Inventory-Linked Ports

Published:

24 December 2022

Updated:

24 March 2025

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

Terms used in this guide refer to the terminology used on the TSS Portal. Note that 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.

Introduction

Inventory-Linked Ports (ILPs) are those ports and airports that have customs control systems linked to HMRC systems, allowing for quick electronic clearance of goods on arrival to the port.

Goods moved to Northern Ireland (NI) via seaports (either bulk or containerised to Belfast, Londonderry, or Warrenpoint) and airports (Belfast City and Belfast International) are generally managed by port community systems.

ILP systems are provided by Community System Providers (CSP) to specific port and airport communities and are accessed by HMRC, Border Force and other government departments and agencies. The Trader Support Service (TSS) supports certain inventory-linked locations through CSPs, such as Cargo Community Services (CCS-UK), Community Network Services (CNS Compass), and Maritime Cargo Processing (MCP) Destin8.

ILP systems can also be accessed by commercial supply chain businesses, such as freight forwarders, carriers, temporary storage facility operators, haulage companies and other intermediaries acting on your behalf.

When goods arrive at an ILP, the goods are either cleared at port or moved into a temporary storage facility (TSF), such as a warehouse or transit shed. This creates an inventory record, either at the port of entry or the shed location. Goods can only be released from port or the TSF once you or your agents have provided evidence of customs clearance.

This guide details the processes you must follow for ILP journeys and the role TSS plays in helping with these processes. TSS is free to use, but you must have first signed up for the Trader Support Service.

How TSS Supports Inventory-Linked Ports Movements

TSS supports air and maritime ILP movements from Great Britain (GB) to NI and the Rest of World excluding the European Union (RoW excluding EU) to NI.

If you want to use TSS to complete the customs declarations for your air ILP movements to Belfast International or Belfast City airports and associated locations from GB and RoW excluding EU, your customs agent can ask the shed operator to nominate the inventory record to the TSS badge code ‘YOB’.

If you want to use TSS to complete the customs declarations for your sea shipments that are inventory-linked within CNS Compass (Belfast and Warrenpoint) and MCP (Londonderry), you can claim your inventory record for Belfast and Warrenpoint locations using the TSS Portal or request an inventory record nomination through the TSS Contact Centre for assistance with Londonderry ILP arrivals.

ILP customs declarations on TSS are supported on the Full Frontier Declaration route only. For more information refer to the Full Frontier Declaration: Step-by-step guide on NICTA.

In this guide, we will focus on the three ILP routes that are supported by TSS:

Goods moved directly from GB to NI by air
Goods moved directly from RoW excluding EU to NI by air
Goods moved directly from RoW excluding EU to NI by sea

For all goods movements, an Entry Summary Declaration is required before the goods move. The legal requirements for this lie with the carrier, but a third party may lodge the declaration if it is done with the carrier’s consent.

The Entry Summary Declaration for ILP arrivals into NI is not supported within TSS and must be submitted by the carrier outside the TSS Portal.

Air movements from GB to NI and RoW excluding EU to NI

The journey for RoW excluding EU to NI movements follows the same process as GB to NI movements, except for the completion of the Entry Summary Declaration, which needs to be completed outside of TSS. You can then complete the arrived Full Frontier Declaration within TSS when the goods have arrived.

In addition to the above, you will also need to release your goods from an airport’s TSF using the following processes:

You should nominate a customs agent, intermediary or airline (‘agent’) to complete the necessary processes so that the shed operator can move the goods between the airport and the approved TSF, informing you when the goods have arrived
You need to obtain the Inventory Consignment Reference (ICR) for the goods

You can ask your agent to provide this or telephone the TSS Contact Centre for assistance. Ensure you know the air waybill prefix, air waybill number and house air waybill number (if the house number exists) before contacting the TSS Contact Centre. You should also know the number of pieces in the consignment. You can obtain this information from your agent/carrier.

The agent will inform the shed operator to nominate the inventory record to the TSS badge code ‘YOB’

This enables the record to be cleared against a declaration submitted through TSS. By asking for the goods to be nominated to the TSS badge code, the agent takes on responsibility for any ground/airport charges that may be incurred, and any storage charges incurred will be directed to them.

Once the goods have arrived, an arrived Full Frontier Declaration must be completed to clear goods with customs and release the inventory from the TSF

For detailed guidance on completing an arrived Full Frontier Declaration for air ILP movements, see the Full Frontier Declaration: Step-by-step guide on NICTA.

