TSS Transit service: a step-by-step guide for traders

Published:

18 February 2021

Updated:

27 February 2026

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

The Trader Support Service (TSS) only supports Transit journeys from Great Britain (GB) to Northern Ireland (NI) via Ireland (IE) and not the direct import of goods into IE. As such, this guide concentrates on the process required for moving goods from GB to NI via IE under the Transit procedure and how TSS supports you with using this route.

There are only two ways for goods to move from GB to NI via IE:

  • A direct import to IE

Goods are imported and declared to Irish customs at the point of entry into IE and are then in free circulation for onward shipment to NI.

Note: TSS does not support the direct import of goods into IE because this is a movement to a European Union (EU) member state. If you choose this journey, you will need to arrange for your own customs processes to be completed, including:

  • Full export declarations and an Exit Summary Declaration, as your goods are leaving the UK safety and security zone when the goods leave GB. You can find out when to make an Exit Summary Declaration on GOV.UK
  • Import Declarations and Entry Summary Declarations, as your goods are entering the EU safety and security zone when the goods enter IE

OR

  • A Transit procedure to NI

Under a Transit customs procedure, the goods depart from GB, move through IE under duty suspension and are presented to customs on arrival in NI, where the import is declared.

TSS offers a declarations service to support the Transit procedure for the GB-IE-NI route, including starting and ending the Transit customs procedure involved with the Transit movement.

Where you organise a Transit procedure outside the TSS Portal, TSS can support the required GB-NI declarations but does not assist with starting and ending the Transit procedure. For this scenario, TSS will contact you to confirm that the additional customs procedures are in hand before resolving the case (see Provide additional information for the Transit via case in TSS in this guide).


Transit GB to NI via IE

The Transit service provided by TSS is free to use if you are registered on the TSS Portal and wish to move goods from GB to NI via IE.

Both the haulier and the importer need to be registered with TSS to use the Transit service. The importer must also be registered on the TSS Portal so that a Supplementary Declaration will be created on TSS upon the Transit being closed. This is needed in case there is any problem with the Transit being closed off, and it is then necessary to have the Supplementary Declaration submitted and closed in order for the Transit to be closed.

If the haulier or importer for your movement have not yet registered with the TSS Portal, you should follow the process for registration outlined in the Registration: Step-by-step guide to using TSS on NICTA.

For Transit movements GB to NI via IE, a Transit Guarantee is required against any customs duties suspended while the goods are in transit. Hauliers registered with TSS can use the TSS Transit Guarantee.

TSS will support you with submitting the following documents necessary to complete a Transit movement:

You will need to organise the following steps without TSS support:

Further details on GMRs and GVMS can be found in the Creating a Goods Movement Reference guide on NICTA.


TSS Transit service

Transit process in TSS – step-by-step

  1. The Transit process in the TSS Portal starts when a haulier submits a Goods Movement, selecting ‘Dublin Port’ or ‘Rosslare Port’ in the Port of Arrival field. This defaults the Route field to ‘GB-IE-NI’

Note: An Entry Summary Declaration is required for goods movements from GB to NI via IE. For this type of movement an Entry Summary Declaration is submitted by the TSS Portal to the new Import Control System 2 (ICS2). More guidance on Entry Summary Declarations can be found in the ENS Step-by-step guide: Standard Process and Consignment First Process on NICTA

  1. A Simplified Frontier Declaration will be auto-generated from the information provided in the Entry Summary Declaration and held for you as part of the TSS Simplified Procedure after Transit is closed

If the movement does not qualify for the TSS Simplified Procedure, then you must complete a Full Frontier Declaration on the TSS Portal and provide the Movement Reference Number (MRN) that has been supplied by TSS. An overview of when Full Frontier Declarations are required can be found in the Full Frontier Declaration: Step-by-step guide on NICTA.

  1. A Transit case will be created on the TSS Portal, and the Transit Declaration will be transmitted to the New Computerised Transit System (NCTS), once you have provided the required information, which will generate a Transit Local Reference Number (LRN)

Note: Your haulier must take the Transit LRN to a GB Office of Departure (refer to Appendix 1 in this guide) along with the goods for presentation. For more details on moving goods under Transit, go to New Computerised Transit System (NCTS) on GOV.UK.

