Tariffs on goods movements to Northern Ireland (NI)

Published:

19 April 2021

Updated:

19 February 2026

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Before you start
    1. Rest of the World (Excluding EU) to NI movements
    2. GB to NI movements
  3. What is a tariff?
    1. Most Favoured Nation (MFN)
    2. Preference
    3. Duty suspension
    4. Trade remedies, safeguards and retaliatory duties
      1. Countervailing duties (CVD)
      2. Anti-Dumping Duties (ADD)
      3. Tariff-rate quotas (TRQ)
  4. Determining if goods are liable for tariff payments
    1. Goods ‘at risk’
      1. Tariff duties – goods ‘at risk’
      2. Relevant steps when declaring goods ‘at risk’
    2. Goods ‘not at risk’
      1. Tariff duties – goods ‘not at risk’
      2. Relevant steps when declaring goods ‘not at risk’
  5. Instruments that could help to reduce the payment of EU duties
    1. Customs duty waiver
      1. Relevant steps to claim a waiver on ‘at risk’ goods
    2. UK Internal Market Scheme (UKIMS)
      1. Criteria to apply for the UK Internal Market Scheme (UKIMS)
      2. Upload your UKIMS authorisation in the TSS Company Profile
    3. The UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA)
      1. Criteria to claim EU ‘Tariff preference’ under the UK-EU TCA
      2. Help to identify rules of origin (RoO)
      3. Relevant steps to claim ‘Preferential tariff’ under the TCA
    4. Reliefs, customs special procedures
  6. Instruments that could help to reduce the payment of UK duties when importing from Rest of World (RoW)
    1. UK Trade agreements
      1. Criteria to claim UK ‘Tariff preference’ under an UK trade agreement
      2. Help to identify rules of origin (RoO)
      3. Relevant steps to claim ‘Preferential tariff’ under UK trade agreements
    2. Reliefs, customs special procedures
  7. Applicable tariff to goods movements from RoW excluding EU to NI
  8. Reducing the goods’ tariff payment on declarations under ‘Pending Payment’ status
    1. Supplementary Declarations
    2. Full Frontier Declarations
  9. How to resolve an issue
    1. Data validation
    2. Preference mismatch
  10. I need to know more
  11. Changes to guidance and policy

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.

Introduction

Moving goods to Northern Ireland (NI) requires adherence to customs requirements. You need to be aware of the circumstances in which goods may be subject to customs duties and procedures for movements between:

  • Great Britain (GB) and NI
  • Rest of World excluding the European Union (RoW excluding EU) and NI

The Trader Support Service (TSS) is here to support you with understanding so that you can move goods smoothly to NI.

This guide provides an overview on:

  • What is a tariff and how to identify it
  • Determining if goods movements to NI are liable for tariff payments and which tariff applies
  • Instruments that may help reduce the payment of tariff duties

The content of this guide is relevant for TSS users who are:

  • Assessing whether their goods are considered ‘at risk’ or ‘not at risk’ of entering the EU
  • Determining if they can qualify to reduce EU duty payments (goods ‘at risk’) or UK duty payments (goods ‘not at risk)
  • Looking for guidance on how to introduce relevant data into declaration data fields for:
  • Declaring goods ‘at risk’ or ‘not at risk’
  • Utilising instruments that can help reduce the payment of tariff duties

For further guidance on the new rules, refer to the guides, webinars, and the policy updates on News and Updates on NICTA.

Before you start

The guide structure follows the relevant steps that you need to follow when reviewing applicable tariffs for the movement of goods to NI from GB or RoW excluding EU.

  1. Deciding if your goods are ‘at risk’ or ‘not at risk’
  2. Identifying the applicable tariff (NI or UK tariff)
  3. Assessing if you can benefit from a trade instrument to reduce the payment of tariff duties when they apply to the commodity code that is associated with the goods

Rest of the World (Excluding EU) to NI movements

‘at risk’ – Northern Ireland Online Tariff (EU duties) apply

Potential ways to reduce duties (All conditions related to these measures must be met)

  • UK Internal Market Scheme (UKIMS). If you are eligible and have not applied to obtain an UKIMS authorisation.
  • Custom duty waiver (de minimis)
  • EU Trade agreements (Different from UK-EU TCA)
  • Reliefs (under EU regulation)
  • Customs special procedures (under EU regulation)

‘not at risk’ – UK Integrated Online Tariff (UK duties) apply

potential ways to reduce duties (All conditions related to these measures must be met)

  • UK Trade agreements (Different from UK-EU TCA)
  • Reliefs (under UK regulation)
  • Customs special procedures (under UK regulation)

GB to NI movements

‘at risk’ – Northern Ireland Online Tariff (EU duties) apply

Potential ways to reduce duties (All conditions related to these measures must be met)

  • UK Internal Market Scheme (UKIMS). If you are eligible and have not applied to obtain an UKIMS authorisation
  • UK-EU TCA
  • Custom waiver (De minimis)
  • Reliefs (under EU regulation)
  • Customs special procedures (under EU regulation)

‘not at risk’ – UK Integrated Online Tariff (UK duties) apply

Potential ways to reduce duties (All conditions related to these measures must be met)

  • N/A. No need to reduce duties when goods are moving under UKIMS authorisation

What is a tariff?

