Trading and moving goods in and out of Northern Ireland from 1 January 2021

Trading and moving goods in and out of Northern Ireland from 1 January 2021

How to prepare if you trade and move goods in and out of Northern Ireland from 1 January 2021.

If you trade or move goods from Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) to Northern Ireland, there will be changes to some processes. This guidance explains what you may need to do.

From 1 January 2021, there will be no changes in how qualifying Northern Ireland goods move directly from Northern Ireland to Great Britain. There will be some changes for qualifying goods moved indirectly through Ireland.

Your goods will be qualifying Northern Ireland goods if they are not under any customs procedures before you move them from Northern Ireland to the rest of the UK. Goods that have been processed in Northern Ireland will still qualify if all the components were in free circulation in the UK. More guidance about this will be published imminently.

If customs processes are new to you, you may wish to sign up for the free Trader Support Service. The Trader Support Service will guide you through any changes due to the implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol and can:

• help if you move goods between Northern Ireland and Great Britain, or bring goods into Northern Ireland from outside the UK
• complete declarations on your behalf without the need for specialist advice or software

Guidance has been published for the following actions:

1. Before you move goods
2. Making declarations
3. Moving commercial goods in your baggage
4. Moving personal goods in your baggage
5. Transporting and carrying goods if you’re a haulier or a carrier
6. Moving goods under transit
7. Moving excise goods
8. Moving cash
9. Paying VAT
10. Special procedures, duty reliefs, authorisations and guarantees
11. Storing or handling goods
12. Sending or receiving goods in the post