Moving controlled goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland

This guidance explains how to check if your goods are controlled when using the Trader Support Service.

Content

What are controlled goods?

Goods are controlled if they are subject to special health, licensing or environmental controls. These goods must be placed under customs control at the border. If the goods are controlled, you must provide supporting documents.

If your goods are controlled and you use the Trader Support Service to declare them, this will affect the type of declaration you can make and how you complete it.

The guidance on Simplified Process for Internal Market Movements (SPIMM) (opens in a new tab) includes a table illustrating the types of goods that are normally classified as controlled.

How to check if your goods are controlled

When you move goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, or from outside the EU to Northern Ireland, you must follow the relevant national or international laws.

To check if your goods are controlled, you'll need to:

find the right commodity code for your goods
check if any import controls apply

Finding the right commodity code for your goods

Find out some more information about the goods you want to move. To do this you can:

check your product's technical specifications, application, and origin
use the Northern Ireland Online Tariff (opens in a new tab) to identify the product category and commodity code, or visit the find your commodity code guide if you need help

Check if any import controls apply

Once you have found the commodity code on the Online Tariff, check if import controls apply under the EU and UK Import controls sections. If controls apply, read the conditions to find out if your goods need a licence or certificate, or if an exemption applies.

Your goods will be treated as controlled unless they meet an exemption.

For more guidance on how to use the Online Tariff, visit the Navigating the Online Tariff guide.

Examples of required documentation and useful links

Sanitary and Phytosanitary goods (SPS)

SPS goods are controlled by customs authorities to protect plant, animal and public health. You can use the following links to find out more about the different SPS controls that apply to movements from Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Permit

CITES website (opens in a new tab)

Check if you need a CITES permit to import or export endangered species (opens in a new tab)

Forestry Commission Inspection Document

Forestry Commission - GOV.UK (opens in a new tab)

Import and export of plants and trees | Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (opens in a new tab)

Import and export of wood and bark | Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (opens in a new tab)

Chemical goods

Chemical goods are controlled by customs authorities to protect human health, safety and the environment. Controls also help protect national security and prevent the illegal production of drugs and weapons. You can use the following links to find out more about chemical controls that apply to movements from Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Domestic Licence

Precursor chemical licensing (opens in a new tab)

HSE Approval PIC

Export and import of hazardous chemicals - Prior Informed Consent (PIC) - HSE (opens in a new tab)

The GB Prior Informed Consent (PIC) Regulation - HSE (opens in a new tab)

REACH Certificate of Compliance

UK registration, evaluation, authorisation and restriction of chemicals (REACH) - HSE (opens in a new tab), Understanding REACH - ECHA (opens in a new tab)

Substances restricted under REACH - ECHA (opens in a new tab)

Excise goods

Excise goods are controlled to protect government revenue, restrict certain goods, and reduce the use of harmful products. You can use the following links to find out more about excise controls that apply to movements from Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Administrative Reference Code (ARC)

How to register and use the Excise Movement and Control System (opens in a new tab)

Consignor registration

Excise movements: apply to be a registered consignor (EX72) (opens in a new tab)

SEED - Excise Product (opens in a new tab)

Electronic Administrative Document (eAD)

Submit an electronic administrative document using the Excise Movement Control System (opens in a new tab)

Receive goods into and remove goods from an excise warehouse (Excise Notice 197) (opens in a new tab)

Fluorinated gases and ozone depleting substances

Fluorinated gases and ozone-depleting substances are controlled to protect the ozone layer and mitigate climate change. You can use the following links to find out more about controls that apply to movements of Fluorinated gases and ozone-depleting substances from Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Certificate of conformity

Certificate of conformity for new vehicles (opens in a new tab)

Verification report

Environment Agency (opens in a new tab)

Fluorinated gas (F gas): guidance for users, producers and traders (opens in a new tab)

Rough diamonds

Rough diamonds are controlled to stop conflict diamonds entering the legitimate diamond trade and protect the integrity of the rough diamond supply chain. You can use the following links to find out more about controls that apply to movements of rough diamonds from Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Kimberly Certificate

Export rough diamonds: special rules (opens in a new tab)

Contact the Government Diamond Office, Foreign and Commonwealth Office at kpuk@fco.gov.uk

Before moving controlled goods

Visit the Northern Ireland Online Tariff (opens in a new tab) to see what controls apply to your goods. Check for any certificates, licences, or other documents you may need.

Contact the relevant authorities, such as DEFRA or DAERA, before moving your goods to make sure you meet their requirements.

If you are moving controlled goods, you may need to report for an inspection (opens in a new tab), use the Check if you need to report for an inspection (opens in a new tab) service.

Declaring controlled goods on the Trader Support Service

Controlled goods using the Simplified Customs Declaration Process (SCDP)

If you use a simplified declaration on the Trader Support Service, whether your goods are controlled will affect how your goods are declared and how much information you need to provide before they move.

If your goods are not controlled, the Trader Support Service will create an Entry in the Declarant’s Records (EIDR).

If your goods are controlled, the Trader Support Service will submit a simplified declaration. You will need to provide more information than for non-controlled goods.

To find out more about the information you need to provide when using the Simplified Customs Declaration Process visit the checklist.

In both cases, the importer must complete a supplementary declaration after the goods move.

Controlled goods using the Internal Market Movement Information

To move goods using Internal Market Movement Information, you must first categorise (opens in a new tab) them. As part of this, you must check if your goods are controlled.

If your goods are controlled, they will be either Category 1 or Category 2.

Category 1 goods are not eligible to use Internal Market Movement Information.

Category 2 goods can use Internal Market Movement Information, but you must provide more information than for standard goods. You must provide an 8-digit commodity code and the correct additional procedure code based on the controls that apply.

See the guidance on Category 2 goods (opens in a new tab) for details of the information you need to provide.

Controlled goods document code requirements

In all cases, when declaring controlled goods using the Trader Support Service you will need to include document codes on your declaration to meet the control requirements.

You can find the document codes you need to include on your declaration by checking the conditions of the control on the Online Tariff. Read the requirements for each document code to make sure you use the correct one for your goods.

Visit finding the right code for your goods guidance for more information on document codes and where to find them.

If your goods need a licence, certificate or document, make sure the details on your declaration match the document.

Licence data on a declaration will be verified by a system called the Certificates Exchange System (CERTEX) for Northern Ireland (opens in a new tab). It ensures quantities and other licence or certificate details match the declaration.

When you check the information you need for your customs declaration using the Northern Ireland Online Tariff, you may find that your goods are exempt from documentary controls.

For example, products of animal origin imported for research.

In this case, you should use a waiver code when completing this part of the declaration. When completing your declaration, find the code that applies to your goods on Appendix 5A (National codes) (opens in a new tab) or Appendix 5A (Union codes) (opens in a new tab). These appendices explain what information must be entered on the declaration, including the status code that must be used with the document code.

You must keep sufficient evidence in your records to show that the goods qualify for the waiver or exemption. You must provide this evidence if requested.

When completing your customs declaration, you will be asked to attach any licences, certificates or supporting documents as part of the document code section.

You should include these when completing the declaration, as this can help avoid delays if your movement is selected for additional checks.

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