Tariffs are taxes imposed by governments on imported goods. Tariff rates vary and are applied according to the type of good and the circumstances of the movement. Tariff rates can be identified under different measures.

Most Favoured Nation (MFN)

The Most Favoured Nation (MFN) rate is the tariff set on imports by members of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The MFN is the duty that a WTO member will apply in their territory for imported goods from other WTO members (this is the duty that applies on import if a preferential rate, under a trade agreement, is not being claimed or granted). Further details are available in Principles of the trading system on the WTO website.

In a tariff search, the MFN will appear as ‘Third country duty’ under Measure Type’.

Preference

You may be able to benefit from preferential tariffs if there is a trade agreement in place that covers the flow of goods.

The Preferential rate is a reduced tariff (often zero) that could apply (instead of the MFN rate) when importing specific goods. The precise preferential tariff is determined by the relevant trade agreement, and you can only take advantage of them if the trade agreement rules of origin are complied with. If the rules of origin are not satisfied, the MFN rate will apply.

In a tariff search, the preference rate will appear as ‘Tariff preference’ under Measure Type.

Duty suspension

A duty suspension applies only for specific imported goods. Importers need to comply with certain conditions set by legislation to be granted the suspension (and in some cases an authorisation may be required). Upon meeting these conditions, you can claim the suspension, instead of paying the ‘third country duty’ rate.

In a tariff search, the suspension rate will appear alongside a brief description of the conditions listed under the Measure Type.

Trade remedies, safeguards and retaliatory duties

Additional duties can be applied by countries to certain imported goods to protect their national industry. This is an extra duty. It is charged in addition to the ‘Third country duty’ (or ‘Tariff preference’ or ‘Suspension tariff’ if applicable). Some examples are discussed below.

Countervailing duties (CVD)

A countervailing duty is often granted for goods that have benefited from specific government subsidies in their country of origin which impact domestic industry. As the foreign subsidy given to the goods can result in pricing substantially below the market price/rate, a countervailing duty acts as a protective measure against these significantly lower prices, where the affected industry can show causation and damage.

These charges are generally introduced following a complaint by domestic industry against the introduction of subsidies that benefit the foreign exporter. They offset the effects of an unfair subsidy by a trade partner.

In a tariff search, the countervailing rate will appear as ‘Definitive countervailing duty’ under Measure Type.

Anti-Dumping Duties (ADD)

Anti-Dumping Duties are introduced to protect national industries from the possible damage caused by the dumping of low-priced imported goods on the domestic market. Dumping occurs when a company exports a product at a lower price than the product’s normal value in its home market. This normal value could be the domestic price of the product, or the cost of production. These charges are generally introduced following a complaint against the dumping of goods.

In a tariff search, the anti-dumping rate will appear as ‘Definitive anti-dumping duty’ under Measure Type.

Tariff-rate quotas (TRQ)

A quota allows a particular tariff rate (sometimes zero) to apply for a certain volume of imports over a particular period. For imports above the level of the quota, the MFN and any other tariff measures at the time of import are applied.

Note: If your goods are ‘at risk,’ to claim the lower tariff you must first check the quota period availability using the respective commodity code and find the quota order number in the TARIC (if there is no availability for the period, then the TRQ cannot be used)

Determining if goods are liable for tariff payments

If you are moving goods from GB to NI or from the Rest of the World (Excluding EU) to NI, you must determine whether those goods are ‘at risk’ or ‘not at risk’ of entering the EU (for example Ireland) after their arrival in NI.

There may be EU or UK duties due, depending on whether the goods are ‘at risk’ or ‘not at risk’ of onward movement to the EU. To identify the applicable tariff (and potential duties on it), you need to first define if your goods are ‘at risk’.

Goods ‘at risk’

‘At risk’ applies to goods that meet the following criteria:

  • Enter NI but may later be sold or consumed within the EU (for example, Ireland)
  • Are moved to NI for commercial processing (unless they can be classified in one of the approved purposes listed on GOV.UK)
  • Are not eligible for UKIMS authorisation (see UKIMS authorisation on GOV.UK)

Further information on goods not at risk is available on GOV.UK.

Tariff duties – goods ‘at risk’

‘At risk’ goods will be charged the applicable EU duty.

Using the commodity code associated to the goods, check the respective tariff at the Northern Ireland Online Tariff.