Goods will only be released from the TSF when you or your agent provide evidence of customs clearance

You can get this evidence as a copy of your customs declaration by using the ‘Export a Declaration’ function on TSS, as explained in the How to use the TSS Portal guide on NICTA. TSS doesn’t issue collection notes. Any ground, storage, or airport charges that have been incurred may also need to be paid before the goods are released. Having an account with the ground handler or shed operator is the most efficient way to pay these. If you are using an agent, most agents have this in place. The shed operator can then release the goods to you in accordance with the TSF operator’s procedures.

Maritime (sea) movements to NI

For maritime (sea) movements, you can release your goods from the port or the port’s associated temporary storage facility using TSS in the following way:

The carrier is responsible for submitting an Entry Summary Declaration; this needs to be completed outside of TSS for all maritime (sea) movements
Your clearing agent, who holds the respective CSP badge, should complete the necessary processes for moving goods between the port and the approved TSF, and inform you when the goods have arrived
You, or your customs agent, should create an Inventory Claim within TSS to claim the inventory / goods at the port location

To start an Inventory Claim you need to know the container number, final destination location code, the house or master bill of lading number, load type (full or part load) and whether the goods are cargo or consignment. If you are using an agent, you may need to provide them with this information. Full details on the Inventory Claim process can be found in the section on Submitting an Inventory Claim in the TSS Portal for Maritime ILP movements, later in this guide.

The method used for claiming your inventory depends on the location of customs clearance of the goods:

Method A (Belfast and Warrenpoint ports): Create and complete the Inventory Claim form in the TSS Portal and click the Submit button. The TSS system will attempt to claim the inventory record using the information you have provided. If, after submitting your Inventory Claim form the Inventory Claim is unsuccessful, the system will raise a case for a TSS agent to assist you
Method B (Londonderry port): When you select ‘Londonderry’ the system will raise a case for a TSS agent to assist you with claiming the inventory record

TSS will notify you if the Inventory Claim is successful, or whether further information is needed

Telephone the TSS Contact Centre on 0800 060 8888 if you need help claiming your inventory record. The party who claims the inventory record takes responsibility for any ground or port charges that may be incurred.

Once the inventory record has been successfully claimed, the creation of the Full Frontier Declaration is required to release the inventory from the TSF

For detailed guidance on completing a Full Frontier Declaration for maritime (sea) movements, see the Full Frontier Declaration: Step-by-step guide on NICTA
For details on linking Inventory Claims to Full Frontier Declarations, see the section on Linking an amalgamation to a Full Frontier Declaration and submitting the Full Frontier Declaration in this guide

Once any inventory holds have been resolved and the goods are customs cleared, the port operator, (or the shed operator, if the goods have been moved to a TSF) can release the goods to you

Any ground, storage, or port charges that have been incurred may also need to be paid before the goods are released, in accordance with the port or shed’s operating procedures. Having an account with the ground handler is the most efficient way to pay these. If you are using an agent, most of them have such an arrangement in place.

When the goods have been customs cleared and released by the shed, evidence that the goods have cleared customs and that no inventory holds exist may be required by the port or shed before the goods can be collected
You can get a copy of your customs declaration by using the ‘Export a Declaration’ function on TSS, as explained in How to use the TSS Portal guide on NICTA

Submitting an Inventory Claim in the TSS Portal for Maritime ILP movements

You or your agent should complete the Inventory Claim form on the TSS Portal using the following process:

After logging into the TSS Portal, click the Maritime Inventory tab in the navigation bar at the top of the page.
Next, click the Start an Inventory Claim
A new page will present an Inventory Claim – new record form for completion

The form contains the following fields (all asterisked fields are mandatory):

A unique Local Reference Number (LRN) will be generated for your declaration and added to the Inventory Claim form; this is a unique identifying reference for that specific Inventory Claim
The declaration Status field is read-only and will change to reflect the status of your inventory claim
The Inventory Type field will be set to ‘Maritime’
Container Number field – Here you would insert the container number or the trailer number
Final Destination Location Code – select from field’s the drop-down menu the final location of the goods where customs clearance will take place.

Input the House or Master Bill of Lading number.
Add the number of packages to the Package Count This should match exactly to what has been manifested in the inventory record and the total number of packages on your commercial documents. It should reflect the smallest external packaging
The next three fields will appear greyed out and are not editable. These will be automatically populated once the inventory record has been successfully claimed:

UCN field – the Unique Consignment Number
Date of Claim field – the date that the inventory record is successfully claimed
The Linked Frontier Declaration Reference Number (LRN) field will be populated when you have linked the inventory record to a Full Frontier Declaration (FFD)

Choose the Load Type from the field’s drop-down menu. The options for load type are as follows:

‘FCL – Full Container Load – Cleared on Wheels’ – where the cargo fills a whole shipping container
‘LCL – Less than Container Load – Offload Cargo’ – where the cargo is not large enough to fill a whole shipping container on its own and is combined with other cargo to fill the shipping container (known as groupage)
‘Mix’ – a combination of cleared on wheels and offload cargo; goods that have been loaded on to a trailer and manifested within the inventory

Select whether the goods are Cargo or Consignment from the field’s drop-down menu:

‘Cargo’ – full load shipments
‘Consignment’ – part load shipments

The Weight field is not mandatory but will assist in matching your Inventory Claim to the inventory record

The gross weight should be entered in kilograms and must include all packaging (but not the carriers’ equipment). The weight must match the weight on the inventory record.

