On 20 March, after some delays, the new Annex 21 to the EU-GMP Guidelines was published as a draft. The document is entitled "Importation of medicinal Products". The "Concept Paper" was already published on 13 May 2015 (EMA/238299/2015) and the consultation phase ended in August 2015. The first draft for regulatory consultation was published in November 2016. Since then, no further activities or versions have been issued.
The Guidance is aimed at Manufacturing and Importation Authorisation holders (MIA holders) who import human or veterinary medicinal products from third countries. It does not cover products that do not have a marketing authorisation in the EU/EEA and are directly re-exported. The following points are to be regulated by the new Annex:
The issue of "fiscal import" is no longer addressed in the current draft. Consultation phase is 20 March 2020 to 20 June 2020. The deadline for coming into operation still needs to be determined.