Details emerge on new Northern Ireland shipping requirements

New documents from HM Revenue and Customs reveal the detail of what British businesses shipping to Northern Ireland will have to do from January.

As revealed in October last year, a range of new rules and regulations will come in to force following the decision to leave the European Union, prompting businesses shipping goods over the Irish Sea to undertake work they previously did not have to.

Initially the Government promised such a barrier on trade would not happen, but a HMRC document now details a range of customs, security and transit checks on all goods passing over. From 2021, goods passing between Great Britain and Northern Ireland will be badged as exports.

Electronic documents will now require completion prior to goods moving on. Suppliers will be required to provide hauliers with a Transit Accompanying Document that guarantees the contents of packages shipped. A further safety and security declaration will also be mandatory, where it is currently not within the EU’s single market.

Goods coming from Northern Ireland in to Great Britain will not face the same changes in shipping procedure.

The Guardian reports that HMRC will seek to compile the required pieces of paperwork, generating a “goods movement reference” that will show the cargo has undergone customs processing, latterly helping ports in organising arrivals. Goods crossing the border down into Ireland may be scrutinised to see if tariffs require paying.

Trials of the new system are set to begin in November ahead of January’s change.