Trader Goods Profile (TGP) Guide

Published:

01 January 2025

Updated:

05 May 2025

If there are any words or acronyms in this document that are unfamiliar you can visit the Jargon Buster or use the search tool on the Northern Ireland Customs & Trade Academy (NICTA) website to find a definition.

Introduction

This guide explains what a Trader Goods Profile (TGP) is, how you can use it for your ‘not at risk’ goods movements from Great Britain (GB) to Northern Ireland (NI) using the simplified processes for Internal Market Movements and how you can manage your Trader Goods Profile (TGP) through the Trader Support Service (TSS) Portal.

This guide does not cover how to complete the Internal Market Movement Information (IMMI). For further information, refer to the Simplified processes for Internal Market Movements – Introduction Guide on NICTA.

Note: A Trader Goods Profile (TGP) is part of the simplified processes, and it is optional to use when completing Internal Market Movement Information (IMMI) for your goods. You can use the Internal Market Movement Information (IMMI) without having a Trader Goods Profile (TGP). Alternatively, if you do not wish to use the simplified processes, you – as a TSS-registered user – can continue using the existing facilitations in TSS for other NI goods movements and complete customs declarations. Guidance for these is available at Alternative methods for moving goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland on NICTA.

Before you use your Trader Goods Profile (TGP) on TSS you need to set up your Trader Goods Profile (TGP) access. To do this, follow the steps in the TSS Permissions Management for TGP and UKIMS guide on NICTA.

What is a Trader Goods Profile (TGP)?

A Trader Goods Profile (TGP) is a unique goods profile that HMRC will create for you using information from goods you have previously moved from GB to NI, using your UK Internal Market Scheme (UKIMS) authorisation. HMRC will automatically create a TGP for your business when you register for UKIMS. For guidance on how you can Manage your Trader Goods Profile with HMRC, refer to GOV.UK.

Note: If you are moving goods from GB to NI for the first time using your UKIMS authorisation, your TGP will not contain any information. You can add information to your profile to allow you to auto-populate fields on the Internal Market Movement Information (IMMI).

Each TGP record in HMRC contains:

A goods description
A commodity code (6, 8 or 10 digits)
A product reference, this reference needs to be unique, as in, the same product reference can’t be used on two goods records on your TGP
The country of origin
The category of the good (once it has been reviewed and categorised)
Supplementary units (if required)

By allowing TSS access to your HMRC TGP profile, it retrieves the information (known as a TGP entry in the TSS Portal) you can use to auto-populate fields onto the Internal Market Movement Information (IMMI) on goods movements to NI.

When completing the Internal Market Movement Information (IMMI), you can use your TGP entry to auto-populate part of the Internal Market Movement Information (IMMI), so you don’t need to manually enter that information each time you move those goods. The Internal Market Movement Information (IMMI) is a simplified data set that can be used instead of a full declaration for goods moved from GB to NI. Further guidance on the Internal Market Movement Information can be found on GOV.UK.

Each TGP entry in TSS contains:

A Goods Description
A Commodity Code
A Product Reference – this reference needs to be unique, as in, the same product reference cannot be used on 2 goods entries on your TGP
The Country of Origin
The Category of the good (once it has been reviewed and categorised)
Supplementary Units (if required)

In addition, you can also add Additional Information and Document Reference which are optional and will auto-populate onto the Internal Market Movement Information (IMMI) if they have been completed.

Note:

The goods description must be an accurate description of the goods being moved and should not contain general terms such as ‘oil’ or ‘parts’. For guidance on what an acceptable goods description should contain including examples, see the Goods Description Guide on NICTA
The product reference held in your entry is your own reference, which allows you to share that reference with your haulier or intermediary so they can complete the Internal Market Movement Information (IMMI) on your behalf
TSS uses the HMRC categorisation tool to categorise the goods movement, and for this purpose it requires values for the Country of Origin and Commodity Code fields; for further details on goods categories see the Goods Categories section of this guide

Eligibility for a TGP

You must hold a UKIMS authorisation to have a TGP. See GOV.UK for further guidance on how to apply for UKIMS authorisation. You will need to upload your UKIMS authorisation onto your TSS Company Profile.