Example: Stainless steel bars and rods, not further worked than cold-formed or cold finished; Of circular cross-section; Of a diameter of 25 mm or more, but less than 80 mm, containing by weight; 2,5% or more of nickel

Movement: GB (free circulation) – NI (‘at risk’)

Commodity Code: 7222202100

Goods origin: United Kingdom (excluding Northern Ireland) (GB)

Goods customs value: £100.00

See Northern Ireland Online Tariff Commodity 7222202100.

Import duties

Third country duty: 0.00%

Additional duties (safeguard): 25%

Expected payment

Third country duty

= 0.00% × (goods’ custom value)

= 0.00% × (£100.00)

= £0.00

Additional duties (safeguard)

= 25% × (goods’ custom value)

= 25% × (£100)

= £25.00

Total expected payment = £25.00

Relevant steps when declaring goods ‘at risk’

  1. Navigate to the Goods Records tab at the item level, and for the relevant item
  2. Populate the NI Additional Information Codes field with: ‘None of the above – goods are at risk and attract duty’ from the drop down menu in the field NI Additional Information Codes.

Claiming a zero tariff when import duty is zero

The ‘Third country duty’ applied on goods of this commodity code is 0.00%. The steps above for declaring ‘at risk’ goods with zero duty rates must be repeated for each item that you wish to claim the zero tariff on (that is, when the ‘Third country duty’ shown on the Northern Ireland Online Tariff is zero).

If there is a trade remedy in place (for example, safeguards, quotas, anti-dumping duty), the respective rate will be charged as part of the EU Additional Duties. This duty will need to be paid after you submit the declaration.

Trade remedies protect domestic industries against effects of unfair trade practice or unexpected increases in imports. For more information, see the Trade remedies transition policy on GOV.UK.

Note: If you are unsure what your commodity code is, you can use the link to the HMRC tariff tool located in the Commodity Code field (within the declaration) and look up the respective tariff associated to the commodity code.

For information on how to complete other fields in your declaration, see the Data guide: TSS declaration data requirements on NICTA.

Goods ‘not at risk’

The term ‘not at risk’ applies to goods that meet the following criteria:

  • Are not subject to EU trade remedies
  • Are covered under UKIMS authorisation on GOV.UK
  • Will be for sale to or final use by end-consumers located in the UK which includes NI
  • Can be classified in one of the approved purposes of commercial processing

If you move goods that will be subject to processing in NI, then you will need to meet additional criteria to be able to declare these goods ‘not at risk’, beyond those set out above. These include:

Small processor exemption: Businesses that fall below the turnover threshold (£2 million for UKIMS) may declare goods ‘not at risk’ under the UKIMS

Approved purposes: The following sectors are exempt from the general rule that commercial processing means a goods movement is automatically ‘at risk’:

  • Sale of food to consumers in the UK
  • Construction in NI by the importer or one subsequent entity
  • Direct provision of goods for health or care services by the importer or one subsequent entity
  • Not-for-profit activities by the importer or one subsequent entity
  • Final use of animal feed on premises in NI by the importer or one subsequent entity
  • Further information on additional requirements for processing is available on UK

Further information on goods ‘not at risk’ is available on GOV.UK.

Note: UKIMS authorised traders also have the option to submit a simplified dataset of information (for movements between GB and NI only) under the simplified processes for Internal Market Movements. Further information is available in the Simplified processes for Internal Market Movements – Introduction Guide on NICTA.

Tariff duties – goods ‘not at risk’

Goods that are ‘not at risk’ will be charged:

  • No duty if entering NI from free circulation in GB
  • UK duty if entering NI from GB and the goods were not in free circulation in GB, for example, entering NI from RoW
  • UK duty if entering NI from outside of both the EU and the UK

Using the commodity code associated to the goods, check the respective tariff on the UK Integrated Online Tariff page on GOV.UK.

Example: Stainless steel bars and rods, not further worked than cold-formed or cold-finished; Of circular cross-section; Of a diameter of 25 mm or more, but less than 80 mm, containing by weight; 2,5% or more of nickel

Movement: RoW (Taiwan) – NI (‘not at risk’)

Commodity code: 7222202100

Goods’ custom value: £100.00

UK duties associated to the commodity code: 7222202100

Third country duty: 0.00%

Expected payment

Third country duty

= 0.00% × (goods’ custom value)

= 0.00% × (£100.00)

Total expected payment = £0.00

Relevant steps when declaring goods ‘not at risk’

  1. Navigate to the Goods Records tab at the item level and for the relevant item
  2. Populate the NI Additional Information Codes field by selecting ‘Goods are ‘not at risk’ (NIREM)’ from the drop down menu

This must be done for each item that you wish to declare ‘not at risk’. Review the field (also labelled ‘DE 2/2’) in the Data guide: TSS declaration data requirements on NICTA.