  1. A Transit Accompanying Document (TAD) will be generated in the NCTS for each consignment showing a unique Transit MRN in numeric form and as a barcode

It is not mandatory for the TAD to travel with the goods as a paper document. If electronic presentation is supported at the Office of Transit or the Office of Destination, then the MRN can be presented via a phone, tablet or other electronic means as an alternative to paper.

The status and location of Transit movements can be tracked by their MRN on the MRN Follow-up (Export & Transit) page on the European Commission website.

  1. TSS will complete the Border Force notification on your haulier’s behalf, if you have chosen to end the Transit at the Office of Destination (Belfast, Larne or Warrenpoint)
  2. Once goods are presented at the Office of Destination and all customs formalities are completed, the goods will be released into free circulation, and the Transit movement will be ended

Note: If you are moving SPS goods, a pre-notification is required in the EU’s TRACES NT system at least 24 hours before your movement starts. Allow time for veterinary checks and certification to be completed before pre-notification.

Documentary checks may be required before shipment and/or physical inspections conducted on the goods and seal at the IE port.

WHAT IS…?

TRACES NT (Trade Control and Expert System – New Technology) is the European Commission’s online system for health certification. The system tracks the movement of animals, animal products, food and feed of non-animal origin, plants and plant products into and out of the EU.

Before entering the GB port

Goods Movement Reference (GMR)

To move goods from GB to NI via IE travelling via RoRo ports, you will need a GMR from GVMS. The GMR is a number and a barcode that links together all the customs declarations associated with a particular shipment and covers all the goods being moved within a particular vehicle or trailer.

Hauliers and carriers are required to provide a GMR for each commercial vehicle or trailer that leaves GB for NI via IE.

GVMS provides a drop-down menu of Offices of Transit to select from digitally.

Further details can be found in the Creating a Goods Movement Reference guide on NICTA.

Pre-Boarding Notification (PBN)

TSS does not support this function but can provide advice and support to hauliers who are unfamiliar with it.

Your haulier needs to make a PBN to the Irish RoRo service before moving the goods. This notification is necessary to ensure goods can move through the Irish port of entry.

You can learn more about the PBN process online at Revenue.ie or from the Goods movements involving Irish Ports – Transit and Indirect Exports webinar (at the 21st minute of the recording) on NICTA.

Crossing into Ireland

Where a Transit journey is closing at an Office of Destination in NI, on arriving in Ireland your haulier must present the goods and all accompanying documents to the local Irish Office of Transit for completion of customs formalities and any border agency inspections.

Where Transit is closing at a pre-approved Authorised Consignee location in NI, there is no requirement for goods to be presented at the Irish Office of Transit, and your haulier may continue the onward journey.

NOTE: The TAD can be communicated electronically to the Office of Transit.

Moving your goods into NI

Upon reaching NI, the goods must be taken directly to a location where the Transit movement can be closed. This could be either:

  • An Authorised Consignee location

When a TSS agent contacts you about your Transit case, they will inform you of the available TSS Authorised Consignee locations, unless you have your own Authorised Consignee location and your own Transit guarantee. If you have opted to close your Transit journey at an Authorised Consignee location, the Authorised Consignee will notify the Office of Destination of your arrival and confirm whether an inspection is required.

The TAD is communicated electronically.

If no inspection is required, the Authorised Consignee will carry out the necessary checks and inform the driver that the movement has ended and that the goods can proceed to their unloading location.

OR

  • Offices of Destination – Belfast, Larne or Warrenpoint

If goods are taken to an Office of Destination (Belfast, Larne or Warrenpoint), TSS needs to send a notification to Border Force prior to the goods’ arrival. The TAD is received at the Office of Destination electronically. Upon arrival of the goods, the Office of Destination will confirm whether a physical inspection of them is required.

If no inspection is required, the driver will be informed that the goods have been released from Transit formalities and can proceed to their unloading location.

Note: Where a physical inspection is required, this will be conducted at the Authorised Consignee or Office of Destination location. Permission to proceed with the shipment will then be provided by the location. In some limited circumstances, the Authorised Consignee location may direct hauliers to facilities in the vicinity of Belfast International Airport if a further inspection is required.