HMRC will automatically create a TGP for your business when you register for UKIMS. However, you need to sign up for it. For further information on how to sign up refer to the TSS Permissions Management for TGP and UKIMS guide on NICTA.

Goods Categories

A TGP can only be used for goods that are eligible to move using the simplified processes. Most goods are eligible and can be identified by the category of the goods. The goods category is part of the information stored on your TGP entry, and your TGP will support the categorisation of each good to ensure they are eligible for use on the Internal Market Movement Information (IMMI).

To determine eligibility for using the simplified processes, goods are divided into three categories:

Standard goods – all goods (excluding excise) that have no documentary controls and/or have no licensing requirements

Prepackaged retail food and drink goods moving using the Northern Ireland Retail Movement Scheme (NIRMS) fall into this category. For more information and how to register for the Northern Ireland Retail Movement Scheme, refer to UK.
Standard goods can move using the Internal Market Movement Information (IMMI) and require a 6-digit commodity code.

Category 2 goods – these goods are subject to special health, licensing or environmental controls including excise goods

The following goods fall into this category if moved with a Northern Ireland Plant Health Label (NIPHL):

Plants and seeds for planting (plants and seeds which will be grown by professional growers or traded for retail sale)
Seed potatoes (for commercial growing)

Used agricultural and forestry machinery and vehicles

These goods can move using the Internal Market Movement Information (IMMI) but require an 8-digit commodity code. Further details on the Northern Ireland Plant Health Label (NIPHL) scheme can be found on GOV.UK.

Category 1 goods – these are goods that are subject to total bans, prohibitions, trade defence measures such as quotas, safeguarding and anti-dumping duties. Goods that are subject to the excise duty off-set mechanism are also considered in this category

These goods cannot move using the Internal Market Movement Information (IMMI).

Further guidance about the categorisation of goods is available on GOV.UK.

How to benefit from using your TGP

Your TGP holds information about the goods you move from GB to NI. In TSS this information is referred to as a TGP entry.

Each record contains a goods description, a commodity code (6, 8 or 10 digits) and a product reference (this reference needs to be unique, as in, the same product reference can’t be used on two goods records on your TGP). You can share the product reference or goods description held in your record with your haulier or intermediary so they can complete the Internal Market Movement Information (IMMI) on your behalf.

You can use third parties to manage your entries and/or complete the Internal Market Movement Information (IMMI) on your behalf through the TSS Portal, if you share the product reference or goods description with them.

As a prerequisite, the Primary Contact on your TSS account needs to grant permission to third parties to use both your UKIMS and TGP. For more details on this, refer to the TSS Permissions Management for TGP and UKIMS guide on NICTA.

Before you start

To use your TGP on the TSS Portal, there are certain steps you need to take.

Some of these steps require completion through your company’s Government Gateway account on GOV.UK, which is done outside of the TSS Portal.

The Government Gateway account you use must be subscribed to the Customs Declaration Service (CDS). You can Subscribe to the Customs Declaration Service on GOV.UK.

These initial steps are necessary to ensure you are authorised by HMRC to use your TGP, and that you have authorised the TSS to access this information on your behalf.

Further details on how to complete the steps below can be found in the TSS Permissions Management for TGP and UKIMS guide on NICTA.

Check you have a UK Internal Market Scheme (UKIMS) authorisation

You must hold a valid UKIMS authorisation to use a TGP. If you do not have one, you can find guidance on how to apply for a UKIMS authorisation on GOV.UK.

Note: You will need a Government Gateway account for your business to apply for the scheme. You can register your business for an account on GOV.UK.

To complete this step, you need your business’s Government Gateway ID and password and your UKIMS authorisation details.

Upload your UKIMS Authorisation into your TSS Company Profile

This is completed via your Company Profile in the section entitled ‘Document Records’. See the Upload your UKIMS authorisation letter on TSS section on the TSS Permissions Management for TGP and UKIMS on NICTA.