Note: if you have a mix of ‘at risk’ and ‘not at risk’ goods, you can still use the UKIMS for your ‘not at risk’ goods. However, you will need to show evidence that you have controls (such as a tracking system) for the goods movements that you declared ‘not at risk’.

Remember: in order to declare goods ‘not at risk’, you must:

  1. Be authorised under the UKIMS (see UKIMS authorisation on GOV.UK)

Ensure you have uploaded your UKIMS authorisation letter into the TSS Company Profile (see Upload your UKIMS authorisation in the TSS Company Profile in this guide).

Note: Ensure that the Importer’s EORI is the same EORI linked to the UKIMS authorisation. If there is a mismatch of EORI references, the Customs Declaration Service (CDS) will fail to apply the duty exemption claimed under ‘NIREM’ in your declaration.

  1. Maintain evidence that goods entered NI for the purpose of either:
  • Sale to consumers in UK territories, including NI, (for example a sale in a retail store)
  • Business use in UK territories, including NI (for example, a business purchasing stationery, or a farmer purchasing a tractor, for their own use)

If you cannot provide evidence to support either of the above, you must declare your goods ‘at risk’ when completing a Supplementary Declaration or Full Frontier Declaration.

You cannot use the simplified processes for Internal Market Movements if goods are ‘at risk’.

Note: If you are unsure what your commodity code is, you can also use the link to the HMRC tariff tool located in the Commodity Code field (within the declaration) and look up the respective tariff associated to the commodity code.

For information on how to complete other fields in your declaration, visit the Data guide: TSS declaration data requirements on NICTA.

Instruments that could help to reduce the payment of EU duties

When goods are moving from GB to NI or from RoW Excluding EU to NI, they are ‘at risk’ of moving into the EU customs territory (for example, Ireland); therefore, goods are considered to be ‘at risk’ unless evidence to the contrary is proved. Consequently, they are subject to the applicable EU duty.

In this scenario, you have the option to use the following instruments that could potentially reduce the applicable EU duties (subject to conditions being met).

Customs duty waiver

When moving goods to NI you can claim a customs duty waiver (de minimis aid) when the goods movement is deemed ‘at risk’.

Claiming a customs duty waiver might be the best option if you:

  • Do not move significant volumes of goods to NI
  • Are not eligible to apply for the UKIMS authorisation
  • Move goods that do not meet rules of origin requirements
  • Cannot prove that your goods are ‘not at risk’ or you know that they are ‘at risk’ of entering the EU via Ireland

If you are a small business owner, claiming a customs duty waiver could be the best way for you to reduce the duty you may need to pay. You do not need to register for the UKIMS authorisation to claim it. The waiver is provided as de minimis aid up to a maximum of the allowance for the sector in which the business operates. More information on how to claim a waiver for duty can be found on GOV.UK.

If you are interested in claiming this aid, refer to the How to claim a customs duty waiver guide on NICTA.

Relevant steps to claim a waiver on ‘at risk’ goods

To claim a waiver on ‘at risk’ goods, you must:

  1. Navigate to the Goods Records tab at item level
  2. Populate the NI Additional Information Codes field, for the relevant item, selecting the option ‘Within subsidy limit and claiming waiver (NIAID)’

This must be done for each item that you wish to claim the waiver for. Review the field (also labelled ‘DE 2/2’) in the Data guide: TSS declaration data requirements guide on NICTA for further details.

Note: If you are moving goods from RoW excluding EU countries to NI, you will have the option to use the NI Additional Information code ‘NIAID’ (which indicates customs duty waiver). However, you will also need to select the code ‘NIIMP (Non-UK domestic status goods)’ in the Goods Domestic Status field (the code you will enter for RoW excluding EU movements to NI and goods not in free circulation within GB) at the consignment (header) level.

For movements from RoW excluding EU to NI, the customs duty waiver will cover the difference between the UK and EU tariff (where the UK tariff is lower than the EU tariff).

For information on how to complete other fields in your declaration, visit the Data guide: TSS declaration data requirements on NICTA.

Note: Ensure that the Importer’s EORI is the same EORI linked to the UKIMS authorisation. If there is a mismatch of EORI references, CDS will fail to apply the duty exemption claimed under ‘NIREM’ in your declaration.

UK Internal Market Scheme (UKIMS)

If the movements of your goods are inside the UK customs territory, which includes NI, and are intended for sale or final use in the UK customs territory, you may qualify for the UKIMS.

Having an UKIMS authorisation ensures that you will not be required to pay customs duties. When your goods movements meet the scheme’s conditions, you will not be required to pay a tariff for these movements.