Once you have completed all the mandatory fields and any optional fields, click the Save button
Next, you will have the option to Submit, Cancel Inventory Claim, Save or Mark for Amalgamation by clicking the relevant buttons within the Inventory Claim form

Submit will start the Inventory Claim process using the information you have provided. The method that TSS will use to claim the inventory record on your behalf is determined by the location code you have entered in the Final Destination Location field as detailed at the start of this section
Cancel Inventory Claim button – possible reasons for cancelling include:
Claiming the wrong cargo record
Non-arrivals to port
The customs declaration will be done outside of TSS

Call the TSS Contact Centre if you need assistance with re-nominating the inventory record to another agent.

Save button allows you to save the information to complete at another time
Mark for Amalgamation button (see step 12) and Save (Ctrl + s) button – which will save all the information entered.

TSS supports you (or your customs agent representing you in TSS) with the functionality to amalgamate multiple maritime Inventory Claims (child) into one (parent) claim, and to subsequently link the latter to one declaration by using the Mark for Amalgamation button

This action will add a tick in the box next to the Amalgamation Candidate text
If, however, the UCN has been claimed already, the Error Text field will be updated, and you will need to click the Cancel Inventory Claim button

Once you have submitted your Inventory Claim form you will see a confirmation message displayed in green at the top of the screen and if there are no errors, the Status field will change to ‘In Claiming’

If your Inventory Claim is unsuccessful or if there are any errors, the Status field of the Inventory Claim form will change to ‘Input Required’ and you will receive an email notification to advise you of this

You should check the information for errors, correct them and resubmit your application. If you believe the information you entered was correct, you should raise a case on the TSS Portal to resolve this and a TSS agent can help claim the UCN. They will advise you once the inventory record has been claimed.

TSS will send you an email notification if your Inventory Claim is successful. The Status field of the Inventory Claim will change to ‘Claimed’ and the UCN and Date of Claim fields will be updated

You can view the Maritime Inventory table for a list of your Inventory Claims by clicking the Maritime Inventory tab on the navigation bar at the top of the screen.
You then need to amalgamate the inventory and create an Amalgamation Claim (parent) if there is more than one Inventory Claim (child) to the same Final Destination Location

This will generate an Amalgamation Claim (parent claim), which will be assigned a Master UCN. See the section of this guide on Creating an amalgamation inventory claim for step-by-step guidance.

Next, create a Full Frontier Declaration and link the Amalgamation Claim to this to clear the goods through customs and release them from the TSF/Shed

See the section of this guide on Linking an amalgamation to a Full Frontier Declaration and submitting the Full Frontier Declaration for further guidance.

Creating an amalgamation inventory claim

Click the Maritime Inventory tab in the navigation bar
Click the Start an Inventory Amalgamation button and a new screen will present an Amalgamation Claim – new record form
Select the Final Destination Location Code in the mandatory field using the drop-down menu. This code must be the same for the Amalgamation (parent) form and all associated inventory claims (child)
Then click Save (Ctrl + s) button

This will update the form with new tabs appearing at the bottom so you can Associate Inventory Claim (child) for amalgamation or Cancel Amalgamation if required

Click Associate Inventory Claim button to add Inventory Claims, selecting them one by one from the drop-down. Inventory Claims will appear in the field’s drop-down menu if they are:

Updated with the final destination, as per this amalgamation form; and
Marked as an Amalgamation Candidate

You can associate as many child inventory claims as required. TSS will create the amalgamation.

