection veterinary checks cover:
• 1. verification of the documentation;
• 2. identity check;
• 3. physical examination;
• 4. disinfection and disinsection of vehicles entering the country.

• Risk categorization
• The official control checks are carried out on the basis of a risk assessment and
the data obtained from the control activities performed in previous years. Risk
categorization and assessment are based on existing legislation, as well as using
information from the World Organisation for Animal Health and the TRACES
and RASFF information systems.
 ІІІ. Requirements for physical and legal entities with regard to border inspection
veterinary control

Transportation of products of
animal origin with the personal luggage:

•Physical and legal entities who carry out the import, export or transit of the objects, which are under
the border veterinary control, are obliged to:
•1. transport the consignments to the border veterinary control point and make them available for
veterinary checks;
•2. transport consignments in specialized vehicles;
•3. comply with the veterinary sanitary requirements;
•4. provide official veterinarians with access to consignments and accompanying documents;
•5. fulfill the orders of the official veterinarians;
•6. pay import and transit fees in the amount specified in the tariff;
•7. comply with the imposed prohibitions on import, export and transit;
•8. send to the BIP at least one business day before the entry of the consignment a certificate in the form
completed in the relevant part.
 ІV. Organization of control on the import / entry from third countries
of raw materials and products of animal origin, live animals and feed

•Official control checks shall include the activities referred to in Article 16 (1) of Regulation (EC) No
882/2004:
•- Sent in advance notification of arrival of the consignment by completing the first part (A) of
the Common Veterinary Entry Document (CVED) by the business operators at least 24 hours before
its physical arrival. Prior notification allows border veterinary inspectors to familiarize themselves with
the expected shipment, to determine whether the particular shipment needs to be subjected to a full
check in accordance with the national multiannual plan and to check the documents for any
documentary error.
•- On the day of arrival, the person responsible for the consignment shall provide the consignment
with the documents accompanying the consignment, including a document for paid veterinary check
fees.
•The BIP official veterinarian, when checking imported from third countries into the EU consignments
of products of animal origin, live animals and feed, shall carry out for each of them a documentary
check, identity check and physical check before they are released for free circulation in the
Community.
•After carrying out the necessary checks in this case, the official veterinarian shall allow the entry by
completing the relevant part of the CVED, entering the date, signing and stamping the certificate after
payment of the fees for carrying out the border veterinary check. The certificate shall be issued in
original and in triplicate and accompanies the consignments whilst under customs supervision or until
they reach the first warehouse or first consignee when the consignments are placed under customs
importation.
 1. Detention or rejection of a consignment
•Where the border veterinary checks find that the consignment of the control items does not meet
the veterinary import requirements or the accompanying documents with identified errors have not
been corrected, the official veterinarian shall detain the consignment until the case is clarified by
drawing up a statement of findings. If necessary, the official veterinarian may carry out additional
verifications, with the consignment being detained on the territory of the BIP or border crossing point
until the results of a laboratory test are obtained.

•After elimination of the reasons for the detention of the consignment, the official veterinarian shall
allow the entry in the specified order. If the reasons for the detention are not eliminated, the border
veterinary inspector shall not allow the import. After consulting the importer or his representative
(the person responsible for the consignment), the border veterinary inspector shall enter in the
certificate an order for:

•• return of the consignment;

•• destruction of the consignment.

•The official veterinarian - border inspector shall state the reasons for the return and affix a red stamp
with the word REJECTED on the original veterinary certificate and / or other documents
accompanying the consignment.
 2. Destruction of consignment
• Where, at the time of the checks, the border veterinary inspector establishes that the consignment of objects
poses a threat to human and animal health, he shall issue an order for the destruction of the consignment. The
place and manner of its destruction shall be determined. The Border Control Directorate of the BFSA shall be
notified of the measures taken.
• Destruction of consignments takes place in approved and designated places (incinerator facilities) if the BIP
itself does not have the necessary equipment. A confirmatory document shall be issued for the destruction of
the animal by-product disposal facility, which shall be sent to the BIP, from which the consignment is
destined for destruction. A copy of the document shall also be sent to the relevant Regional Customs Directorate.
The BFSA Headquarters shall immediately notify about the measures taken:
• • all border inspection posts of the Republic of Bulgaria;
• • European Union border inspection posts;
• • the European Commission;
• • the country of origin of the consignment.
• In case the consignment is live animals and their return is impossible and the reasons for detention do not
pose a risk to human or animal health, the official veterinarian shall immediately inform the Director of the
Border Control Directorate of the need for slaughtering the animals. The director shall designate a
slaughterhouse where the slaughter is to take place. The official veterinarian of the BIP shall carry out an ante-
mortem inspection and issue a slaughtering order listing the designated slaughterhouse, the route the animals
are transported and the raw materials obtained for:
• • human consumption;
• • other goals, indicating the conditions under which they are realized on the market.
• The importer or the person responsible for the consignment pays the costs of fulfilling the order.
V. Exemptions from the import requirements

