HMRC has announced some declaration completion changes for goods imported to Northern Ireland using the Customs Declaration Service.
The forthcoming changes will come in to force from the 24 March 2024 and will affect goods moving into Northern Ireland from Great Britain and to goods moving into Northern Ireland from a country outside of the UK and the EU.
Please see below the detailed guidance received from HMRC:
From 24 March 2024, we’ll be making changes that will affect how declarations are made into Northern Ireland through the Customs Declaration Service (CDS).
These changes will apply to goods moving into Northern Ireland from Great Britain and to goods moving into Northern Ireland from a country outside of both the UK and the EU (including goods entering Northern Ireland from Great Britain where the goods were not in free circulation in Great Britain).
If traders (or their agent or intermediary) have been using the ‘NIREM’ code to declare goods ‘not at risk’, they could be impacted by these changes if they haven’t already got the UK Internal Market Scheme authorisation. From 24 March 2024, if they use the ‘NIREM’ code without declaring a valid UK Internal Market Scheme authorisation, duties at the EU rate will be calculated and will be charged to them by CDS if duties are due.
We would ask you to encourage your members to check if they are eligible and apply as soon as possible if they think this change may impact them.
The Trader Support Service (TSS) has published a suite of educational materials to support traders when applying for the UK Internal Market Scheme authorisation, including frequently asked questions and a step-by-step video guide to the application process. These are available for free online at the Northern Ireland Customs and Trade Academy website.
There are other options to relieve duties due on goods moving into Northern Ireland which may apply, even in circumstances where traders are not eligible to move goods under the UK Internal Market Scheme. For example, traders can claim a customs duty waiver or apply for a repayment or remission of duties under the Duty Reimbursement Scheme if they can evidence that the goods did not go on to enter the EU.
Traders can find out more about other options to relieve duties on goods moving into Northern Ireland, such as claiming preference or reliefs, on GOV.UK if they’re a business who moves goods from Great Britain, or from a country outside of both the UK and the EU.
Existing UK Internal Market Scheme traders
If traders already hold a valid UK Internal Market Scheme authorisation, they (or their agent or intermediary) will need to start using some new codes and your UK Internal Market Scheme authorisation number when making declarations on or after 24 March 2024 as set out in the explainer at the end of this email.
If traders use the Trader Support Service (TSS), the impact of these changes on them is likely to be minimal. Traders won’t need to do anything differently to use their UK Internal Market Scheme authorisation on the TSS trader portal. They can continue to select the ‘NIREM’ code from the drop-down menu when moving goods that meet the ‘not at risk’ criteria under the UK Internal Market Scheme. If not already done, they must ensure their company profile in TSS is updated with details of their UK Internal Market Scheme authorisation and that they have uploaded your authorisation letter to the trader portal before 24 March 2024. They should also make sure they are using the correct Economic Operator Registration and Identification (EORI) number for their UK Internal Market Scheme authorisation. For additional support related to the trader portal, please contact the TSS Contact Centre at 0800 060 8888.
Further information
The enclosed Annex gives details about these changes. We will publish more guidance about these changes on GOV.UK from 24 March 2024.
Help and support
For further information and support please call the Customs and International Trade Helpline on 0300 322 9434 or textphone 0300 200 3719.
If traders need support moving goods into Northern Ireland, they can also register with the Trader Support Service (TSS). This is free to use. The TSS will also guide you through any changes due to the implementation of the Windsor Framework.
Explainer: changes to the Customs Declaration Service (CDS) from 24 March 2024 for goods moving into Northern Ireland
Where do these changes apply?
These changes will apply to goods moving into Northern Ireland from Great Britain and to goods moving into Northern Ireland from a country outside of both the UK and the EU (including goods entering Northern Ireland from Great Britain where the goods were not in free circulation in Great Britain).
How will these changes affect me on and after 24 March when declaring goods ‘not at risk’ under the UK Internal Market Scheme?
From 24 March 2024, to use the UK Internal Market Scheme authorisation, traders (or their agent or intermediary) will need to start using some new codes and the UK Internal Market Scheme authorisation number on declarations made on and after 24 March 2024.
If traders are using the TSS trader portal, they don’t need to do anything differently to use their UK Internal Market Scheme authorisation. Traders can continue to select the ‘NIREM’ code from the drop-down menu when moving goods that meet the ‘not at risk’ criteria under the UK Internal Market Scheme. They must ensure your company profile in TSS is updated with details of their UK Internal Market Scheme authorisation and that they have uploaded their authorisation letter to the trader portal before 24 March 2024.
From 24 March, traders must make sure they are using the correct EORI number (including the correct XI or GB prefix) that is associated with their UK Internal Market Scheme authorisation when making a declaration into Northern Ireland using the UK Internal Market Scheme. If they are a UK Internal Market Scheme authorised trader, we are writing to them separately to confirm which EORI number they need to use. If they are applying to the UK Internal Market Scheme now, this will be the EORI number indicated on their authorisation letter.
If traders (or their agent or intermediary) are not using the TSS, in order to use their UK Internal Market Scheme authorisation to declare goods ‘not at risk’ on declarations made on or after 24 March 2024, traders (or their agent or intermediary) must:
- In field DE 2/3 (documents, authorisations), use the document code ‘1UKI’ followed by their UK Internal Market Scheme authorisation number
- In field DE 3/16 (importer identification number) ensure that the EORI number used for the importer is the EORI number that is associated with their UK Internal Market Scheme authorisation
- In field DE 3/39 (holder of the authorisation), use the authorisation type code ‘UKIM’ followed by the EORI number that is associated with their UK Internal Market Scheme authorisation
If the ‘1UKI’ code is used but the rest of these steps are not completed correctly, the declaration will not be accepted by CDS and will be returned to them to resubmit. They can then make corrections to these fields and resubmit the declaration.