Criteria to apply for the UK Internal Market Scheme (UKIMS)

It is essential that you register for UKIMS if you wish to move goods ‘not at risk’. To qualify for UKIMS you must be established in the UK. You must also meet all of the following criteria:

  • Compliance requirements
  • Records, systems, controls and evidence requirements
  • Additional processing requirements if you move goods to NI to be processed and want to declare these goods ‘not at risk’

You can find further guidance on all the requirements for UKIMS authorisation on GOV.UK.

Upload your UKIMS authorisation in the TSS Company Profile

Once you have received the UKIMS authorisation letter from HMRC, you need to enter the UKIMS authorisation reference and upload a copy of the document into the TSS Company Profile.

Click Company Profile in the TSS Portal banner and follow the steps in the ‘Adding UKIMS Authorisation to your Company Profile’ section of the How to use the TSS Portal guide on NICTA

The above steps should be implemented as part of your compliance for the ‘not at risk’ claims.

Note: Ensure that the Importer’s EORI is the same EORI linked to the UKIMS authorisation. If there is a mismatch of EORI references, CDS will fail to apply the duty exemption claimed under ‘NIREM’ in your declaration.

The UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA)

Claiming the EU ‘Tariff preference’ makes the applicable EU ‘Third country duty’ zero.

If you are moving goods that can be proved to be of UK origin under the UK-EU Trade Cooperation Agreement (TCA) you could claim EU ‘Tariff preference’ if the following criteria are met.

Criteria to claim EU ‘Tariff preference’ under the UK-EU TCA

  1. The goods are moved directly from GB (free circulation) to NI AND
  2. The UK origin claim over the goods is meeting the general and specific rules of origin (RoO) under the TCA

In general, the following products are considered as originating in United Kingdom:

    • Products wholly obtained in the United Kingdom. Your goods are treated as ‘wholly obtained’ if they’re exclusively produced in the UK, without incorporating materials from any other country.
    • Products that incorporate materials originating from different countries that are sufficiently worked or processed in the UK according to the rules laid out in the UK/EU Trade and Co-operation Agreement AND
  1. The respective supporting evidence is available to prove the UK origin under the TCA rules of origin

In this scenario, prior to the declaration of the goods’ movement, you need to:

  1. Identify first the rules of origin (RoO) for each commodity code associated to the goods that are claiming UK origin under the TCA AND
  2. Check that the goods satisfy the respective RoO criteria

The following sources explain in detail how to interpret the TCA rules of origin:

Help to identify rules of origin (RoO)

The Northern Ireland Online Tariff provides a tool that supports users to identify the rules of origin associated to a commodity code under the UK-EU TCA.

Example: Live trout (Salmo trutta, Oncorhynchus mykiss, Oncorhynchus clarki, Oncorhynchus aguabonita, Oncorhynchus gilae, Oncorhynchus apache and Oncorhynchus chrysogaster); Of the species Oncorhynchus mykiss; Weighing 1.2 kg or less each.

Movement: GB (free circulation) – NI (‘at risk’)

Commodity code: 0301919011

  • Access the Northern Ireland Online Tariff and type the commodity code and date of movement, then press Search for a commodity. See Northern Ireland Online Tariff Commodity Code 0301919011.
  • Select any EU member state (for example, Ireland) from the drop down menu in the field ‘Trade between NI and’
  • Scroll down and click the Rules of origin tab
  • Identify, on the bottom-right of the window, the rule of origin applying to the commodity code

See the following links for more information on rules of origin:

Note: Declaring goods into free circulation within GB does not mean that they acquire UK origin. Free circulation means that goods are customs cleared (no excise or VAT/import duty is due on them); therefore, the goods are free to circulate, be sold or used by consumers in the domestic market.

There is further guidance on How to bring your goods into Northern Ireland from Great Britain without paying duty on GOV.UK.

Relevant steps to claim ‘Preferential tariff’ under the TCA

  1. Navigate to the Goods Records tab at item level, and for the relevant item
  2. Populate the NI Additional Information Codes field by selecting ‘Preference under the TCA’ from the drop down menu’
  3. Populate the Preference field with a preference code in the format 3-digits beginning with a 3 (for example, ‘300’). The list of preference codes can be found on GOV.UK. Review the field (also labelled ‘DE 4/17’) in the Data guide: TSS declaration data requirements on NICTA for further details.
  4. Populate the Country of Preferential Origin field with the country that the goods originate from (for example, United Kingdom). In this case, you should leave the Country of Origin field Review the field (also labelled ‘DE 5/16’) in the Data guide: TSS declaration data requirements on NICTA for more details.
  5. Locate the Document Reference tab at the bottom of the page and select New

Review the section Document Reference (also labelled DE 2/3) in the Data guide: TSS declaration data requirements on NICTA for more details on any of the following steps:

