Declaring commercial goods you bring in baggage into Northern Ireland

Learn how to declare commercial goods, also known to as merchandise in baggage, when travelling from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.

Contents

What are commercial goods in baggage

Commercial goods in baggage are goods you carry with you when travelling from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, to sell or use in your business.

These kinds of goods are not:

transported by a freight company
on the ship, train or aircraft manifest as freight
for personal use or gifts

When to declare

You must declare all commercial goods you bring with you to customs when you arrive in Northern Ireland.

There is no duty-free allowance for commercial goods.

You do not need an export declaration to move merchandise in baggage from Northern Ireland to Great Britain, unless your goods are subject to specific rules (for example, rough diamonds). Check goods for which specific conditions apply (opens in a new tab).

Ways to declare

You can do this in one of two ways:

make an oral declaration using the ‘goods to declare’ red channel or the red point phone in the customs area in the port or airport (opens in a new tab)
submit a standard declaration or Internal Market Movement Information

Make an oral declaration

You can make an oral declaration if your goods:

have a value less than £873
weigh less than 1,000 kilograms
are not restricted goods (opens in a new tab)
are not alcohol, tobacco or fuel (excise goods)

You do not need to submit an entry summary declaration when you make an oral declaration.

See conditions for making an oral declaration (opens in a new tab).

Before you travel

Check that:

there is a ‘goods to declare’ channel or red point phone at your point of entry
your goods meet the criteria for an oral declaration

How to declare

At the port or airport, go to the ‘goods to declare’ channel or use the red point phone.
Tell the customs officer what the goods are, why you’re bringing them for business use, and who is making the declaration.
If duty is due, make a payment.

Make a standard declaration or Internal Market Movement Information

You can make a standard declaration using the Trader Support Service.

You can also make an Internal Market Movement Information if your goods qualify for simplified processes for Internal Market Movements.

You do not need to submit an entry summary declaration for commercial goods in baggage when using the standard declaration or Internal Market Movement Information.

VAT rules for commercial goods in baggage

If you sell goods in Northern Ireland that you brought in your baggage from Great Britain, you must:

charge VAT
show the VAT charged on the invoice

You’ll need to account for this as output VAT on your VAT Return (opens in a new tab). You cannot reclaim it as input VAT.

If you include the VAT amount on the invoice, your customers can reclaim it as input VAT, subject to the normal rules.

Find out how to account for VAT for Northern Ireland and Great Britain (opens in a new tab).

If your goods are ‘at risk’

If your goods are considered ‘at risk’ of entering the EU, you may need to pay EU duty and import VAT when they move either:

from Great Britain to Northern Ireland
from the rest of the world (excluding the EU) to Northern Ireland

VAT on goods declared by oral declaration

You’ll need to pay any VAT due when you make your oral declaration. You cannot use postponed VAT accounting or a duty deferment account on these goods.

VAT on goods declared by standard declaration

You must pay any customs duty or import VAT that applies.

If you want to account for import VAT on your VAT return, you must enter your VAT registration number at the consignment (header) level of your declaration.

Find out about getting duty and VAT refunds (opens in a new tab).

Trader Support Service