TSS Bulletin 204th Edition

Published: 8 October 2025|

Contents

New Certificates Exchange System (CERTEX) for licensed goods now live

As advised in recent TSS Bulletins, the new Certificates Exchange System (CERTEX) went live on 15 September 2025 and is checking licence data and electronic documents raised on systems such as TRACES NT on Northern Ireland movements.

CERTEX verifications apply to the following certificates:

 

Certificate Type Certificate Type Detail Document Code
CHED-A Live Animals C640
CHED-P Products of Animal Origin N853
CHED-D Food and Feed of Non-Animal Origin C678
CHED-PP Plant and Plant Products C085
Certificate of Inspection – COI Certificate of Organic Conformity C644
F-GAS – Import Only Fluorinated Gases Y986, Y123, Y124, Y120, Y951, C057, C079, C082
O-Zone Depleting Substances (ODS) O-Zone Depleting Substance L100

What were the changes?

Common Health Entry Document (CHED) reference format

The format of the CHED reference number on Northern Ireland declarations has changed in line with CERTEX requirements and must be provided in the following format: letters followed by numbers including the full stop character. This would look like CHEDA.XX.20YY.nnnnnnn, where XX is the country of issuance, YY is the year, and nnnnnnn is the number (7 digits) with (optional suffix ‘V’). Examples of this would be ‘CHEDA.XI.2024.1234567’ or ‘CHEDA.XI.2024.1234567V’.

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

Additional Document Code required for plant and plant products (CHED.PP licences)

Under CERTEX, Document Code C085, which refers to the Common Health Entry Document for Plants and Plant Products (CHED-PP), become mandatory and must also be declared when either Document Code N002 (Conformity Certificate) or N851 (Phytosanitary Certificate) is declared.

What does this mean for TSS users?

You must make sure that the information provided on your NI declarations matches the information on the associated licence or certification, such as the licence reference number, commodity code, net mass and supplementary units (where applicable).

If you are moving plant and plant products (CHED-PP), you need to add additional Document Code C085 to your NI declarations, in addition to N002 (Conformity Certificate) or N851 (Phytosanitary Certificate).

This applies for all licence types mentioned above on your Simplified Frontier Declaration, Full Frontier Declaration, Internal Market Movement Information and Supplementary Declaration.

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.

Are you ready to use the ICS2 options in TSS?

The system to which the TSS Portal submits safety and security declarations, known as Entry Summary Declarations (ENS) is about to be changed.

The Import Control System Northern Ireland (ICS-NI) is being replaced by Import Control System 2 (ICS2) and businesses were asked by HMRC to move to ICS2 as soon as possible and no later than 31 December 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 31 December 2025 you should continue preparations and migrate as planned.

In the meantime, the ‘RoRo Accompanied / Unaccompanied’ option for submitting Entry Summary Declarations to ICS-NI will remain available to TSS users until the date confirmed by HMRC.

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:

You can find these on the Webinars and Recordings page on NICTA, alongside previous TSS webinars and podcasts.

Updates to the TSS Portal and NICTA

Following the updates to the TSS Portal and NICTA currently scheduled for 12 October 2025, the following enhancements will be implemented to the handling of Entry Summary Declarations to Import Control System (ICS2) and related transport information, improving compliance for movements from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.

Ability to change the Identity Number of Transport

If you are submitting Entry Summary Declarations to ICS2 you will be able to amend information provided in the Identity Number of Transport field.

When RoRo Accompanied [ICS2] or RoRo Unaccompanied [ICS2] movement type is selected on your Entry Summary Declaration, you will be able to amend the vehicle registration number or the trailer registration number up to 4 hours before the scheduled arrival.

Note: it will not be necessary to amend the vessel information originally provided in the Entry Summary Declaration submission due to any last-minute changes caused by breakdown or weather conditions, as HMRC can still access the correct information through GVMS.

Commodity code flexibility for noncontrolled goods

If you are moving non-controlled goods and submitting Entry Summary Declarations to ICS2, you will be able to declare either a 6-digit commodity code or a 10-digit commodity code.

If you provide a 10-digit commodity code, the first 6 digits will be sent to ICS2.

New ‘Type of Passive Transport’ field

A new Type of Passive Transport data field will be required when ‘RoRo Accompanied [ICS2]’ is selected within the Type of Movement on the Entry Summary Declaration. This appears underneath the Type of Movement field.

The Type of Passive Transport field will have a list of options to select from, and you must use the option that best describes the type of transport on which the goods move. Examples include ‘Truck, with tail-lift’, ‘Truck, with trailer’, and ‘Van, refrigerated’.

What is the ‘Type of Passive Transport’?

In combined transportation (for example a truck transported on a ferry), the truck that is loaded onto a ferry/ship is referred to as the ‘passive means of transport’ in regulations related to safety and security requirements. The Type of Passive Transport field in TSS captures this information on Entry Summary Declarations.