Haulier responsibilities

Submit a Transit Goods Movement

Haulier needs to start a Goods Movement in the TSS Portal

For Transit movements, the haulier should only select ‘RoRo Unaccompanied [ICS2]’ or ‘RoRo Accompanied [ICS2]’ in the Type of Movement field, depending on their journey.

For Transit movements, the haulier should only select ‘Dublin Port’ or ‘Rosslare Port’ in the Port of Arrival field, depending on their journey.

Businesses moving goods into or out of NI need an Economic Operator’s Registration Identification (EORI) number starting with XI, entered to their TSS Company Profile. To be issued with an XI EORI, businesses must have a permanent business establishment or handle specified customs activities in NI. Guidance about obtaining EORI numbers can be found on GOV.UK.

Note: Businesses without an XI EORI may however continue to move goods into NI by using the TSS Portal.

For Transit movements, TSS will validate that the importer EORI entered on Entry Summary Declaration consignments is registered on the TSS Portal. If the EORI number entered in the Importer EORI field is not TSS registered, the portal will indicate this and clear the field. You will need to contact the importer and ask them to register with the TSS to allow you to proceed with the Transit movement.

Validation of the XI EORI in the TSS Portal

All XI EORI numbers stored in TSS Company Profiles are subject to regular checks to ensure the validity status remains accurate in the system. The TSS Company Profile has a read-only field which indicates whether the XI EORI Number is valid.

TSS also provides a hyperlink to Europa Operator Systems (EOS) website, for checking the validity of XI or EU EORI numbers underneath the ‘Carrier, Consignee and Consignor’ fields in the Entry Summary Declaration.

If invalid EORIs are entered in any of these fields, TSS will notify you by a message stating that name and address must be provided.

The message will state:

‘Warning: This EORI is not valid. Provide the name and address details for this field as these will be used when you save and submit this data to avoid the rejection of an invalid EORI in your ENS. To override this and use the EORI instead then untick the Address Required flag.’

The affected field(s) will subsequently be re-named as ‘Invalid’ and the ‘Consignee/Consignor Address Required/EORI Unknown’ flag will appear as ticked underneath the respective field. In cases where traders have chosen to make their company details private via the Company Profile, their name and address have to be entered manually. Otherwise, TSS will auto-populate the name and address in the respective fields.

To revert to using EORIs, you should un-tick the Consignee/Consignor Address Required/EORI Unknown flag box.

More information about XI EORI validation assistance and how to complete the Entry Summary Declaration submission can be found in the ENS Step-by-step guide: Standard Process and Consignment First Process on NICTA.

Once the Entry Summary Declaration data has been submitted to Import Control System 2 (ICS2), if accepted, the state of the declaration will change to ‘Authorised for Movement’. If the declaration is rejected, the state will change to ‘Trader Input Required.’

If an error is reported and input is required, you will need to review and update accordingly. You will also receive an e-mail notification that will contain details of the specific errors to be corrected for the declaration to be successfully reprocessed.

Associate Consignments option for Transit movements

When hauliers are using the TSS Associate Consignments functionality to add consignments to an Entry Summary Declaration header on the GB-IE-NI route, TSS will only list consignments where the importer’s EORI is TSS-registered.

Confirmation of haulier’s responsibilities is required before associating consignments to an Entry Summary Declaration header. The haulier will be presented with a dialog box asking them to confirm their responsibilities before associating a consignment to an Entry Summary Declaration Header.

Note: The ENS Only Reason option on a Transit journey can be selected only if evidence of the Import Declaration can be provided to TSS.

Submission of Transit information to TSS

Once the Entry Summary Declaration is submitted, the haulier receives an email notification that a Transit case has been raised on the TSS portal, asking them to access and update.

An Excel template will be attached to the case on the TSS Portal, which needs to be populated with the required information for the Transit movement. Guidance on populating the template is given below in Appendix 2: Information requirements for Transit journeys.
The haulier also needs to attach the requested documentation to the case notes on the TSS Portal, using the paperclip icon provided.

Note: If you are moving goods that are subject to control or licence certification, such as a Common Health Entry Document (CHED), a copy of the certificate must be attached to the Transit case.

These steps need to be completed no later than three working hours before a goods movement commences.

