Upcoming Changes to Custom Declarations
From Sunday 24th March 2024 there will be some technical changes as to how traders declare goods moving from Great Britain (GB) to Northern Ireland (NI) as 'not at risk' to avoid paying unnecessary duties.
Traders who have been using the 'NIREM' code to declare goods 'not at risk' of entering the EU should consider the guidance available through the Trade Support Service (TSS) and the NI Customs & Trade Academy to help ensure they are ready for the changes.
Goods can be declared 'not at risk' due to the following:
- For sale, or final use by, end of consumers located in NI.
- Traders will be required to evidence this and retain evidence for 5 years.
- Declared by a trade authorised under the UK Internal Market Scheme (UKIMS).
- Not subject to an EU trade remedy.
Under these changes, traders can only use the ‘NIREM’ code to declare their goods ‘not at risk’ if they also declare a valid UKIMS registration. If traders use the ‘NIREM’ code without declaring a valid UKIMS authorisation, the Customs Declaration Service (CDS) will now automatically calculate if duties are due at the EU rate of duty, where applicable these may be charged to the trader by CDS.
Traders who move goods that do not meet the criteria to move under UKIMS can no longer use the 'NIREM' option on the TSS portal, even if their goods 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 use TSS, the impact of these changes will likely be minimal. However, traders must ensure their company profile on TSS includes details of their UKIMS authorisation letter and are utilising the correct Economic Operator Registration and Identification (EORI). From Sunday 24 March, to use the UKIMS authorisation, traders will be required to use their EORI number (either XI or GB depending on where their businesses are established) associated with their UKIMS authorisation.
If you have any questions, please do write to me.