  • Populate, as appropriate, the Document Code field with one of these codes:
    • ‘U116’: if the claim is based on a ‘statement on origin’ for a single shipment
    • ‘U118’: if the claim is based on a ‘statement on origin’ for multiple shipments of identical products to cover a 12-month period
    • ‘U117’: if the claim is based on the importer’s knowledge
  • Populate the Document Reference Input the commercial document reference number (if ‘U116’ or ‘U118’ has been introduced as the Document Code).
  • Populate, as appropriate, the Document Status field with one of the following codes:
    • If ‘U116’ or ‘U118’ is used: AE, AF, AG, AP, AS, AT, GE, GP, HP, JE, JP, LE, LP, UA, UE, UP, US, XA, XB
    • If ‘U117’ is used: JP

The list of Document Status codes can be found on GOV.UK

For more details on claiming preference, see Guidance Proving originating status and claiming a reduced rate of Customs Duty for trade between the UK and EU on GOV.UK

Note: If you claim a preferential rate of duty which applies in the UK Integrated Online Tariff (on GOV.UK) but not the Northern Ireland Online Tariff (on GOV.UK), or vice versa, or there is a difference in code used to apply the preference, you will need to complete your declaration differently.

For further information, refer to the following sources to obtain guidance on completion instructions for your declaration:

For information on how to complete other fields in your declaration, visit the Data guide: TSS declaration data requirements on NICTA.

Reliefs, customs special procedures

Entering your goods into a specific customs procedure may provide relief from customs duties, import VAT and/or excise.

The customs procedure is declared in two parts:

  • The Procedure Code (4-digits) used on the customs declaration reflects the requested procedure the goods are entering in to. For example:
  • The Additional Procedure Code (3-digits) is used in combination with the Procedure Code to provide relief from customs duties, import VAT and/or excise. For example:

Subject to meeting the respective criteria, there are specific Procedure Codes and Additional Procedure Codes that allow you to claim relief or suspension of EU duties due when goods are considered to be ‘at risk’.

Example:

  • Onward Supply Relief (Series 42) can be used with Customs Special Procedure ‘Authorised Use’ (series 44)
  • Return Goods Relief (Series 61) can be used with Customs Special Procedure ‘Inward Processing’ (Series 51)
  • Other Reliefs (Additional procedures codes – Series C) can be used with ‘Temporary Admission’ (Series 53) or ‘Custom Warehousing’ (Series 71)

For further information on reliefs and custom special procedures supported by TSS refer to the Reliefs and Duty Suspension: Overview and considerations for data input in TSS declarations guide on NICTA.

Note: If your goods are ‘at risk’ and none of the instruments described above can be used, EU duties will be applicable, and their payment will be due on the respective declaration.

Instruments that could help to reduce the payment of UK duties when importing from Rest of World (RoW)

If the goods are considered to be ‘not at risk’, they are subject to the applicable UK duty.

In this scenario, you have the option to consider the use of one of the following instruments that potentially could reduce the charge of the applicable UK duties (subject to meeting their terms and conditions).

UK Trade agreements

Claiming the UK ‘Tariff preference’ makes the applicable UK ‘Third country duty’ either reduced, or in some circumstances, zero.

Where it can be proved that the ‘not at risk’ goods being imported to NI are meeting the origin criteria set in a trade agreement established between the UK and a foreign country, or a bloc of nations, these goods could claim UK ‘Tariff preference’ under the respective trade agreement.

You need to ensure the following criteria are met.

Criteria to claim UK ‘Tariff preference’ under an UK trade agreement

  1. The goods are moved directly from a foreign (non-EU) country to NI
  2. There is a trade agreement established between the foreign country, or bloc of countries, and the UK

Here are the types of trade agreements that the UK has in place with foreign countries:

  1. The foreign origin claim over the goods is meeting the general> and specific rules of origin (RoO) under the respective trade agreement

In general, goods are considered as originating in a foreign country if they are:

  • Products wholly obtained in the foreign country – your goods are treated as ‘wholly obtained’ if they’re exclusively produced in the foreign country, without incorporating materials from any other country
  • Products that incorporate materials originating from different countries that are sufficiently worked or processed in the foreign country according to the rules laid out in the respective trade agreement between the UK and the foreign country
  1. The respective supporting evidence is available to prove the foreign origin of the goods under the rules of origin (set in the respective trade agreement between the UK and the foreign country)

In this scenario, prior to declaring the goods’ movement, for each commodity code associated to the goods that are claiming foreign origin, you need to:

  1. Identify first the rules of origin (RoO) covering the commodity code under the trade agreement AND
  2. Check that the goods satisfy the respective RoO criteria.

The following information explains in detail how to interpret rules of origin for UK trade agreements:

Help to identify rules of origin (RoO)

The UK Integrated Online Tariff provides a tool that supports users to identify the rules of origin associated to a commodity code under a UK trade agreement.