Traders should also continue to use the code ‘NIREM’ in field DE 2/2 (additional information).
How will these changes affect traders on and after 24 March when making a declaration which doesn’t use the UK Internal Market Scheme?
Aside from the UK Internal Market Scheme authorisation, there are many other options to relieve duties on goods moving into Northern Ireland, including claiming preference and reliefs. More information about other options to relieve duties on goods moving into Northern Ireland is on GOV.UK for businesses who move goods from Great Britain Great Britain from a country outside of both the UK and the EU.
Even if traders hold the UK Internal Market Scheme authorisation, they may still choose to use these options in situations where they are moving goods that can’t be declared ‘not at risk’ under the UK Internal Market Scheme as they don’t meet the scheme’s criteria – for example, they might not be sure that the goods are for final sale or end use in Northern Ireland (and Great Britain in the case of goods moving from Great Britain).
For movements from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, traders won’t need to pay duties if the applicable EU rate of duty is zero. Similarly, for movements into Northern Ireland from a country outside both the UK and the EU, they will pay the applicable UK rate of duty if it is equal to or greater than the applicable EU rate of duty. “Applicable duty” means the duty due that is calculated after any claims for preference or relief are taken into account.
From 24 March 2024, traders must no longer use the ‘NIREM’ option on the TSS portal for goods that don’t meet the criteria to move under the UK Internal Market Scheme, even if they are ‘not at risk’ due to the applicable EU rate of duty being zero (or equal to or less than the UK rate, in the case of goods moving from a country outside both the UK and the EU).
If traders (or their agent or intermediary) are not using the TSS, they must not use the ‘1UKI’ document code for goods that don’t meet the criteria to move under the UK Internal Market Scheme. If they are not using the TSS, they will no longer be required to declare the code ‘NIREM’ in field DE 2/2 (additional information).
This is because, from 24 March 2024, HMRC will automatically check the applicable EU rate of duty, taking into account any claims for preferences or reliefs. If this is zero, traders will not be charged duty on movements from Great Britain to Northern Ireland. If this is equal to or less than the UK rate of duty, they will pay the UK rate of duty on movements into Northern Ireland from a country outside of both the UK and the EU. Traders must make sure they include any claims for preference or reliefs when making their declarations to CDS or through the TSS portal, if they intend to use these.
What do traders need to do if they are moving goods that will be subject to processing in Northern Ireland?
If they are moving goods that will be subject to processing in Northern Ireland and these goods do not meet the additional processing criteria to be considered ‘not at risk’, traders must use the code ‘NIPRO’ in field DE 2/2 (additional information). This is because goods that will be subject to processing in Northern Ireland are automatically ‘at risk’ unless they meet the additional processing criteria. Traders must not use the code ‘NIREM’ on goods that will be subject to processing in Northern Ireland unless these goods meet the additional processing criteria.
What do traders need to do if they are moving steel into Northern Ireland?
To move steel without being subjected to safeguard charges where relevant quotas are open, from 24 March 2024 traders (or their agent or intermediary) should no longer use the code ‘NIREM’. Instead, they must use the code ‘NIQUO’ in field DE 2/2 (additional information).
If they use the code ‘NIQUO’ to move steel subject to safeguard charges from any country outside the UK or the EU to Northern Ireland, they must still provide the UK Quota order number in DE 8/1 (quota).
What are the changes to how duties are waived under the Customs Duty Waiver Scheme?
Traders can continue to waive the duties paid on ‘at risk’ goods which are moved into Northern Ireland from Great Britain or countries outside both the UK and EU via the Customs Duty Waiver Scheme using their ‘de minimis’ state aid balance.
From 24 March, traders will be able to benefit from increased flexibility around use of the ‘NIAID’ code to claim a customs duty waiver in circumstances where they are not sure whether the goods are ‘not at risk’ due to the applicable duties calculation – their state aid balance will only be used if the goods are determined to be ‘at risk’.
Declaring ‘not at risk’ under the UK Internal Market Scheme and using the code ‘NIAID’
When traders are using the UK Internal Market Scheme with the ‘1UKI’ document code, CDS will also permit the use of the code ‘NIAID’ in field DE 2/2 (additional information) in conjunction with the code ‘NIREM’ (currently traders may not use both codes together).
Traders may wish to make use of this option if they are declaring goods that are moving into Northern Ireland from a country outside of both the UK and the EU (rest of world) under the UK Internal Market Scheme, but where they are not sure that the difference between the applicable EU rate of duty and UK rate of duty is not greater than 3 percentage points at the time of the goods movement.
If CDS determines that the difference is not greater than 3 percentage points, CDS will not use up state aid balance. In this situation, CDS will only make use of the customs duty waiver scheme if the ‘not at risk’ test determines that goods are ‘at risk’ due to the difference being greater than 3 percentage points. However, if traders are unsure if their goods meet the other criteria to be ‘not at risk’ under the UK Internal Market Scheme, such as that traders are able to keep records showing that the goods are for final sale or end use in Northern Ireland (and Great Britain in the case of goods moving from Great Britain), the ‘NIREM’ code must not be used.
