TSS Bulletin, 200th Edition

Published: 14 August 2025 |

Contents

New Certificates Exchange System (CERTEX) for licensed goods goes live on 15 September 2025

From 15 September 2025, licence data on Northern Ireland declarations will be verified by a new Certificates Exchange System (CERTEX), which is replacing the previous Automatic Licence Verification System (ALVS) for Northern Ireland.

With the introduction of CERTEX, electronic documents raised on systems such as TRACES NT will be verified by CERTEX.

CERTEX verifications apply to the following certificates:

Certificate type Certificate Type Detail
COI Certificates of Organic Conformity
CHED.PP Plants and plant products
CHED.D Food and feed of non-animal origin
CHED.P Food and products of animal origin
CHED.A Live animals
ODS Ozone depleting substances
FGAS Fluorinated gases

Common Health Entry Document (CHED) reference format

The format of the CHED reference number on Northern Ireland declarations will be changing in line with CERTEX requirements.

The CHED reference number on Northern Ireland declarations must be provided in the following format: letters followed by numbers including the full stop character. For example: CHEDA.XX.20YY.nnnnnnn, where XX is the country of issuance, YY is the year, and nnnnnnn is the number (7 digits), (Optional suffix “V”).

Examples of this would be ‘CHEDA.XI.2024.1234567’ or ‘CHEDA.XI.2024.1234567V’.

For all other references, please check Appendix 5A on GOV.UK which will be updated to reflect changes of the CHED format as well as declaration completion instructions for all other Document References associated with Northern Ireland declarations.

What does this mean for TSS users?

Traders moving goods to Northern Ireland must make sure the information provided on their declaration matches the information on the relevant licence or certification.

Any queries raised by CERTEX will be received in TSS as a Customs Declaration Service (CDS) declaration response, with the pre-fix ‘CERTEX’ followed by query explanatory text.

The status of the declaration in TSS, which is subject to a CERTEX query, will change to ‘Amendment Required’ at consignment level and ‘Trader Input Required’ at header level. TSS will inform you via email that an amendment is required due to a CERTEX query. You will then need to make the necessary amendments in response to the CERTEX query and resubmit your declaration.

If the information on your declaration does not match your licence, then your goods may be subject to a hold or may need to be reported for inspection upon arrival in Northern Ireland.

The Goods Vehicle Movement Service (GVMS) messaging service will notify the haulier which Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) or Border Force facility to report to when required.

If you need help with the declaration amendments related to a CERTEX query, please contact the Trader Support Service.

For more guidance on CERTEX including how to complete specific information on your declarations, see Moving licensed goods into or out of Northern Ireland on GOV.UK

Using ICS2 for goods movements by Roll on Roll off (RoRo) from Great Britain to Northern Ireland: key update

As we have published in recent TSS bulletins, webinars and podcasts, the system to which the TSS Portal submits safety and security declarations, known as Entry Summary Declarations (ENS), is changing.

The Import Control System Northern Ireland (ICSNI) is being replaced by Import Control System 2 (ICS2) and businesses were asked by HMRC to move to ICS2 by 1 September 2025.

The Trader Support Service (TSS) has already made the required changes to the Entry Summary Declaration form to support the requirements of the ICS2 coming into effect. If you are using these ‘RoRo Accompanied [ICS2]’ or ‘RoRo Unaccompanied [ICS2]’ options to submit your Entry Summary Declarations via the TSS Portal or API you should continue to do so, or if you expect to be ready to use this option by 1 September 2025, you should continue preparations and migrate as planned.

However, HMRC are aware of readiness issues with the wider implementation across ICS2 territories with preparing to migrate to ICS2 by 1 September 2025, and therefore are exploring options to support traders who will not be ready by allowing extra time to prepare. If you need more time to prepare, you should work with your supply chain to be fully prepared for this system change. HMRC will confirm the latest date as soon as possible, but it will be no later than the end of December 2025.

In the meantime the ‘RoRo Accompanied /unaccompanied’ option for submitting Entry Summary Declarations to ICSNI will remain available to TSS users until the HMRC confirmed date.

Follow the NICTA guidance below on how to complete Entry Summary Declarations in TSS with the new ICS2 requirements:

Where can I find more information on ICS2?

TSS has hosted two webinars on ICS2:

These can be found on the Webinars and Recordings page on NICTA, alongside previous TSS webinars and podcasts.

Advanced warning of TSS Portal outage

On Sunday 17 August, there will be an update to the TSS Portal which will require a short downtime. This outage is currently planned for 17:00 to 22:00. Further information on the update will be available in the next bulletin.

Internal Market Movement (IMMI) guidance: Additional Procedure Codes (APCs) in the TSS Portal

Additional Procedure Codes (APCs) are three-digit codes used to specify the intended use of goods following the main procedure code (such as release to free circulation or excise warehousing).

Categorisation and application of Additional Procedure Codes

Goods moving under the simplified processes for Internal Market Movements fall into one of three categories: Standard Goods, Category 2 Goods, and Category 1 Goods. Only eligible Standard Goods and Category 2 Goods may move using the simplified processes available under the Windsor Framework. These movements benefit from having no additional checks or duties applied. Category 1 Goods (such as goods subject to EU trade defence measures) are not eligible for simplified processes and are subject to full customs processes.

If the Trader Goods Profile (TGP) is being used to populate the Internal Market Movement Information (IMMI), categorisation takes place when the TGP entry was created or amended.

During manual entry of the IMMI in the TSS Portal, categorisation occurs once the commodity code and country of origin have been saved.

The HMRC Categorisation Tool is also available to help determine the correct goods category.

Following categorisation, the TSS Portal will suggest one of the four primary Additional Procedure Codes to use for your item line:

  • 1EN – Category 2 Excise goods not subject to Documentary Controls
  • 1SG – Standard Goods not subject to Documentary Controls (non-excise goods)
  • 1LG – Category 2 Non-Excise Goods subject to Documentary Controls, including licensing
  • 1EL – Category 2 Excise goods subject to Documentary Controls, including licensing

All goods subject to UK excise duty (namely alcohol, tobacco, and fuel) fall under Category 2 and either 1EN or 1EL must be used as the Additional Procedure Code in the IMMI. These goods may or may not be excisable depending on their intended use.

Following the application of one of mandatory primary Additional Procedure Codes listed above, other Additional Procedure Codes can then be used to provide further detail about your goods movement. For example, Additional Procedure Code 1SR (following the primary Additional Procedure Code 1SG) if you are moving glass beakers from Great Britain to a medical research facility in Northern Ireland, and 1SG conditions are met.

If the goods being moved are using the simplifications of the Northern Ireland Retail Movement scheme (NIRMS), Additional Procedure Code ‘1RM’ must be used alongside the mandatory primary Additional Procedure Code ‘1SG’. For more information, see Additional Procedure Code ‘1RM’ guidance on GOV.UK.

There is further information on the Additional Procedure Codes available in the TSS Portal and how to enter them in the Internal Market Movement Information (IMMI) in the Internal Market Movement Information (IMMI) Procedures and Additional Procedure codes Guide on NICTA.

Completion instructions can be reviewed in the Additional Procedure Code guidance on GOV.UK and in the Internal Market Movement Information (IMMI) Data Guide on NICTA.

For further details on Categorisation, see categorising goods for Internal Market Movements guidance on GOV.UK.

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

Northern Ireland Customs & Trade Academy (NICTA)

Find guides, webinars, and training on the NICTA website to assist with your customs movements and using TSS.

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