The Inventory Claim(s) to Add field has a drop-down menu that lists all the inventory claims available for amalgamation at the selected location. The columns, reading from left to right, will show the following information for each listed Inventory Claim

UCN of the individual Inventory Claim
House or Master Bill of Lading number
Container Number
Package Count
Weight

Once you have selected the Inventory Claims for amalgamation, the respective UCN numbers will appear in the selection field. Click the Submit button to add them to the amalgamation form. You may also Add attachments to the amalgamation by clicking the paperclip symbol below the field
The Associated Inventory Claims will be listed at the bottom of the amalgamation form. Note: If there is a customs hold against a particular Inventory Claim, a Hold Reason listing under the fourth column, will appear next to the claim listed
At this stage you may:

Click Associate Inventory Claim for further Inventory Claims
Click the Submit button to create the amalgamation
Click Cancel Amalgamation button, if cancellation is required

Once you Submit the amalgamation request, a confirmation will appear on a green pop-up message, and the Status field of the amalgamation form will change to ‘In Claiming’:

Once the amalgamation process is successful, the Status field will change to ‘Claimed’ and a Master UCN will appear, and the associated Inventory Claims will show at the bottom of the Amalgamation Record.

When viewing an Amalgamation Record from the Maritime Inventory screen, the TSS Portal screen header will show the Inventory Claim ICR number
When viewing an Inventory Claim from within the amalgamation form, the TSS Portal screen header will show the related Parent ICR and the Child ICR numbers
When viewing an Inventory Claim from the Maritime Inventory screen the TSS Portal screen header will show the Inventory Claim ICR number

Decoupling an Inventory Claim from an amalgamation form

If you make an error or no longer wish to include a particular Inventory Claim in the amalgamation request, you must cancel the whole amalgamation before you can click Decouple from Amalgamation to decouple the Inventory Claim (child) from the amalgamation request (parent). A new amalgamation request would be required, and all the correct Inventory Claims (children) associated once again before it is submitted. You need to take great care, therefore, when you are selecting Inventory Claims to associate with the parent to avoid errors in selection.

Cancelling an amalgamation Inventory Claim

If you cancel the amalgamation the form initially moves into a status of ‘Pending Cancellation’.

It will then move into a status of ‘Cancelled’ once fully cancelled.

A common error when creating an amalgamation Inventory Claim

You must select at least two Inventory Claim UCNs and click the Submit button for the amalgamation request, otherwise an error message will appear.

Linking an amalgamation to a Full Frontier Declaration and submitting the Full Frontier Declaration

While creating a Full Frontier Declaration, in the Transport Details section of the declaration, if you select Maritime from the drop-down in the Mode of Transport field, the Maritime Inventory field In this field you need to select the Master UCN of the required Amalgamation Claim
Select the Master UCN in the Maritime Inventory field from the drop-down list

Note: When selecting the Master UCN, the fields for Container number and the House or Master Bill of Lading number are not relevant as these are only available at the Inventory Claim (child) level.

Once the Full Frontier Declaration has been saved, the Status field of the Amalgamation Claim and the associated Inventory Claim changes from ‘Claimed’ to ‘Linked’
Once the Full Frontier Declaration has been submitted to CDS, the Status field of the Amalgamation Claim changes from ‘Linked’ to ‘Processing’, and the Linked Declaration field is updated with the Full Frontier Declaration number

Note: If you cancel the Full Frontier Declaration, the Status field on the Amalgamation Claim changes from ‘Processing’ back to ‘Linked’.

The Full Frontier Declaration will then move through the ‘Awaiting Arrival’ to ‘Arrived’ status after dwell time of 10−15 minutes, and then onto ‘Closed’
When the Full Frontier Declaration is ‘Closed’, the status of the Master UCN (parent) Inventory Claim changes to ‘Customs Cleared’
- The status of the child Inventory Claim also changes to ‘Customs Cleared’.
- The list of all child claims within an amalgamation will be shown as ‘Customs Cleared’.
When all the child Inventory Claims are ‘Released’ (not on any border force or port health inspectors related holds) then the Status field of the Master UCN will change to ‘Released’

However, if the Status of even one child inventory claim remains as ‘Customs Cleared’, then the Status of the Master UCN will also remain as ‘Customs Cleared’.

Potential Full Frontier Declaration errors

If you enter the incorrect number of packages in the Full Frontier Declaration compared to that in the amalgamated Inventory Claim, an error notification would appear in red on the Full Frontier Declaration. The correct number of packages needs to be entered before the Full Frontier Declaration can proceed.

The message will read “The supplied number of packages does not match the number of pieces recorded in the declaration’s ICR record”.

I need to know more

There are additional guides available on NICTA to support you with trade into and out of NI:

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

Changes to guidance and policy

Last updated March 2025.

March 2025: Updated to reflect Windsor Framework terminology updates

September 2024: Updated to reflect changes to Maritime Inventory.

June 2024: Updated trader journey details

January 2024: Updated to further detail process of movements to inventory linked ports

October 2022: Removed references to Maritime Automation

Pre-movement Internal Market Movement Information (IMMI): Step-by-Step guide

Supplementary Declarations: Checklist for traders of standard goods

TSS Portal user interface updates guide

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