The following NICTA guides will also be updated reflect all the latest changes

  • Data guide: TSS declaration data requirements
  • ENS step-by-step guide for maritime movements from GB to NI
  • ENS Step-by-step guide: Standard Process and Consignment First Process
  • Pre-movement Internal Market Movement Information (IMMI): Step-by-Step guide
  • TSS Supplementary Declaration Conversion to Internal Market Movement Information (IMMI)

Further guides and resources are available in the Guide Directory on NICTA.

Using the Trader Goods Profile (TGP) on the TSS Portal

The Trader Goods Profile (TGP) is part of the simplified processes introduced by the Windsor Framework. It is a helpful tool for completing Internal Market Movement Information (IMMI) for your eligible goods movements.

The TGP auto populates fields such as the Commodity Code, Goods Description, Country of Origin, Category of Goods, and Supplementary Units (if required), which are part of your Entry Summary Declaration submission. Using the TGP means you don’t need to manually enter that information each time you move the same goods.

HMRC automatically creates a TGP for your business when you register for the UK Internal Market Scheme (UKIMS). You can add information to your TGP via the TSS Portal.

Laura Trif, Export Coordinator at Alliance Automotive Logistics, shared with us the advantages of using TGP:

“The Trader Goods Profile has been a great asset to our business. Since we started using it, our work has become much faster and more organized. It simplifies many of our daily tasks, saves us time, and helps us avoid unnecessary manual work. The platform is easy to use, yet powerful enough to handle the specific needs of our operations. Trader Goods Profile has made everything run more smoothly. The team is also helpful and responsive whenever we have questions or need support. Overall, it’s a tool we now rely on heavily, and we’re very satisfied with the results. We definitely recommend it to any business looking to improve efficiency and get more done with less effort.”

Before starting to use your TGP on TSS you need to set up your TGP access following the steps in the TSS Permissions Management for TGP and UKIMS on NICTA.

For guidance on how you can Manage your Trader Goods Profile with HMRC, refer to GOV.UK.

Note: as tariff measures in the Northern Ireland Online Tariff are subject to frequent updates, it is important to regularly check any impact on categorisation and the resulting ‘IMMI Ready’ status of your TGP entries. This will help with efficient completion of Internal Market Movement Information.

You can find out more about managing your TGP in the Trader Goods Profile (TGP) Guide on NICTA.

Different movement options in the TSS Portal

The TSS Portal supports various movement options, and it is important to choose the right one to ensure your goods movements are successful.

To help you decide, relevant guidance for your movement journey type can be found by selecting the Moving Goods from tab in the navigation bar at the top of any page on NICTA.

The journeys covered include direct movements from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, movements from GB to NI via Ireland (Transit), movements from Rest of World excluding the European Union to NI, and movements from NI to GB.

The following movement options are supported in the TSS Portal for moving goods from GB to NI:

  • Internal Market Movement Information (IMMI) – for goods eligible for the simplified processes for Internal Market Movements as set out in in the Windsor Framework, which took effect from 1 May 2025. One of the parties moving the goods must hold a UKIMS authorisation and the goods being moved must be ‘not at risk’ of entering the European Union.
  • TSS Simplified Procedure – a two-step customs process for other movements of goods to NI, where you provide a simplified declaration before goods move and subsequently provide full information after movement.
  • Full Frontier Declaration – this is a customs process used to provide detailed information before goods are moved.

In most cases, a safety and security declaration, known as an Entry Summary Declaration, is mandatory when transporting goods from GB to NI. This declaration must be submitted ahead of the goods arrival into NI, and the TSS Portal facilitates both the submission of this alongside the relevant customs procedures associated with your goods movements.

Where appropriate, you may choose to use the TSS Portal for submitting Entry Summary Declarations only, while completing the necessary customs procedures outside of the TSS Portal.

In upcoming bulletins we will provide additional guidance on each movement option to help you identify the most suitable choice according to your business requirements.

Support guides are moving from PDF to HTML

The format of the guides published on NICTA is changing to make them easier for everyone to use. From now on, we’ll publish new and updated guides directly HTML format instead of PDF.

Why the change?

HTML guides are more compatible with assistive technologies and can be viewed on any device without the need to download a file. This will also improve navigation, as readers can quickly search, link to sections, and move through content more easily.

What to expect

The appearance of the guides will be slightly different. Over time, we’ll gradually update popular existing PDF guides to HTML so that the library offers a consistent and user-friendly experience.

Check your email settings

Email communications (including links to this bulletin) are only sent to registered TSS users who have provided their email address and opted in to receive Account-Level emails. To do this, ensure your email address is listed in the Email Notifications section of your TSS Company Profile and that Account-Level Emails is set to ‘True’.

If you wish to subscribe to the bulletin emails, first check that your email address has been added to the TSS Portal.

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