Authorise TSS to access and retrieve your TGP from HMRC

Once your TGP account is registered on the HMRC online service (as above), you then need to grant permission for TSS to access and retrieve the information from your TGP account.

You can start this process within your TSS Company Profile by navigating to the section Trader Goods Profile Authorisation and clicking on Authorise.

Check you have successfully granted TSS permission to access your TGP

Check the Trader Goods Profile Authorisation screen in your Company Profile. If you have successfully granted TSS permission to access your TGP, the TGP state will be ‘Authorised’. The Date Authorised field will display the date the authorisation was granted.

When all the steps listed above are complete, you can start creating and editing your TGP entries, as well as authorise and give third parties access to your profile.

How to use your TGP in TSS

The TSS Portal acts as an interface and allows you or a third party (for example, a haulier or agent/intermediary where authorised) to manage your TGP records in your HMRC TGP.

You may appoint and authorise third parties to use your TGP profile on TSS and perform some actions on your behalf. You can create, view, update, and delete TGP records (known as entries in the TSS Portal).

Locating your Trader Goods Profile Management page

Once your account has been set up for TGP access as described above, you will find the Trader Goods Profile button on the navigation bar at the top of the screen.
Click Trader Goods Profile to be directed to the Trader Goods Profile Management
Next, select the relevant EORI from the drop-down menu.

Note:

If you have been given access to manage/view/maintain another TSS users’ TGP, the drop-down menu will also show their EORI numbers and the name (if not withheld)
If you are creating your own records and do not have access permission to other TSS users’ TGP, the EORI drop-down will default to your own EORI number

If the HMRC TGP is unavailable, you will be presented a message advising you that TGP is currently disabled and you should check back later.
When you select the required EORI number, the TSS Portal will retrieve all the existing entries from the HMRC TGP for that EORI and present them in a list. The option Create New TGP Entry becomes available for you in the ‘Declaration Good Templates’ section if you have permission to do so.

Creating a new TGP Entry

Click the Create New TGP Entry button which can be found in the ‘Declaration Good Templates’ section
This will open a Create New TGP Entry window with a blank entry template for you to complete

The mandatory fields are marked with a red asterisk and the other fields should be completed as appropriate.

EORI – this field is auto-populated with the value from the account you have selected in the previous step

It is a read-only field and can’t be amended. If you need to add an entry for a different EORI, return to the Trader Goods Profile Management page and select the EORI you wish to manage.

Product Reference – this value must be unique to the entry and can be any reference you choose to help identify your goods entry

You or your haulier/intermediary can enter this on the Internal Market Movement Information (IMMI) to auto-populate the information. You cannot have the same Product Reference for two entries – if the value is not unique it will not be accepted and an error message will be displayed.

Goods Description – provide a brief but clear description of the goods. For guidance on what an acceptable goods description should contain including examples, see the Goods Description guide on NICTA
Commodity Code Filter – this drop-down field allows you to select the length of the commodity code as 6, 8 or 10 digits

This field is optional, to support you when adding in your commodity code. If you know the information to be added, you do not need to make a selection here.

Commodity Code – start typing in the commodity code if known, or the description of the good, and the tariff information will show based on what you enter; you can select an option as it appears

The commodity code options are 6, 8 or 10 digits, corresponding with the length chosen in the Commodity Code Filter field above. If the commodity code typed is incorrect, an error message will be shown indicating ‘no matches found’ based on the NI online tariff.

Commodity Code Effective From Date and Commodity Code Effective To Date – these read-only fields are auto-populated by the TSS Portal
Country of Origin – start typing the country name and select from the options listed rather than scrolling through all the countries in the drop-down
Supplementary Units – only certain category 2 goods require a supplementary unit

You can populate this field in the entry if you move the same goods in each movement. If you move different goods, then you do not need to complete this field in the entry but instead add the required value into the Internal Market Movement Information (IMMI). For more details on Supplementary Units refer to Internal Market Movement Information (IMMI) Data Guide on NICTA.

