TSS Bulletin 220th Edition

Published: 4 June 2026|

 

This fortnight’s bulletin begins with several key updates, followed by our themed focus: Avoiding the ‘quiet’ mistakes that can cause delays.

Improvements to the Duty Reimbursement Scheme now live and webinar details

Improvements to the Duty Reimbursement Scheme (DRS), which is used to reclaim duties on ‘at risk’ goods moved from Great Britain (GB) or Rest of World (RoW), are now live. As of Tuesday 26 May 2026:

  • You can reclaim customs duty waiver amounts used on ‘at risk’ goods through the new DRS replenishment mechanism, by making a successful DRS claim on the same goods
  • You can now also make a claim even if you are unable to trace goods directly from import to the final destination if your goods are considered interchangeable

These enhancements have been made to streamline the claims process and provide businesses with increased flexibility with use of the waiver under the Customs Duty Waiver Scheme (CDWS).

The DRS form has been updated to enable users to submit claims in line with these recent changes. Please ensure you read the updated form thoroughly before submitting your application.

Webinar

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) will be hosting a webinar on Thursday 11 June at 14:00-14:45 to talk through the changes, what they mean and answer any questions businesses may have. You can join the session through the following Microsoft Teams link. The session will be recorded.

Where can I find more information about the changes?

Please note that before making a replenishment claim, you must be subscribed and active on the CDWS digital service. Please visit the GOV.UK guidance page setting out how to report payments and view your allowance for non-customs state aid and customs duty waiver claims.

Deadline for making a claim for movements between 2021-2023

The final date to submit a claim under the DRS is 30 June 2026, if you’ve paid duty between 1 January 2021 and 30 June 2023 on movements.

If you have paid duties on goods movements in this period, it is strongly advised that you submit your claim as soon as possible to avoid missing the deadline. This includes goods that are covered by the new interchangeable goods facilitation.

Further information and support

If you have any questions about these changes, registered users can contact the Trader Support Service (TSS). If you do not use TSS, you can contact the HMRC NI Stakeholder Engagement team at [email protected].

Provisional anti-dumping duty explained

Anti-dumping duty (ADD) is an extra duty charged on imported goods that are sold in the United Kingdom (UK) for less than their normal value. It is used to protect UK businesses from unfairly cheap imports.

You pay ADD on top of any other charges, such as customs duty or rebalancing duties. If both a safeguard duty and ADD apply to the same goods, you only pay the higher one. ADD can be definitive or provisional.

What is the difference between provisional ADD and definitive ADD?

Definitive ADD is the final duty imposed after the investigation has concluded and remains in place for the period set out in the relevant measure.

What is provisional ADD?

Provisional ADD is implemented during an ongoing anti-dumping investigation. It applies for a maximum of six months, and after the investigation is complete, it is either replaced with definitive duties or all duties are removed.

When provisional ADD is imposed, you are required to provide security to cover the provisional duty amount. You must provide security for the provisional duty using either a cash deposit, bond or bank guarantee. At the end of the investigation, the provisional duty may be made definitive or be cancelled. The security is held for four months after a duty is made definitive.

How to identify a provisional ADD?

These appear as tax types A85 (provisional anti-dumping duty) and A95 (provisional anti-subsidy duty) on your import declaration.

You can also use the Northern Ireland Tariff Tool to identify measures affecting individual goods, including provisional duty.

Can you claim back provisional duty and how do you do this?

Yes, you can make a claim under the DRS on goods subject to provisional duty. You will need to provide evidence demonstrating that the goods have remained in NI, moved onwards to GB or been exported to a country outside the UK and the European Union (EU).

If you can provide this evidence, you can claim back the ‘at risk’ duty and remove the provisional duty itself. You can reclaim all types of ‘at risk’ duties before the provisional duties are made definitive (or ended) or after. You should submit a Duty Reimbursement Scheme claim if the goods qualify and sufficient evidence is held.

As a provisional measure is still an EU trade defence measure, additional evidence may be required under the DRS.

Can you use the Customs Duty Waiver Scheme (CDWS) on provisional duties?

You cannot use the CDWS for provisional duties on import declarations. However, you can waive the ‘at risk’ duty as a result of the goods being treated as ‘at risk’, i.e. the A50 duty charge.

If the provisional duties become definitive and HMRC requests the payment of these, you may be able to use state aid through the CDWS to cover the duties due. For more information on CDWS see the Claim a waiver for duty on goods that you bring to Northern Ireland from Great Britain or countries outside the UK and EU guidance on GOV.UK.