• The import requirements do not apply to:

• 1. raw materials and foodstuffs of animal origin, for which the following
conditions are fulfilled:
• (a) are part of passengers' personal luggage and intended for personal
consumption;
• (b) come from countries or regions of countries from which importation is
not prohibited;
• 2. raw materials and foodstuffs of animal origin aboard airplanes or ships
intended for consumption by crew and passengers and not brought into the
territory of the country;
• 3. samples approved by BFSA for exhibitions and trade samples;
• 4. raw materials and foodstuffs of animal origin intended for diplomatic
missions previously authorized by the BFSA.
VІ. Transit of consignments subject to border veterinary control

•Transit of consignments of products of animal origin, animals and germinal products, feed and feed
materials shall be authorized by the border veterinary inspector, provided that:
•1. come from a country from which importation and transit are not prohibited;
•2. the mandatory inspections have been carried out;
•3. the consignment is accompanied by an original veterinary certificate issued by the competent
veterinary authorities of the country of origin, in which the country of destination is indicated;
•4. a written confirmation of acceptance of the consignment has been received from the competent
veterinary authorities of the country through which the consignment will pass immediately after leaving the
territory of the Republic of Bulgaria;
•5. fees have been paid for the border veterinary checks performed.
•In the case of transit of consignments, a document check and an identity check shall be carried out. The
identity check consists in verifying the vehicle seal numbers. If a check raises a suspicion of a hazard, the
border veterinarian shall also carry out a physical check at the discretion.
•Where the documentary check shows compliance with the transit requirements, the border veterinary
inspector shall allow the consignment to be transported. It is the responsibility of the inspector to order the
return of the consignment when it appears through the checks to be impossible to allow the transit. All costs
are borne by the business operator.
•The official veterinarian at the entering BIP shall notify the BIP through which the consignment will
leave the territory of the country that the transit is permitted and is on the road. The official veterinarian of
the outgoing BIP shall notify the official veterinarian who permitted the transit when the consignment leaves
the territory of the country.
VІІ. Prohibition on the importation and transit of animals and
consignments of animal origin

•The Minister of Agriculture, Food and Forestry or a person

authorized by him shall immediately issue an order prohibiting the
entry and transit of consignments subject to border veterinary control,
where:
•1. Official information has been received that, throughout the
territory of a country or a region within it, the veterinary authorities
have detected a particularly dangerous contagious animal disease;
•2. Physical or chemical contaminants have been identified above the
established standards, which pose a danger to human and animal
health.
 VІІІ. Export procedures
•Exports of consignments under border veterinary control shall be authorized provided that the
consignment is accompanied by an original veterinary certificate (CVED), a documentary
check has also been carried out and at the BIP where the consignment leaves the country one of
the following documents is presented:
•- a veterinary export authorization issued by the BFSA Executive Director for Animals and
Germinal Products;
•- a written notification from the veterinarian who issued the veterinary certificate and / or
other document accompanying the consignment (for raw materials and foodstuffs of animal
origin, animal by-products, products derived therefrom, specific plant products, feed
materials, feed additives, compound feeds and premixes).
•The veterinary certificate for the export of consignments is in the model of the country to which
they are exported, the text in the certificate is also in Bulgarian.
• A veterinary authorization is not required when exporting:
•1. single companion animals and ornamental animals;
•2. animals intended for scientific purposes, exhibitions and donations.
•For the purposes of Community trade mechanisms, exports are the business of delivering a
consignment originating from a Member State to a third country. Trade between Member States is
accepted as intra-Community supply and is not subject to control under the procedures described.
 ІХ. BIP certification and documentation
• Issue of veterinary certificate
• Consignments of live animals or products of animal origin are introduced into the EU
if they have passed the check and are accompanied by a Common Veterinary Entry
Document (hereinafter referred to as CVED). From 2020 it is unified for the
whole border control checks and is referred as Common Health Entry Document
(CHED).
• CHED is issued directly in the TRACES (Trade Control and Expert System)
electronic system. The CHED is completed only by authorized persons – business
operators and official veterinarians with authorized user profiles.

• Types of veterinary certificates by category of objects for import, transit and domestic
trade:
• Animals - cattle, horses, pigs, sheep and goats, wild animals, birds and eggs;
• Products of animal origin for human consumption;
• Animal by-products;
• Semen and ova;
• Internal Trade;
• Transit.
 Type of CHED certificates issued within TRACES
with regard to import from third countries to the EU
• CHED-A
• Common Health Entry Document for Animals
• CHED-P
• Common Health Entry Document for animal Products
• CHED-PP
• Common Health Entry Documents for Plants and Plant Product
• CHED-V
• Common Health Entry Document for Vegetables
• CHED
• Common Health Entry Document for Plants, Plant Products and Plant
propagation material, Products of animal origin and Live Animals.