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On 1 January 2021, the United Kingdom (UK) left the European Union (EU). From this date, declarations have been required for movements of goods into Northern Ireland (NI) from Great Britain (GB) under the Northern Ireland Protocol (NIP).Ìý

The UK and the EU previously agreed the Windsor Framework, which establishes a new UK internal trade scheme based on commercial data-sharing for the movement of goods.ÌýÌý

All data reported within this release applies to periods before the Windsor Framework was fully implemented. As such, this release should not be used to draw conclusions regarding the full functioning of the Windsor FrameworkÌý

Data sourcesÌý

The source of the Summary of movements of goods into Northern Ireland from Great Britain 2024 is provisional management information extracted from the Customs Declaration Service (CDS) administrative database.Ìý

Methodology for the Summary of movements of goods into Northern Ireland from Great Britain 2024Ìý

This section details how the data was extracted. The following criteria needed to be met:Ìý

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• the movement was declared to the Customs Declaration Service (CDS), either directly or via the Trader Support Service (TSS)Ìý

• the clearance date of the declaration was between 1 January 2023 and 31 December 2024Ìý

• the declaration was a full declaration, defined in the Definitions ²õ±ð³¦³Ù¾±´Ç²Ô.Ìý

• the value of the goods item on a declaration was less then £100 million, this is to remove likely errors and outliers and any items remaining on the declaration have been includedÌý

• the country of dispatch was Great BritainÌý

• the port of entry was a Northern Ireland portÌý

If goods are leaving inward processing or customs warehousing and entering free circulation, then a port code is not required. These movements have been identified separately where:Ìý

• the relevant Customs Procedure Code has been usedÌý

• the port of entry field has been left blankÌý

• the country of dispatch is Great BritainÌý

• the NIDOM Additional Information (AI) code has been used

Relationship with other statistical publicationsÌý

Northern Ireland Economic Trade Statistics (NIETS) survey data published by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA)Ìý

The NIETS survey is a National Statistics release produced by NISRA, based on an annual survey of local businesses’ trade with markets inside and outside Northern Ireland. Due to methodological differences, including collection methodology, timeliness, and coverage differences, the NIETS survey and this summary of movements of goods into Northern Ireland from Great Britain are not directly comparable.Ìý

Users should not compare the NIETS survey data published by NISRA and the data in this release.Ìý

Customs declarants and declaration volumes for international trade in 2024ÌýÌý

Customs declarations for trade movements between Northern Ireland and Great Britain are excluded from the Customs declarants and declaration volumes for international trade publication.Ìý

Data caveats and limitationsÌý

Clearance date was used to define the calendar yearÌý

The clearance date of a declaration was used to select declarations from the 2023 and 2024 annual periods. As this publication is based on the date the goods were cleared, and not when the goods were moved, these caveats should be noted:Ìý

Goods moved in 2023 may have been reported on a declaration that was not received by HMRC until 2024. The data on this declaration would be recorded for the 2024 period.Ìý

Goods moved in 2024 may be reported on a declaration that is submitted in 2025. The data on this declaration would be recorded for the 2025 period and not included in this publication.Ìý

Caution is advised when drawing conclusions about the year-on-year changes of the movement of goods into Northern Ireland from Great Britain. The definition of this data is:Ìý

Full declarations cleared by HMRC between 1 January 2023 and 31 December 2024 for movements of goods into Northern Ireland from Great Britain.Ìý

Change in declaring behaviour over timeÌý

The declaring behaviour of businesses is not necessarily consistent over time. Businesses may increase or decrease the number of customs declarations they submit for a variety of reasons and at any point within a given period.Ìý

These could include a change in the way certain customs facilitations are used, choosing bulk processing of declarations or use of the TSS or other intermediary services to submit declarations.ÌýÌý

Simplified Frontier Declarations (SFD)Ìý

SFDs were excluded from this analysis to avoid duplication of data that was submitted on both the SFD and the subsequent supplementary declaration.Ìý