Note: The TSS Transit service operates daily from 07:30 to 22:30.

If moving SPS goods, the haulier needs to be registered with Ireland’s Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) to be authorised to access the TRACES NT platform. The haulier must notify Ireland’s Border Management Unit (BMU), 24 hours in advance of moving the goods, by generating a CHED for each consignment on the TRACES NT platform. This is a legal requirement of the EU.

The information request will also appear as a notification link under the Case view in the Action Needed section.

Note: The Action Needed section shows cases at different stages of the process, including:

  • During initial information gathering. When TSS is waiting for the haulier to provide required details or documents
  • When TSS requires haulier input. For example, supplying additional information, uploading templates, or responding to queries
  • When the Transit movement is in progress and confirmation of arrival is outstanding. The case will remain visible until arrival information has been completed and confirmed

Once all the required information is provided to TSS, your haulier will receive an email advising the ENS MRN and the Transit LRN, which are also visible in the case record in the TSS Portal.

Submit a Pre-Boarding Notification

The haulier needs to create a PBN on the Irish Customs Roll on Roll off service (RoRo service), using the Entry Summary Declaration MRN provided by TSS and the Transit MRN as given to the driver for processing at the GB Office of Departure.

When creating the PBN, the haulier will need to select Movement Direction as ‘Into Ireland’.

Obtaining the PBN will fulfil the Irish Office of Transit requirements – a necessary part of the Transit movement.

Detailed instructions on how to navigate the PBN process can be found on pages 12-19 of the PBN User Guide on Revenue.ie. Hauliers can also contact [email protected] if they have queries.

Entering the GB port

The driver must have both the Irish PBN and the generated GMR reference before entering the GB port and provide these to the ferry operator in order to board the ferry to Ireland.

Entering the Irish port

If moving SPS goods, the appropriate accompanying certificates – for example, Export Health Certificates (EHCs), Phytosanitary Certificates and CHEDs – must be carried with the goods and may be subject to a documentary check and/or the goods may be subject to a physical inspection at border control posts in the Irish ports of entry.

The SPS documentary requirements must be arranged by the NI importer and hauliers must ensure that the NI importer has obtained the correct SPS documents in advance.

The haulier needs to be registered with DAFM to be authorised to access the TRACES NT platform. The haulier must notify Ireland’s BMU, 24 hours in advance of movement of the goods, by generating a CHED for each consignment on the TRACES NT platform and must attach the CHED certificate in the Transit case. This is a legal requirement of the EU.

End Transit movement in Northern Ireland

The goods must be taken directly to an Authorised Consignee location or the Belfast, Larne or Warrenpoint Office of Destinations where the Transit can be discharged. Details on requirements to end the Transit movements are covered in the Moving your goods into NI: TSS support section of this guide.


Importer responsibilities

Moving Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) goods

If you are using Transit procedures to move SPS goods, you must enter a pre-notification onto the EU TRACES NT system and declare ‘IE’ as the goods destination 24 hours before your movement starts.

It is the responsibility of the NI importer to upload EHCs and other SPS documents onto the Irish TRACES NT system. See the Guidance on controlled goods and the Online Tariff Tool on NICTA for more information.

There is more information from the 40th minute onwards in the Goods movements involving Irish Ports – Transit and Indirect Exports webinar by Ireland’s DAFM.

Currently, the DAFM portal does not support Transit, so you will need to contact DAFM to obtain a MRN to use for your movement, because the Transit MRN will not be accepted when moving SPS goods.

Complete import process

TSS will submit the Simplified Frontier Declaration on the importer’s behalf once your haulier has confirmed arrival. This will subsequently auto-generate a Supplementary Declaration on the TSS Portal and notify the Importer of Record that it has been created and is ready to be completed.

The Supplementary Declaration is generated by TSS for the importer of record to complete, which will finalise the process.

Submission of the Supplementary Declaration in TSS is required by the tenth calendar day of the month following the goods movement.

Submission of the Supplementary Declaration is the responsibility of the Importer of Record, as identified by the Importer EORI cited on the TSS Simplified Frontier Declaration.

