Internal Market Movement Information (IMMI) options: before and after the movement

Find out which Internal Market Movement Information (IMMI) option to use in the Trader Support Service, including before the movement (pre‑movement) and after the movement (post-movement) options.

Contents:

The Internal Market Movement Information (IMMI) is a reduced dataset declaration for reporting the movement of eligible goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland. It requires less information compared to a full declaration.

You must be authorised under the UK Internal Market Scheme (UKIMS) to submit the IMMI.

If you submit the IMMI, you do not need to submit a supplementary declaration.

Find out what goods you can declare on the IMMI.

Learn more about the Internal Market Movement Information.

Find guidance on how to complete the IMMI.

When you can submit the IMMI

You can submit the IMMI for your goods:

before you move your goods - providing all the information before the goods enter Northern Ireland
after you move your goods - giving you additional time to prepare the required information

Before the movement: options available in the Trader Support Service

Before the goods move, you have 2 options in the Trader Support Service.

You can submit either:

the IMMI consignment (part of the combined journey with an entry summary declaration
the standalone IMMI (pre-lodged)

For both options, you must have all the information about the movement before the goods leave Great Britain.

Find out what information you’ll need for each goods movement.

IMMI consignment (part of the combined journey with the entry summary declaration)

With this submission, you combine the IMMI with an entry summary declaration.

In the submission:

the entry summary declaration provides the safety and security declaration
the IMMI provides the commercial information
any legal responsibility rests with the UKIMS-authorised party

When to use this option

Use this to submit both the entry summary declaration and the IMMI before the goods move. The whole movement is completed in one step before departure. No further information is required after arrival.

What happens in the Trader Support Service

When you submit the IMMI consignment (part of the combined journey with the entry summary declaration), you will receive a movement reference number (MRN). The haulier will need this to create a goods movement reference (GMR), which is used to notify Customs that your goods are on the move.

A GMR can be obtained through the Goods Vehicle Movement System (GVMS), or by using the GRM automation functionality in the Trader Support Service. This functionality must be set up in the company profile.

For example, a retailer in Manchester is sending a confirmed order of furniture to a single store in Belfast. The retailer is UKIMS authorised. The order, quantities and delivery date are confirmed before the goods leave the warehouse. Also, the entry summary declaration has not been submitted separately.

The retailer creates the IMMI consignment (part of the combined journey with the entry summary declaration ) through the Trader Support Service and assigns it to the haulier. The haulier then submits this consignment at the same time as the entry summary declaration.

Standalone IMMI (pre-lodged)

In some circumstances you can also submit the IMMI without the entry summary declaration. This is known as a standalone IMMI (pre-lodged).

When to use this option

Use this when either:

the haulier has completed the entry summary declaration outside of the Trader Support Service
the entry summary declaration has already been submitted

The trader can still use the reduced dataset even if the entry summary declaration was submitted separately. No further information is required after arrival.

What happens in the Trader Support Service

When you successfully submit the standalone IMMI (pre-lodged), you’ll receive an MRN.

You must provide the MRN to the haulier so they can create a goods movement reference to tell HMRC your goods movement has started.

If you do not do this, your declaration will not be recorded as arrived in the Customs Declaration Service (CDS).

For example, a UKIMS authorised retailer in Birmingham sends goods to Belfast. The haulier submits the entry summary declaration outside of the Trader Support Service before departure.

Because the entry summary declaration has already been submitted outside the Trader Support Service, the retailer cannot use the combined entry summary declaration and IMMI journey. Instead, they submit a standalone IMMI (pre-lodged) in the Trader Support Service before the goods arrive in Northern Ireland.

After the movement: options available in the Trader Support Service

After the goods move, you have 2 options in the Trader Support Service.

You can submit either a:

after the movement IMMI (converted from the supplementary declaration)
standalone IMMI (arrived)

Do not use these processes if you completed the IMMI before your goods moved.

After the movement IMMI (converted from the supplementary declaration)

This option is available if you move eligible goods to Northern Ireland using the simplified procedure. You must submit an entry summary declaration and an entry in the Declarant’s Records (EIDR) or a simplified declaration before the goods move.

After the goods arrive, you can submit the IMMI instead of a supplementary declaration if your goods are eligible.

This means you only need to provide the additional details required for the reduced dataset.

When to use this option

Use this option when you need more time to provide the final information about your goods such as the final quantity, value, or commodity codes.

This option:

allows you to provide less information than a supplementary declaration
confirms what actually happened (for example, quantities, values, movement details)

The goods must meet the conditions for using the simplified processes for Internal Market Movements.

For example, a distributor sends a mixed pallet of controlled goods from Bristol to a warehouse in Belfast. The distributor is UKIMS-authorised.

The haulier submits the entry summary declaration and the simplified declaration before the goods move.

After the goods arrive and details are confirmed, the distributor submits the IMMI as the goods were confirmed as eligible.

Standalone IMMI (arrived)

The standalone IMMI (arrived) option allows you to use the IMMI to divert goods to free circulation. This applies when goods are placed under certain customs special procedures and are later diverted to free circulation.

You can only divert goods to free circulation using the standalone IMMI (arrived) if they were under either of these customs special procedures:

Customs Warehousing
Inward Processing

When to use this option

Use this when:

you placed your goods under Customs Warehousing or Inward Processing
you want to remove the goods from the special procedure and declare them to free circulation using the IMMI

For example, you can store goods in a customs warehouse and only declare them to free circulation when their final use or destination is confirmed using a reduced dataset, if eligible.

The goods must meet the conditions for using the simplified processes for Internal Market Movements.

What happens in the Trader Support Service

The Standalone IMMI (arrived) discharges the goods from the customs special procedure and releases the goods to free circulation using a reduced dataset.

For example, a trader sends a consignment of electronics from Great Britain to Northern Ireland. When the goods arrive, they are placed into a customs warehouse because it is not yet known whether they will be sold in Northern Ireland or re‑exported. The trader is authorised for UKIMS.

At a later date, a business in Northern Ireland purchases the goods for sale in their shop. The trader decides to release the relevant stock from the Customs Warehouse into free circulation.

The trader submits a standalone IMMI (arrived) to provide the final information for the goods. This discharges the customs warehousing procedure and releases the goods to free circulation in Northern Ireland.