Click Save once you have completed all the fields to create the entry.

Categorisation of TGP entries

An initial categorisation process will be triggered at this stage and when the entry has been created, a message will be displayed confirming the TGP entry has been created. The message will also notify you that you must review any licences and category exemptions for the TGP record before it can be used on an IMMI and save the record

When you click the Close button, your goods will be assigned a category based on the information provided and the NI Online Tariff.

If the connection between the TSS system and HMRC system is unavailable, a pop-up message will appear to notify you that you need to manually assign a category to your goods and determine the applicable Additional Procedure Code. Guidance on how to categorise your goods can be found on GOV.UK.

Next, check the ‘category exemption(s) requirements’ and where your goods meet the criteria you can follow the exemption(s) process. This will allow you to re-categorise your goods. For example, the goods may initially be categorised as Category 2 goods but if they meet the stated exemption(s) then tick the ‘Category 2 Exemption(s) Met’ box and they will be re-categorised.

Note: Goods can be in one of three categories, which determines eligibility. Category 2 and standard goods can move using the Internal Market Movement Information (IMMI). Category 1 goods must move using a full declaration. Information on goods categories are covered in Goods Categories section of this guide.

The initial result of the goods categorisation will be displayed in the Category field. The final result of goods categorisation will depend on whether you confirm that you meet the exemption(s) requirements presented for each exemption by ticking the boxes next to the statement that the category exemption(s) has been met.

The value in the Category field for the goods can move through the categories to ‘Standard Goods’ if all exemption(s) for the previous categories are met.

All goods that are subject to UK excise duty, such as alcohol, tobacco and fuel, are deemed to be Category 2 goods. However, these goods may or may not be excisable, depending on their intended use. The TSS will display a Category 2 exemption advising these goods may be potentially excise goods and you will need to consider the intended use of the goods to determine whether your goods meet the exemption(s).

If you can confirm you meet the exemption requirements by clicking the Category 2 Exemption(s) Met tick box, the category of goods will change to Standard goods, otherwise the tick box should not be clicked.

You can find out more information on potentially excise goods on the Internal Market Movements: your questions answered guidance on GOV.UK.

Where there are two or more exemption requirements to be met, these are separated by ‘AND’.

Note: If you can’t confirm that you meet the category exemption(s), you should not tick the exemption(s) box, and the category assigned will remain.

It is important to understand the requirements and conditions that apply to the goods being moved and when exemption(s) can be claimed. If you’re claiming exemption(s), you must ensure you hold evidence to support your claim. HMRC may request to see evidence that the exemption(s) have been met. The full list of controls applicable to the goods can be seen by using the Northern Ireland Online Tariff Tool on GOV.UK.

Click Save to update the entry. A pop-up message will appear to confirm that the entry has been added.
From here, return to the Trader Goods Profile Management page to review or create a new entry.
The TSS Portal will retain a local copy of the entry if it has been successfully submitted in your TGP profile with HMRC

This record will be listed on the Trader Goods Profile Management page in the ‘Declaration Good Templates’ section. The value in the IMMI Ready field will be set to ‘true’ when the entry is ready to be used for completing the Internal Market Movement Information (IMMI). If it is ‘false’ click on the line to review the categorisation, as explained in the Viewing and updating a TGP entry in TSS section of this guide. Note: Category 1 entries cannot be used on the Internal Market Movement Information (IMMI).

Viewing and updating a TGP entry in TSS

If you wish to update an entry that is not yet ready for use in the Internal Market Movement Information (IMMI), you can use the Keyword Search function in the top right-hand corner of the Trader Goods Profile Management screen to find the record you wish to view or update

You can also:

Sort each column in ascending or descending order by clicking on the column title

Filter records by right clicking the relevant field and select Show Matching or Filter Out from the pop-up box

Once you have identified the entry you want to view or update, click any field in the entry and a View or Update TGP Entry screen will appear.
You can make any changes to the entry from this screen if required

Note: not all fields can be updated, and these are for display purposes only – they will be ‘greyed out’.