TSS will populate the Transit-specific information in the Supplementary Declaration. The Transit MRN value will be added to the Header Previous Document field, and the Location of Goods field will be updated with the location at which the Transit journey was discharged:

  • In cases where the Transit journey was completed at an Office of Destination, the Location of Goods field will be populated with the Office of Destination where the goods and TAD were presented on arrival: Belfast, Larne or Warrenpoint
  • When the Transit journey was completed at a TSS Authorised Consignee Location (ACL), the Location of Goods field will be populated with ‘PING Handling Limited (GBAUBELBELHYX)’, as the Authorised Consignee for TSS

Guidance on Supplementary Declarations can be found in the Supplementary Declarations: Step-by-step guide on NICTA.


I need to know more

There are additional guides available to support you with trade to and from NI:

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


Changes to guidance and policy

Last updated February 2026.

February 2026: CHED’s to be attached to the case

September 2025: Updates for ICS2 requirements

August 2025: Update covering the new Import Control System 2 implementation

March 2025: Screenshots updated to reflect correct terminologies for Windsor Framework updates

January 2025: Section 4.2.3 updated for NCTS5

November 2024: Section 3.2 updated to cover Goods Movement Reference (GMR)

September 2023: Section 4.2.2 updated to cover XI EORI Validation Assistance in TSS

July 2023: Sections 3.1 and 4.2. updated to reflect Validation on Importer EORI and ENS only option. Continuous improvements also applied to guidance with updated screenshots and review of current TSS Transit process

July 2022: Addition of section on changes to guidance and policy

April 2022: General improvements to guide

Published 2021


Appendix 1: Useful addresses

Office of Departure addresses and contact details

Holyhead

Road King Holyhead Transport Café, Parc Cybi, Holyhead, LL65 2YQ. Remotely cleared by Holyhead Inland Border Facility

24/7 Email: [email protected]

Tel: +44 (0) 7919659823

Fishguard / Pembroke

Border Force, Fishguard Harbour, Fishguard, Pembrokeshire, SA64 0BU

Tel: +44 (0)3001 065 322

Heysham

Heysham Port Limited, Heysham Lancashire, LA3 2XF

Appointment system, whereby the processing of any Transit documents or licences will need to be pre-arranged in advance.

Email: [email protected] Tel: +44 (0) 7918495309

Liverpool

Liverpool, Seaforth S2 Berth, Port of Liverpool, Crosby Road, Liverpool, L21 1JD

Tel: +44 (0)3000 711 769

Office of Destination addresses

Belfast EPU

XI000142 Eyden House, 5 Westbank Drive, Belfast, BT3 9LA

Larne

XI005220 9 Olderfleet Road, Larne, BT40 1AS

Warrenpoint

XI005160 The Ferry Terminal, Warrenpoint, Newry, BT34 3JR


Appendix 2: Information requirements for Transit journeys

Appendix 2 provides guidance to support completing the Excel template required for a goods movement from GB to NI via IE.

Make sure that the correct Transit Closure location is selected as this cannot be changed after the submission of the Transit documents.

 

Field Description Required Information
Case Number (TSS will input) TSS case number starting ‘CS’
Haulier Company (TSS will input) Haulier’s Company Name
Haulier Email (TSS will input) Haulier’s email address
Haulier Contact Number (TSS will input) Haulier’s contact number
SFD Number (TSS will input) TSS Simplified Frontier Declaration Number
Carrier EORI (TSS will input) EORI of the Carrier/Haulier transporting the goods
Vehicle Registration/Trailer Number Registration number of Trailer/Vehicle transporting the goods
Nationality of Vehicle/Trailer Registered Nationality of Vehicle/Trailer
Transport Charges/Method of Payment Transport Charges/Method of Payment
Method of Transport Select Road Method of Transport from the drop-down:

·       ‘Car’

·       ‘Truck’

·       ‘Trailer’

·       ‘Semi-trailer’

·       ‘Tractor’

·       ‘Flatbed’

·       ‘Less than 7.5 tons’

Port of Departure For the departure port of the Transit movement, select from the following:

·       ‘Liverpool (GB000080)’

·       ‘Holyhead (GB000124)’

·       ‘Pembroke (GB00126)’

·       ‘Fishguard (GB005200)’

·       ‘Heysham (GB005210)’

