Trading and moving goods in and out of Northern Ireland

Guide

Last updated 24 October 2024

This guidance explains what you may need to do if you either:

  • trade or move goods between Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) and Northern Ireland
  • import goods into Northern Ireland from outside the UK and from outside the EU
  • move goods between Northern Ireland and the EU

Before you move goods

Before you move goods between Northern Ireland and non-EU countries (including Great Britain)

  1. If you plan to move goods between Northern Ireland and non-EU countries (including Great Britain), you’ll need an EORI number that starts with XI.

  2. If you plan to move goods between Northern Ireland and Great Britain or bring goods into Northern Ireland from outside the UK, you can sign up for the free Trader Support Service.

  3. If you’re not using the Trader Support Service, you can , or  to help you.

  4. If you bring goods into Northern Ireland, you can find out how to make sure the right tariff is applied to the goods you bring , including whether you can , or from .

  5. If you import goods regularly, you can .

  6. To understand any duty or other measures that apply to your goods, you’ll  to make your customs declaration when you bring goods in or send goods out of Northern Ireland.

Find out more about the Windsor Framework Internal Market Movements from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.

Before you move goods between Northern Ireland and the EU

  1. If you plan to move goods between Northern Ireland and the EU, you’ll need to  so that you are identified as trading under the Windsor Framework.
  2. You’ll need to add an ‘XI’ prefix before your UK VAT number on all documentation when communicating with EU customers or suppliers. This is so VAT can be accounted for correctly on transactions between Northern Ireland and the EU using rules on intra-EU movements.
  3. If you make sales of goods from Northern Ireland to consumers in the EU .
  4. If you import eligible low value goods into Northern Ireland and have registered for the VAT Import One Stop Shop (IOSS) in the EU find out how to .

Moving goods from Northern Ireland to Great Britain

If you are moving  directly from Northern Ireland to Great Britain, import declarations are not required.  

Export declarations will only be needed for limited exceptions when moving qualifying Northern Ireland goods directly from Northern Ireland to Great Britain.

Bringing goods into Northern Ireland from Great Britain and from outside the EU

You will need to make declarations and pay any tariffs due when bringing goods into Northern Ireland from Great Britain or from countries outside of the EU and the UK..

There are a number of options available to make sure the right tariff outcome is applied on the goods you bring into Northern Ireland. Before moving your goods, you should consider which of these options is most suitable for your business.

Find out more about how to ensure the right tariff is applied to the goods you bring into Northern Ireland  or from 

Making declarations

You should check if you need to declare goods you bring into or take out of the UK if you’re a UK-based business:

  • sending goods from Northern Ireland
  • bringing or receiving goods into Northern Ireland

Bringing or receiving goods into Northern Ireland

Check the origin of your goods. This may allow an EU or UK preferential arrangement to apply.

For goods moving into Northern Ireland from outside EU and UK, EU Tariff Rate Quotas will not be available.

The United Kingdom and the European Union have agreed that traders can access UK tariff rate quotas for certain goods. This means that, provided quotas are open and any other applicable conditions are met, goods can be imported into Northern Ireland without paying prohibitive tariffs.

Tariff rate quotas are available for:

Use the commodity code to check what duties and measures may apply to your goods. This will show if you need any extra documentation or measure codes on your declaration.

Where a commodity code indicates the  within the EU tariff, this will need to be included on all Northern Ireland declarations.

Moving goods between Northern Ireland and the EU

Declarations are not needed for any goods moving directly from Northern Ireland to the EU.

However, if you’re liable to submit Intrastat Supplementary Declarations, you can continue to .

Moving qualifying goods between Northern Ireland and Great Britain through Ireland

If you are moving qualifying goods through Ireland to reach Great Britain, you will not need an import declaration, except for very limited exceptions.

When moving food and animal feed, further guidance must be considered in relation to exemptions from sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) checks and controls — read .

If asked to do so, you or the person moving the goods will need to demonstrate commercial evidence to confirm that the goods are qualifying Northern Ireland goods that have merely passed through Ireland.

Find out .

You will need to comply with some Irish customs requirements to exit through a port in Ireland and should check Irish customs guidance.

Moving commercial goods in your baggage

Bringing commercial goods into Northern Ireland from outside the EU

Find out what you need to do if you are .

Taking commercial goods out of Northern Ireland to outside the EU

Find out what you need to do if you are .

Bringing commercial goods from Northern Ireland to Great Britain

Check what you need to do when .

Bringing commercial goods into Northern Ireland from Great Britain

Find out what you need to do when .

Movements between Northern Ireland and the EU

There will be no change to the current rules.