Example

Movement:                                      RoW (Canada) – NI (‘not at risk’)

Commodity code:                            0301919011

https://www.trade-tariff.service.gov.uk/commodities/0301919011?country=CA#import

  1. Access the UK Integrated Online Tariff and type the commodity code and date of goods’ movement, then press the Search for a commodity button
  2. Select the foreign country from the drop down menu in the field Trade between the UK and
  3. Scroll down and click the Rules of origin tab
  4. Scroll down and identify the rule of origin applying to the commodity code in the Product-specific rules – trade with… section

See the following links for more information on rules of origin:

Relevant steps to claim ‘Preferential tariff’ under UK trade agreements

  1. Navigate to the Goods Records tab at item level, and for the relevant item
  2. Populate the NI Additional Information Codes field by selecting ‘None of the above – goods are at risk and attract duty’ from the drop down menu.
  3. Populate the Preference field with a preference code in the format 3-digits beginning with a 3 (for example, ‘300’)

A list of Preference codes for Data Element 4/17 of the Customs Declaration Service can be found on GOV.UK. Review the field (also labelled ‘DE 4/17’) in the Data guide: TSS declaration data requirements on NICTA for further details.

  1. Populate the Country of Preferential Origin field with the country that the goods originate from (for example, Canada). In this case, you should leave the Country of Origin field blank (unless using electronic licensing, in which case, populate the field with the country of origin that is on the licence)

Review the field (also labelled ‘DE 5/16’) in the Data guide: TSS declaration data requirements on NICTA for more details.

  1. Locate the Document Reference tab at the bottom of the page and select New

Review the section Document Reference (also labelled ‘DE 2/3’) in the Data guide: TSS declaration data requirements on NICTA for more details on any of the following steps:

For more details on claiming preference, see Guidance on Proving originating status and claiming a reduced rate of Customs Duty for trade between the UK and EU on GOV.UK.

Note: If you claim a preferential rate of duty which applies in the UK Integrated Online Tariff (on GOV.UK) but not the Northern Ireland Online Tariff (on GOV.UK), or vice versa, or there is a difference in code used to apply the preference, you will need to complete your declaration differently.

For further information, refer to the following sources to obtain guidance on completion instructions for your declaration:

For information on how to complete other fields in your declaration, visit the following guides on NICTA:

Reliefs, customs special procedures

Entering your goods into a specific customs procedure may provide relief from customs duties, import VAT and/or excise.

The customs procedure is declared in two parts:

  • The Procedure Code (4-digits) used on the customs declaration reflects the requested procedure the goods are entering in to
  • The Additional Procedure Code (3-digits) is used in combination with the procedure code to provide relief from customs duties, import VAT and/or excise

Subject to meeting the respective criteria, there are specific Procedure Codes and Additional Procedure Codes that allow you to claim relief or suspension of UK duties due when goods are considered to be ‘not at risk’.

For further information on reliefs and custom special procedures supported by TSS refer to the Reliefs and Duty Suspension: Overview and considerations for data input in TSS declarations guide on NICTA.

Note: If your goods are ‘not at risk’ and none of the instruments described above can be used, UK duties will be applicable, and their payment will be charged on the respective declaration.

Applicable tariff to goods movements from RoW excluding EU to NI

TSS currently supports goods importing to NI from RoW excluding EU that are travelling by air or by sea to inventory-linked locations (for goods traveling as freight) or by air to non-inventory linked airports (for goods traveling as merchandise in baggage) within NI.

For these goods movements that are not in free circulation within GB prior to importation to NI, the Goods Domestic Status must be declared as ‘NIIMP (Non-UK domestic status goods)’.

Prior to the movement of goods, the parties involved need to determine if the goods will be considered ‘at risk’ or ‘not at risk’ of movement to the EU (for example, Ireland) after the arrival in NI.

Note: If you claim a preferential rate of duty which applies in the UK Integrated Online Tariff (on GOV.UK) but not the Northern Ireland Online Tariff (on GOV.UK), or vice versa, or there is a difference in code used to apply the preference, you will need to complete your declaration differently.

For further information and support on data completion instructions, refer to EUPRF Preference mismatch on Northern Ireland declarations on GOV.UK.

Reducing the goods’ tariff payment on declarations under ‘Pending Payment’ status

Supplementary Declarations

If your Supplementary Declaration is in ‘Pending Payment’ status and you wish to use one of the instruments mentioned above, you can return your Supplementary Declaration to ‘Draft’ mode to make amendments.

