If you bring food into New Zealand and plan to sell it, you are a food importer. Food importers need to register with the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI). Find out about the requirements and how to register.
New Zealand Food Safety invites comments on 2 proposed notices:
More details about the consultation and how to submit your feedback
Your food imports will be held at the border if you are not:
Registered food importers must:
For definition of an individual, See section YD1 of the Income Tax Act 2007 – NZ Legislation
For definition of a company, see section YD2 of the Income Tax Act 2007 – NZ Legislation
Customs client codes – NZ Customs Service
To avoid delays to your consignments, it is important that you:
Consignments imported by an unregistered food importer will be held.
Find out how to get your consignment released from an MPI non-registration hold
Registered importers are responsible for the safety and suitability of food imported into New Zealand.
This means you need to:
Any food importer may be independently verified. Your verifier could visit your business to check you are:
We need to know if the food, drink, or ingredients you are importing will be sold as food for humans.
All declarations for consignments imported under tariffs in Chapters 2 to 22 of the Working tariff document, must include a 2-letter intended use code.
Working tariff document – NZ Customs Service
This covers all products, not just the products intended to be used or sold as food.
One of these 10 codes must be used in your intended use declaration:
You will need to submit the lodgement with the intended use code completed for each tariff code or line.
If the import is for "Import for re-export" but it is not food for sale, select the "Manual FACC Referral" (MFR) option in the Trade Single Window when making the lodgement. They will then be able to provide relevant information to border food safety officers, who will assess if a food importer registration is required.
Note that if an intended use declaration is not made for each item in the lodgement, it will still be processed by New Zealand Customs Service and Biosecurity New Zealand. However, the imported products cannot be released from the system by New Zealand Food Safety until the declaration is completed.
Resources for using the Trade Single Window – NZ Customs Service
NZCS 224: Trade Single Window client registration/update – NZ Customs Service
Your registration won't be completed until the fee has been paid. The cost is shown on the form.
After payment, email approvals@mpi.govt.nz
Include in your email:
Email clientupdate.request@customs.govt.nz
It may take up to 20 working days to process your application. If you haven’t provided the necessary information and paid the fee, it may take longer.
NZCS 224: Trade Single Window client registration/update – NZ Customs Service
Complete all sections of the form.
Page 1 – Where it states 'Which client codes do you need?' make sure you select all that apply.
To import food you will need to select 'Importer' or 'Importer/Exporter'.Page 1 – Tick the 'Yes' box under 'Do you import food for sale?'.
Page 3 – Complete the food importer section, including payment details.
Your registration won't be completed until the fee has been paid. The cost is shown on the form.
After payment, email approvals@mpi.govt.nz
Include in your email:
The documentation you will need to attach varies.
Email clientcodes@customs.govt.nz
It may take up to 20 working days to process your application. If you haven’t provided all necessary documentation and paid the fee, it may take longer.
Renewal reminders are emailed to your email contact before the expiry date. It has all the information you need to renew your registration.
The cost for renewal will be included in the email.
If you fail to renew your registration before the expiry date, your registration will be cancelled and you will be unable to import food.
If you wish to reinstate a cancelled food importer registration, you would have to apply for a new registration and pay the full fee.
Importing food without an active food registration may result in enforcement action. This could include an infringement fee of $450 or clearance of your imported food may be withheld.
You will need to ensure your details with MPI and Customs are kept up to date. This will ensure you receive notifications and your annual reminder to renew your registration.
Minor changes to your food importer registration (such as contact information) can be made with MPI.
If you have any significant changes to make against your food importer registration (such as change in company name) you may also need to update your Customs Client code information using the 224 form.
You do not need to pay the initial registration fee again to do this.
NZCS 224: Trade Single Window client registration/update – NZ Customs Service
If you need help, contact MPI:
A list of all registered food importers is publicly available.
If you have questions, contact MPI:
MPI uses cookies to improve your experience on our site. By using our website, you accept our use of cookies.