After making your changes, click Categorise. If the connection between the TSS system and HMRC system is available, the entry will automatically be re-categorised and updated. If the connection between the TSS system and HMRC system is unavailable, a pop-up message will appear to notify you that you need to manually assign a category to your goods and determine the applicable Additional Procedure Code (as described in the Creating a new TGP Entry section of this guide).

After reviewing the new categorisation (and ticking the box(es) of the exemption(s) listed if you can meet them), press Save
If the entry can be used in the Internal Market Movement Information (IMMI), it will show in the list view within the TGP management screen

The status of the entry will be changed from ‘false’ to ‘true’ under the IMMI Ready column to signify that the entry is ready for use in the Internal Market Movement Information (IMMI).

If for any reason the entry cannot be used, the message ‘This TGP entry needs review’ will pop up and the status for the entry will be changed to ‘true’ under the To Review column in the list view, and the IMMI Ready value will remain as ‘false’
To make an entry usable, review the entry by clicking on the relevant Product Reference and ensure all fields are completed correctly

Once this is done the IMMI Ready status will change to ‘true’ before it can be used.

Deleting a TGP entry in TSS

You can manage and delete entries through the TSS Portal.

Note: As the TSS is a user interface for your TGP, any changes made to your entries through the TSS Portal will be reflected in your HMRC TGP as they share the same information.

Select the relevant entry to be deleted from the Trader Goods Profile Management screen; this will take you to the View or Update TGP entry screen
This screen will display the full entry and a Delete button at the bottom of the screen. If you click Delete the entry will be removed from HMRC TGP and the entry will be removed from the list of entries on the TSS TGP Management screen.
A pop-up message will appear asking you to confirm that you wish to delete the TGP entry. If you click ‘OK’, a second message will appear confirming that the TGP entry is being deleted.
On closing these messages, you will be redirected to your TGP Management screen.

Notes on deleting TGP entries from TSS

If the entry is ‘locked’ while another request is being processed, the Delete button will not be available
If the TGP service has been disabled, an error message will be displayed: ‘TGP is currently disabled. Please check back later.’

Close this message and once the TGP is re-enabled click Delete again. A pop-up message will be displayed

If there is an error, a pop-up message will be displayed notifying you that your TGP entry has not been deleted and TSS Service Support has been notified

At this point you can close the notification message, edit the form, and follow the process again. Once the entry is deleted you will be redirected to your TGP Management page.

How to use your TGP on the Internal Market Movement Information (IMMI)

When you’re completing the Internal Market Movement Information (IMMI), you will have the option to choose an entry from your TGP via a drop-down option or by typing in the product reference or goods description.

If you are using a third party, such as a haulier or agent (and intermediaries), you will need to ensure you have given them the appropriate permission to access your TGP. Third parties will not be able to use your TGP on the Internal Market Movement Information (IMMI) until they have been given permission to do so. Further guidance is available in the TSS Permissions Management for TGP and UKIMS Guide on NICTA.

For further details on how to use your TGP to complete an Internal Market Movement Information (IMMI) in TSS, follow the respective guidance on NICTA that applies to your goods movement.

I need to know more

The following additional guides are available on NICTA to support you with movements from GB to NI using the simplified processes:

You can also consult the TSS Contact Centre for support on 0800 060 8888.

Changes to guidance and policy

Last updated May 2025.

May 2025: Removal of Windsor Framework disclaimer.

April 2025: Content updated to include pre-requisites for Traders.

March 2025: Minor updates to language and terminology throughout the guide.

February 2025: Renamed ‘Trader Reference’ field to ‘Product Reference’.

January 2025: New guidance created for management of TGP entries.

Terms used in this guide refer to the terminology used on the TSS Portal. These may not match the most recent terms used on GOV.UK, in HMRC’s Customs Declaration Service or the Northern Ireland Online Tariff on GOV.UK.

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