Moving personal goods in your baggage

From Northern Ireland to Great Britain

.

Into Northern Ireland from Great Britain

In most cases, no VAT will be due. In very a .

From Northern Ireland to the EU

The rules on taking personal goods from Northern Ireland to the EU have not changed.

Into Northern Ireland from the EU

There will be no tax or duty due on personal goods carried into Northern Ireland from the EU if they are for personal use or to give as a gift.

Into Northern Ireland from outside the EU

For visitors arriving in Northern Ireland from outside the EU, .

VAT Retail Export Scheme

Northern Ireland businesses can offer refunds of VAT on goods to visitors to Northern Ireland where they take those goods with them in their luggage when they leave, using the .

Importing live animals and products of animal origin

  1. Get a vet inspection and export health certificate.

  2. Pre-notify arrival of your goods into Northern Ireland using a Common Health Entry Document (CHED). Read information about .

  3. After submitting your CHED, you’ll need to make either a full import declaration or a simplified frontier declaration. Find out what you need to do when making a full import declaration. Find out how to use the simplified frontier declaration.

  4. If you cannot make the full import declaration or the simplified frontier declaration, you can sign up for the free Trader Support Service who can help complete your declaration. If you will not be using the Trader Support Service, you can get someone to deal with customs for you, or find a training provider to help you.

  5. Check if you’ll need a goods movement reference and how to get one.

  6. You should check with your haulier to find out when the movement has been cleared and the goods can continue their journey.

  7. If you made a simplified frontier declaration, you’ll need to make an import supplementary declaration after the movement. Find out how to make your import supplementary declaration.

91Ï㽶»ÆÉ«ÊÓƵing and carrying goods if you’re a haulier or a carrier

Check how to move goods through ports that use the Goods Vehicle Movement Service for movements of goods from:

  • the EU to Great Britain
  • Great Britain to Northern Ireland
  • Northern Ireland through Ireland to Great Britain

Moving goods under transit

Bringing goods into or through Northern Ireland using transit

Check what you need to do when starting and ending transit movements in Northern Ireland.

Sending goods from or through Northern Ireland using transit

Check if you can use Common or Union transit when exporting or taking goods out of Northern Ireland.

If you can use Common or Union transit, find out .

Moving excise goods

Find out about moving excise goods:

Moving cash

You’ll need to  if you, or people you’re with, are carrying 10,000 euros or more of cash and travelling from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.

Paying VAT

Under the Windsor Framework, EU VAT rules will continue to apply in Northern Ireland in respect of goods.

If you’re a VAT-registered business trading between Northern Ireland and the EU, you’ll need to be .

Once you have been identified, you’ll need to add an ‘XI’ prefix before your normal UK VAT number, on all documentation when communicating with EU businesses and systems.

Find out about:

Digital services

Find out how to .

Second-hand motor vehicles

Find out how to use the VAT margin scheme if you sell second-hand motor vehicles in Northern Ireland that were originally bought in Great Britain.

Other services

The VAT rules for supplying services that are not digital between Northern Ireland and EU member states will become the same as the current rules for supplying services that are not digital between Northern Ireland and outside the EU.

Claiming a repayment or remission of import duty

You may be able to claim a repayment or remission of EU import duty through the Duty Reimbursement Scheme if you:

  • paid EU import duty on goods you brought into Northern Ireland
  • can provide evidence that your goods have met the conditions to qualify for a repayment

Find out how to apply to claim a repayment or remission of import duty on ‘at risk’ goods brought into Northern Ireland.

Special procedures, duty reliefs, authorisations and guarantees

Special procedures

Importers will be able to access special procedures to suspend or relieve import duty on goods that are stored, processed or temporarily used in Northern Ireland. In most cases, there will be no changes to these special procedures and reliefs.

Find out about .

Authorisations

You’ll need prior authorisation if you want to use any of the following special procedures more than 3 times in a year:

If you want to continue to access Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) benefits in Northern Ireland and the EU, you will require an NI AEO authorisation (NI AEO).

Duty reliefs

In most cases, there will be no changes to duty reliefs, and you still .

Guarantees

Guarantees will be needed to enter goods into special procedures, and a .

Temporary movements

You may be able to get an ATA carnet to avoid paying import duty if you’re importing goods to or from Northern Ireland temporarily. 

Storing or handling goods

Temporary storage

You’ll still need a customs comprehensive guarantee if you operate a temporary storage facility in Northern Ireland.

For , you will:

  • still be able to move goods between two temporary storage facilities if both are located within Northern Ireland
  • no longer be able to move goods between Northern Ireland and Great Britain

Find more information about .

Sending or receiving goods in parcels

If you’re a business, there will be .

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