Mutual recognition for goods
The Act introduces a principle of mutual recognition to underpin the operation of the UK internal market for goods.
	Mutual recognition means that any good that meets relevant regulatory requirements relating to sale in the part of the UK it is produced in or imported into, can be sold in any other part of the UK without having to adhere to additional relevant regulatory requirements in that other part. For example, a bag of flour made in one part of the UK that met the relevant requirements in that part (for example on the composition of the flour) can be sold in any other part of the UK without having to meet any other relevant requirements that apply there.
	The UK government and the devolved administrations retain the capacity to enforce their own requirements on goods produced in that part of the UK or imported into that part of the UK from outside the UK, within their areas of legislative competence. This means that local producers must comply with local regulation.
	Requirements are "relevant requirements" for the purposes of the mutual recognition principle if they prohibit a good being sold or prohibit a good being sold if not complied with, and if they are in scope of the types of requirements listed in section 3(3). Requirements in scope of section 3(3) include those relating to the production, characteristics and presentation of goods, and requirements relating to the assessment, authorisation and documentation of goods, among others.
	Regulatory requirements not in scope of the mutual recognition principle may instead be covered by the principle of non-discrimination. The requirements covered by non-discrimination are set out below.
	Requirements in areas where there is existing regulatory difference across UK (the day before the relevant provisions entered into force) are not retrospectively subject to mutual recognition. A substantive change to such existing requirements will bring them into scope.
	The definition of "sale" for the purposes of mutual recognition and non-discrimination (section 15) excludes sales that are not made in the course of a business, and sales which are made in the course of a business but only for the purpose of performing a public function. Sales by public bodies will be excluded from the definition of sale unless they are made for purely commercial purposes. For example, the supply of medication by the NHS to a patient through a prescription would not be covered as it is a sale made by a public authority fulfilling a public function.
	Additionally, there are requirements that are explicitly excluded from the application of the mutual recognition principle. These are set out in the section of the policy background on exclusions.