UK POST-BREXIT RULES FOR TRADE WITH NORTHERN IRELAND

Under the Windsor Framework Agreement revision to the Brexit Agreement with the EU, which took effect on 1 October 2023, certain simplifications were due to be implemented on 1 October 2024.

In particular a new “Red Channel/Green Channel” approach was agreed which will greatly restrict the need for Supplementary Declarations to be submitted via the Trader Support System (TSS) for goods shipped from the UK to Northern Ireland. However, HMRC have now announced that their systems are not ready to implement the new approach which has been postponed until at least March 2025, so UK traders submitting Supplementary Declarations for sales to Northern Ireland must continue to do so for the time being.

HMRC also recently advised that EU companies trading directly with Northern Ireland in the excise sector (B2C – Distance Sales) no longer need to appoint a Fiscal Representative in order to effect shipments into Northern Ireland. This appears to be the result of changes to the Excise Directive which were not correctly interpreted by HMRC. However the impact is not expected to huge as companies will still need to complete payment of the excise duties before the goods can be shipped, which is nearly impossible unless they have a Duty Deferment Account – and of course Deferment Accounts for Northern Ireland are subject to EU rules on Customs Guarantees.