Port of Arrival For the arrival port of the Transit movement, select from the following:

·       ‘Dublin (IEDUB100)’

·       ‘Rosslare (IEROS100)’

Ferry Name Name of the ferry the goods will travel on
Date of Ferry Sailing Date the goods will be sailing from GB: input in dd/mm/yyyy format
Time of Ferry Sailing Time the goods will be sailing from GB: input in hh:mm format
Date of Ferry Arrival Date the goods will arrive in IE: input in dd/mm/yyyy format
Time of Ferry Arrival Time the goods will arrive in IE: input in hh:mm format
Date of Arrival in NI Date the goods will arrive at their NI closure location: input in dd/mm/yyyy format
Time of Arrival in NI Time the goods will arrive at their NI closure location: input in hh:mm format
Transit Closure Location For Office of Destination select one of the following:

·       ‘Belfast (XI000142)’

·       ‘Warrenpoint (XI005160)’

·       ‘Larne (XI005220)’

For Authorised Consignee Location (ACL) select one of the following:

·       ‘Portadown’

·       ‘Enniskillen’

·       ‘Newry 1’

·       ‘Newry 2’

·       ‘Newry 3’

·       ‘Ballymena’

·       ‘Armagh’

·       ‘Newtownbutler’

·       ‘Lisburn’

·       ‘Middletown’

Containerised Are goods in a container?

·       ‘0-NO’

·       ‘1-Yes’

Seal ID (if applicable) Seal ID if applicable
Contains SPS Goods Does the movement contain SPS goods:

·       ‘Yes’

·       ‘No’

EORI Number of the party sending the goods (Consignor) – TSS will input from Entry Summary Declaration EORI number of the party sending the goods (Consignor) via Transit
Name of party sending goods (Consignor) Full trading name of the party sending the goods via Transit
Address Line 1 of party sending goods (Consignor) First line of the address at which the party sending the goods via Transit is situated
City of party sending goods (Consignor) The city in which the party sending the goods via Transit is situated
Post Code of party sending goods (Consignor) The post code for the address at which the party sending the goods via Transit is situated
EORI Number of the party receiving the goods (Consignee) – TSS will input from Entry Summary Declaration EORI number of the party receiving the goods (Consignee) via Transit
Name of party receiving goods (Consignee) Full trading name of the party receiving the goods via Transit
Address Line 1 of party receiving goods (Consignee) First line of the address at which the party receiving the goods via Transit is situated
City of party receiving goods (Consignee) The city in which the party receiving the goods via Transit is situated
Post Code of party receiving goods (Consignee) The post code for the address at which the party receiving the goods via Transit is situated
Consignee Language – pre-set Consignee Language (pre-set to ‘EN’)
Goods Description – TSS will input from Entry Summary Declaration The normal trade description of the goods expressed in sufficiently precise terms to allow immediate and unambiguous identification and classification. This field has a maximum of 260 characters
Document Reference – TSS will input from Entry Summary Declaration The reference for the supported document selected
Incoterms As per Incoterms® 2020
Invoice Value of goods The invoice value of the specific goods
Invoice Currency The three-digit currency code for the invoice value of the specified goods
Gross Mass – TSS will input from Entry Summary Declaration The gross mass is the aggregate mass of the specific goods with all their packaging in KGS, excluding containers or transport equipment
No of Packages– TSS will input from Entry Summary Declaration The number of packages for the specific line of the declaration
Type of Packages – TSS will input from Entry Summary Declaration Select the appropriate type of package from the drop-down list, being used for the goods within the specific line of the declaration from the drop-down list:

·       ‘Boxes’

·       ‘Cases’

·       ‘Pallets’

·       ‘Bulk-Containerised’

·       ‘Aerosol’

·       ‘Ampoule – non-protected’

·       ‘Ampoule – protected’

Identifying Marks of Packages– TSS will input from Entry Summary Declaration Any identifying marks or numbers displayed on the packages for the specific line of the declaration. Where no marks or numbers are present, a full stop [.] should be entered into the field to enable Transitnet to process it
Commodity Code (six digits) See GOV.UK for tariff guidance A six-digit commodity code is required for each product on the shipment
Office of Incident The nearest applicable customs office for reporting incidents as they happen during Transit
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