To recover the provisional duties before the duties have been made definitive, you should submit a Duty Reimbursement Scheme claim if the goods qualify and sufficient evidence is held.

For up-to-date official information, see links to the GOV.UK and EU guidance and notices listed below.

CERTEX: good practice

Get your CHED references right for Northern Ireland movements

The Certificates Exchange System (CERTEX) checks licence and certificate data (including TRACES NT CHEDs) against NI declarations. The most common cause of delays is an incorrect CHED reference or document code in the Document Reference tab within the TSS Portal. This article will help you avoid these common errors.

Quick checklist

  • Enter the CHED reference exactly as issued (including full stops) in the Document Reference tab at the goods item level
  • Use the correct document code for the CHED type. See the ‘CHED reference formats’ section below
  • For CHED‑PP, include C085 plus N002 and/or N851 where applicable
  • Ensure the declaration matches the certificate (reference, commodity code, net mass and units)

CHED reference formats

  • TRACES NT: copy the CHED reference from TRACES NT and paste it into the Document Reference field at the goods item level
  • NIRMS (GB to NI): use GBCHDyyyy.NIRMS (include the full stop after the year). Example: GBCHD2025.NIRMS

CHED type to document code

Code CHED type Reference pattern
C640 Live animals CHEDA.XI.yyyy.nnnnnnn
C085 Plant products CHEDPP.XI.yyyy.nnnnnnn
N853 Products of animal origin CHEDP.XI.yyyy.nnnnnnn
C678 Feed/food of non-animal origin CHEDD.XI.yyyy.nnnnnnn

Tip: The reference pattern must include the three full stops.

For further guidance and support, see CDS Data Element 2/3 reference formats, Moving licensed goods into or out of Northern Ireland and Trader Support Service.

Are you using valid EORIs in TSS?

Before submitting declarations, you should make sure the EORIs being used are correct and valid to help avoid delays, rejected declarations or disruption to your goods movement.

TSS accepts only GB and XI EORIs, so it is important you check that valid EORIs are being used on your TSS declarations before submission.

You can use the following links to check whether the EORIs used in your declarations are valid:

When entering EORI details in your TSS Company Profile or in declarations, make sure they are entered correctly.

If you do not yet have an EORI, you can find more information about applying on GOV.UK at get an EORI number.

UKIMS movements incurring incorrect additional duties

HMRC is aware that there is an ongoing issue concerning certain food/agricultural goods and fertilisers moving into NI, where ‘at risk’ tariffs are being calculated and applied on goods subject to Council Regulation (EU) 2025/1227.

This measure should only apply to goods when they are exported, directly or indirectly, from the Russian Federation or Belarus. However, even when this isn’t the case, the EU measure is currently being triggered in the Customs Declaration Service (CDS), resulting in an additional duty rate and an ‘at risk’ duty outcome.

If you think your goods movement has incurred incorrect duty calculations, or would incur incorrect duties on submission, please contact TSS immediately for advice and support on how best to proceed.

Now that you’re up to date, explore our themed articles below to help you avoid the ‘quiet’ mistakes that can cause delays.

Knowing your supply chain

The Windsor Framework established new arrangements for moving goods between GB and NI, with the current processes having taken effect from 1 May 2025. If you move goods into NI, you need to understand who is responsible for each step in your supply chain, as customs, safety and security, and certification responsibilities may sit with different parties depending on the movement.

What we mean by knowing your supply chain

This means understanding how your supply chain works in practice. You should know which businesses, systems and people provide the information used to move your goods, and who is responsible for each step. A simple way to test this is to ask: If one link changes, which part of your supply chain breaks?

  • Supplier data: Are your goods descriptions, values, commodity codes and packaging details accurate and supplied on time?
  • Origin assumptions: Are you relying on product origin information from your supplier, and do you know what evidence supports it?
  • Document responsibility: Is it clear who is responsible for licences, certificates, safety and security data, and customs declarations before the goods move?
  • Movement changes: If your haulier, carrier, route, Incoterms, or product type changes, do you know whether new data, checks or declarations will be needed?

How TSS can help you stay aware

After you register on TSS, you can use your Company Profile to improve your visibility of recent movements. Under the ‘Email Notifications’ section, the ‘Related Parties’ table shows parties such as exporters, carriers, hauliers and Entry Summary Declaration submitters linked to Entry Summary Declaration consignments that arrived in the last 31 days, where your EORI appears as the importer.

