Guides / Polish food for UK shops · Updated 30 September 2026

Importing Polish food products for UK shops and delis

Meat, dairy, sweets and drinks on one pallet each follow different rules. Here is how a UK deli or wholesaler gets risk categories, IPAFFS, labels and VAT right.

This guide is also available in Polish.

Why a Polish deli order is not one shipment but several

A typical order for a Polish shop in the UK mixes very different goods on one pallet: kabanosy and smoked sausage, twaróg and other cheeses, pickled cucumbers, dry pasta, biscuits, chocolate, fruit juices and perhaps beer. From a customs point of view that pallet is one consignment, but from a food safety and tax point of view each product line can fall under different rules. The meat and dairy lines drive most of the paperwork, the confectionery and drinks drive the VAT, and every prepacked item has to carry a label that works for the GB market.

This guide walks through the four things a UK importer of Polish food needs to get right: the sanitary risk category, pre-notification in IPAFFS, labelling, and the customs declaration with VAT.

Step 1: work out the BTOM risk category of each product

Since the Border Target Operating Model (BTOM) was introduced, animal products arriving in Great Britain from the EU are placed in one of three risk categories. The category decides whether you need a health certificate and how likely the goods are to be checked.

Category	Health certificate	IPAFFS notification	Checks
Low risk	Not required; a commercial document from the supplier is	Required before arrival	No routine documentary, identity and physical checks
Medium risk	Required, issued by the competent authority in the country of origin	Required	May be checked; the rate depends on the sub-level (M1, M2, M3)
High risk	Required	Required	Physical and identity checks on every consignment

The government publishes the category of each commodity, so check every line of your order against the official list rather than assuming that, for example, all cheeses or all cured meats are treated alike. Plant-based lines such as dry pasta or biscuits are not products of animal origin, but composite foods (a filled pierogi, for example) and certain high-risk food not of animal origin can also need notification.

For medium and high risk goods the health certificate is issued in Poland by the official veterinary service, not by the UK buyer. A missing or wrongly completed certificate is one of the most common reasons a chilled consignment is held at the border, so agree with your supplier early who arranges it.

Step 2: pre-notify in IPAFFS before the goods arrive

IPAFFS (the import of products, animals, food and feed system) is how importers and their agents tell the GB authorities that a consignment is coming. According to gov.uk it covers, among other things, products of animal origin, composite food products, animal by-products, high-risk food and feed not of animal origin, and medium and high risk plants and plant products. The notification must be made before those goods arrive, whether they come from the EU or elsewhere.

Two practical points matter for a deli importer. First, the person who raises the notification is responsible for the consignment from the moment it enters Great Britain until the authorities complete their checks. Second, the IPAFFS reference and the health certificate have to match the goods actually on the lorry. If the supplier adds a product line at the last minute, the paperwork has to be updated too. Our IPAFFS pre-notification guide explains the system in more detail. For the Polish exporter's side of the process, including how the veterinary certificate is obtained and what happens on a mixed "shop" pallet, see this overview of exporting Polish meat and dairy to the UK.

Step 3: make sure every label works for the GB market

Products labelled only for the Polish market are a frequent problem for UK shops. Gov.uk states that prepacked food sold in GB must show:

the name of the food
an ingredients list, with allergens highlighted
the net quantity
a best before or use by date
the food business operator's details
alcoholic strength for drinks above 1.2% ABV

The address rule deserves particular attention. Since 1 January 2024 prepacked food sold in GB needs a UK address for the food business operator. If the operator is not in the UK, the label must show the address of the UK-based importer. It has to be a physical address that can be contacted by post; an email address or phone number is not enough. For most Polish delis this means the importer's own name and UK address go on the product, usually by agreement with the manufacturer or with an over-sticker applied before the goods are sold.

Allergen information must cover all 14 major allergens listed by the government, including cereals containing gluten, milk, eggs, mustard, celery and sulphites above 10mg/kg, which are common in Polish pickles, sauces and cured products.

Step 4: the import declaration and VAT

Alongside the sanitary process, every commercial consignment needs a customs import declaration on the Customs Declaration Service (CDS), and the importer needs a GB EORI number. The sanitary checks and the customs declaration are separate processes, and both must be complete before the goods are released. If you use an agent, decide whether they act for you by direct representation (you remain liable for the declaration) or indirect representation (the agent is jointly liable). The guide to CDS import declarations covers what the declaration contains.

On VAT, HMRC's Notice 701/14 sets out that most food of a kind used for human consumption is zero-rated. Several categories common in Polish shop orders are exceptions and are standard-rated:

confectionery, including chocolates, sweets and chocolate biscuits
potato crisps, potato sticks and similar savoury snacks
drinks containing alcohol
most non-alcoholic beverages, such as carbonated soft drinks
products designed to be eaten while frozen, such as ice cream

This matters twice: once for import VAT on the declaration, and again when you set the VAT treatment on your till and invoices. Classify each product line with its own commodity code rather than grouping the pallet under one description.

A simple workflow for recurring orders

Keep a product list with, for each line, the commodity code, the BTOM risk category, whether a health certificate is needed, and the VAT rate.
Share the list with the Polish supplier so the certificate and invoice match the pallet.
Raise the IPAFFS notification before the lorry arrives and pass the reference to whoever files the customs declaration.
Check labels on arrival for the UK importer address and highlighted allergens before goods go on the shelf.

If you are unsure whether to handle this yourself, read do you need a customs broker first.

Related guides

Moving Polish food to the UK?

Easy Clearance is a UK–EU customs clearance agency handling import/export declarations, T1/T2 transit and UK–Poland removals. Its guide explains the exporter's side of sending meat and dairy from Poland.

Read the Easy Clearance guide

Sources

General information, not legal, tax or customs advice. Rules change; confirm current requirements on gov.uk or with a registered agent before you ship.