Closed consultation Consultation on amending Northern Ireland hemp certification legislation

Summary

DAERA carried out engagement with stakeholders within the industrial hemp sector to seek views on key changes being made through amendment legislation, the Hemp (Third Country Import) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2026. Amendments are required to current domestic legislation, The Hemp (Third Country Import) Regulations 2002 on a Northern Ireland basis as a result of updated EU rules on hemp imports from third countries which are directly applicable in Northern Ireland. The consultation is now closed, and an outcome letter is included below.

Documents

• The Hemp (Amendment) Regulations 2026 ~ Stakeholder Engagement Letter Adobe PDF (253 KB)
• Annex A - Consultation and Policy Document for The Hemp (Amendment) Regulations 2026 Adobe PDF (143 KB)
• The Hemp (Third Country Import) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 ~ Post Stakeholder Engagement Letter Adobe PDF (292 KB)
• Annex A - DRAFT The Hemp (Third Country Imports) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2026 Adobe PDF (155 KB)
• RNIA The Hemp (Third Country Import)(Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2026 Adobe PDF (460 KB)
• The Hemp (Third Country Import) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2026 - Regulatory Impact Assessment SCREEN Adobe PDF (110 KB)
• S75 Screening -The Hemp (Third Country Import) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2026 Adobe PDF (743 KB)

Help viewing documents

Consultation description

In December 2023, the European Commission issued a notice clarifying that it followed that the repeal of Regulation 1307/2013 and adoption of Regulation 2021/2115 resulted in the maximum allowed THC levels for imports of raw true hemp and seeds of varieties of hemp for sowing to increase from 0.2% to 0.3% from 1 January 2023

EU hemp legislation relating to third country imports are directly applicable in Northern Ireland under Annex 2 of the Windsor Framework. As the EU regulations have been updated, The Hemp (Third Country Import) Regulations 2002, require updating amendments. 

All proposed changes are outlined in the policy document and the drafted legislation can be found at Annex A.  The proposed regulations will not represent a change in the underlying policy and will maintain the status quo as far as possible.

Ways to respond

Consultation closed — responses are no longer being accepted.