By checking this table regularly, you can build awareness of who has been using your EORI number and keep a record by exporting the list to Excel, CSV or PDF.

For tips on record keeping, see our article below: TSS Tip: Record keeping – why it matters more than you think.

You can also view supply chain parties for individual consignments in Supplementary Declarations, including the exporter, haulier, carrier and Entry Summary Declaration submitter. This will not manage your supply chain for you, but it can help you spot changes, question assumptions, and follow up quickly if something does not look right.

For more detail, see the Importer/Haulier Relationships and Authorising Related Parties sections in the How to use the TSS Portal guide on NICTA.

TSS Tip: Record keeping – why it matters more than you think

Good record keeping

As a trader, you must keep certain business records and accounts and be able to show them to HMRC, if asked. As customs, excise and VAT are indirect taxes, HMRC may need evidence to support each step as goods are moved, stored and sold. Keeping the right documents creates a clear, end-to-end audit trail.

There is no set format for how you keep records; you can use paper files, digital folders or accounting/bookkeeping software, so long as you can store them securely and retrieve them quickly.

Good record keeping helps you protect important business information and stay resilient if something goes wrong. It can help your business:

  • find and retrieve what you need quickly for checks or audits
  • meet legal and regulatory requirements
  • reduce time and the risk of litigation, audit, or government investigation
  • avoid unnecessary storage so you can keep costs under control

Record keeping also makes day-to-day customs work quicker and smoother. When your paperwork is complete and easy to access, you can answer questions faster, submit accurate information with confidence, and reduce back-and-forth requests for clarification from HMRC, your broker, or your supply chain. That means fewer follow-ups, fewer delays, and more time spent running your business.

Common gaps in your records

Common gaps usually come down to missing or inconsistent supporting evidence. For example, you may not have the right invoice available for a specific shipment, the reference on your customs declaration might not match the reference on your invoice or transport document, or the values recorded across your paperwork (such as invoice value, freight, insurance, or currency conversion) may not line up. These issues can make it harder to prove what happened to the goods and often lead to follow-up questions, delays or corrections.

How to find and export your records on TSS

In the TSS Portal, you can quickly download and save movement information for your own records. Go to Goods Movements and select View a Goods Movement, then search using either the goods movement number (for example, SUP000000000085755) or a keyword (for example, ‘apple’). From the results list, use the menu icon (three horizontal lines) to download the details in PDF, Excel, or CSV format.

For more details on exporting records from TSS, see our TSS Bulletin 218th Edition.

HMRC can also provide reports to help you reconcile your records. For example, you can request Customs Declaration Service data for your import and export activity and compare it against your own entries, invoices and stock movements.

Further guidance on data protection and best practice for archiving documents can be found on GOV.UK.

Your bi-weekly jargon buster

Anti-dumping duty (ADD)

ADD is an additional customs duty (trade remedies) that can apply to specific products from certain countries and, in some cases, named exporters. ADD is applied on top of standard customs duties and other regular import taxes.

The purpose of ADD is to protect national industries from the possible damage caused by the dumping of low-priced imported goods on the domestic market at prices below their normal value. The additional duty brings the cost of imported goods in line with similar goods produced in the home market, enabling fair competition.

You can find out if ADD applies to your goods by checking the NI Trade Tariff. ADD will appear as ‘Definitive anti-dumping duty’ under ‘Measure Type’.

Supply chain

A supply chain is the network of organisations and activities involved in making a product and delivering it to the customer, from sourcing raw materials through to manufacturing, storage, and shipping, with each stage dependent on the others to be successful.

Every link in the supply chain is important because each party has a specific role, and any weak link can cause delays, extra costs or compliance issues. This may then have a knock-on effect on the other parties involved and the subsequent processes that need to take place.

When all parties work together, share accurate information and plan contingencies, the chain is more resilient to disruption (such as delayed shipping or manufacturing errors) and can recover faster. Having good coordination and effective communication in place helps the supply chain to be successful.

Record keeping

All businesses must keep and preserve certain records and be able to present these upon request to HMRC. Your record keeping responsibilities as a trader include retaining several commercial and transport documents on file.

HMRC has the right to examine any records that you keep for the purpose of your business. Officers need access to this information to verify claims and declarations you have made.

TSS Contact Centre hours of operation:

07:30 – 22:30, 7 days a week

Contact options

Tel: 0800 060 8888

Welsh speakers Tel: 0800 060 8988

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