To do this:

  1. Click on Goods Movements at the top of the TSS Portal home page and select ‘View a Goods Movement’ from the drop down menu’
  2. Find the Supplementary Declarations (by consignment) section on the left-hand side of the page under ‘Type’
  3. Find the Supplementary Declaration (SD) Pending Payment section within the Quick Filters menu under ‘Post movement to-dos’
  4. From the list under the Local Reference Number column, select the Supplementary Declaration reference that you wish to amend
  5. Scroll down to the bottom of the window and select Recall to Draft in the Payment Summary section: The Supplementary Declaration will be recalled to ‘Draft’, and you will be able to edit fields again.
  6. Once you are certain you have populated the fields correctly to use the relevant instrument to claim zero duties, submit the declaration by selecting Submit on the consignment page

Duties will be calculated as part of the Supplementary Declaration submission.

You can confirm you have used an option to pay zero duties by going back to the Supplementary Declarations (by consignment) section and then finding the declaration in the sub-section Closed SUP declarations.

Note: Be aware that once you submit the Supplementary Declaration and it goes to ‘Closed’ status, it will not be possible to recall it to ‘Draft’ status. Monetary amendments after this stage need to be reported to HMRC directly.

Full Frontier Declarations

When completing a Full Frontier Declaration, before the goods arrival, you will be asked to Confirm Duty Calculation. You will have the ability to Recall to Draft to check if the declaration can be amended to reduce or eliminate the duty, import VAT, and/or excise payable using one of the instruments explained in previous sections of this guide.

To do this:

  1. Click on Goods Movements at the top of the TSS Portal home page and select ‘View a Goods Movement’ from the drop down menu
  2. Find the Full Frontier Declarations (by consignment) section on the left-hand side of the page under ‘Type’
  3. Click on the Pending Payments FFD Declarations sub-section to show which Full Frontier Declarations you wish to edit
  4. From the list under the Local Reference Number column, select the Full Frontier Declaration reference that you wish to amend
  5. Scroll down to the bottom of the window and select Recall to Draft in the Payment Summary section:

The Full Frontier Declaration will be recalled to ‘Draft’, and you will be able to edit fields again.

  1. Once you are certain you have populated the fields correctly to use the relevant instrument to claim zero duties, submit the declaration by clicking Submit at the bottom of the consignment page

Duties will be calculated as part of the Full Frontier Declaration submission, which should be payable at the time of submission to avoid any delays.

You can confirm you have used an option to pay zero duties by going back to the Full Frontier Declarations (by consignment) section and then finding the declaration in the sub-section Closed FFD Declarations.

Note: Be aware that once you submit the Full Frontier Declaration and it goes to ‘Closed’ status, it will not be possible to recall it to ‘Draft’ status. Monetary amendments after this stage, need to be reported to HMRC directly.

How to resolve an issue

Data validation

Concerning data validation, sometimes the system may report errors associated with the declaration of a tariff preferential rate (for example, authorisations, guarantees, document codes, references.).

For help with solving errors that may be related to data validation, refer to the Resolving Error Codes guidance on NICTA.

Preference mismatch

Note: If you claim a preferential rate of duty which applies in the UK Integrated Online Tariff (on GOV.UK) but not the Northern Ireland Online Tariff (on GOV.UK), or vice versa, or there is a difference in code used to apply the preference, you will need to complete your declaration differently.

For further information and support on data completion instructions, refer to EUPRF Preference mismatch on Northern Ireland declarations on GOV.UK.

I need to know more

There are additional guides available on NICTA to support you with trade in 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  February 2026

February 2026:  HTML version

September 2025: Continuous improvement updates carried out throughout the guide.

May 2025: Removal of the Windsor Framework disclaimer.

March 2025: Guide amended to reflect Windsor Framework updated terminologies on screenshots / breadcrumbs, and in text.

January 2025: Updated to reflect changes in CDS.

March 2024:  Guide amended with information relating to the use of using the correct EORI number.

January 2024: Updated to reflect GOV.UK updates associated with UKIMS and EORI, customs duty waiver allowance and TSS portal landing page changes.

October 2023: Updated to reflect current status of UKTS and UKIMS.

September 2023: Updated to add the guide’s name and link for Customs Duty Waiver.

July 2023: Updated to reflect UK Internal Market Scheme (UKIMS) changes.

June 2023: Guide re-structure as part of continuous improvement.

April 2023: Updated to reflect EUPRF Additional Information new code.

February 2023: Updated to reflect UCC change.

January 2023: Updates to Dual Tariff.

December 2022: General improvements to guide. Update to include new link to HMRC Online Tariff Tool listed below commodity field.

October 2022: Updated screenshots to reflect new TSS Portal design.

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

June 2022: Updates for auto-generation of Final Supplementary Declaration as the last step on TSS Simplified Procedure.

April 2022: General improvements to guide.

Published 2021.

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.

Related guides

Document Code Guide

TSS API Reference How-to Guide

ENS step-by-step guide for maritime movements from GB to NI

Scroll to Top