Parcel and postal movements are not included in this dataÌý

All data reported within this release applies to periods before the Windsor Framework was fully implemented. In almost all cases, goods sent from Great Britain as parcel or postal movements to consumers in Northern Ireland will not require a customs declaration. Declarations will only usually be required where the goods are either prohibited or restricted or are being sent from one business to another business where the value of the good is greater than £135.Ìý

HMRC has adopted this temporary approach to applying declaration requirements for the movement of goods in parcels (including by the Royal Mail Group and express carriers) since 1 January 2021. More details can be found on the sending parcels to and from Northern Ireland guidance.Ìý

Whilst not required for 2023 and 2024, business may choose to voluntary produce and submit declarations for these types of movements, which would appear in the administrative data used in this release.Ìý

Impact of Customs Warehousing and Inward ProcessingÌý

Declarations for goods exiting a Customs Warehouse (CW) or Inward Processing (IP) and entering free circulation do not contain data for the original port of entry.Ìý

To mitigate this, declarations were assumed to be a movement into NI f°ù´Ç³¾â€¯GB. If they met the following criteria: Where the NIDOM additional information code was present, the country of dispatch was Great Britain, and the Customs Procedure Code (CPC) used denotes the movement as coming out of CW o°ù IP.Ìý

Data also includes declarations for goods both entering and exiting a Customs Warehouse, with the potential for more than one declaration being submitted for a single consignment of goods.Ìý

All figures are provisional and may be subject to changeÌý

Figures will remain static if the underlying declarations data recorded on CDS at the given date of extraction does not change.Ìý

Other data caveats and limitationsÌý

Entry and exit location codes used within this release may not have equivalent trade data available in other trade in goods publications.Ìý

Declarations that were pre-lodged but subsequently invalidated have not been included because HMRC was not notified that the goods had entered Northern Ireland.Ìý

Entry Summary Declarations (ENS) do not feature in this release as they are not submitted to CDS.Ìý

Any declarations that have been raised but not cleared between 1 January 2023 and 31 December 2024 have not been included in this release.Ìý

Percentages in this publication have been calculated using the unrounded data. Percentages calculated by users from the rounded data will not match those presented.Ìý

Official statistics publicationÌý

This release includes provisional management information for the calendar years 2022 and 2023. It reports on the movements of goods into Northern Ireland (NI) from Great Britain (GB)ÌýÌý

Now that the UK has left the EU, it is important that our statistics continue to be of high quality. All releases continue to be produced in accordance with the UK Statistics Authority’s Code of Practice for Statistics as well as internationally agreed statistical guidance and standards.Ìý

Our statistical practice is regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR). OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the  that all producers of official statistics should adhere to. The Customs importer and exporter population complies with this legislation in the following ways:Ìý

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• the publication is released in an open and transparent manner. Adhering to a published schedule with timely announcementsÌý

• concise commentary is provided to supplement tables which some users may find challenging to interpretÌý

• statistics and explanatory material are presented impartially and objectivelyÌý

• all relevant data notes and caveats are clearly stated alongside the dataÌý

• all material is accessible in line with Government Digital Service (GDS) guidanceÌý

• comparisons to the previous year are used to put the data into contextÌý

• suitable data visualisations are included to aid appropriate interpretation of the statistics, whilst also adhering to the GDS ²µ³Ü¾±»å±ð±ô¾±²Ô±ð²õÌý

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• administrative data taken from customs declarations is used to create this publication. This is the most appropriate source and only source of data for movements of goods into NI from GB.Ìý

• data sources, exclusions, methods, and definitions are provided in a methodology document published with this releaseÌý

• data is compared to previous releases of this publication to ensure reliability, and detection of outliersÌý

• standardised definitions are used throughout this publication and are available in the methodology document published with this releaseÌý

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• detailed data tables and summary statistics are equally available to all via the gov.uk websiteÌý

• suitable data visualisations and commentary are included to aid appropriate understanding and interpretation of the statisticsÌý

• By engaging with new technology and ongoing updates to our best practice, we work to improve these statistics each yearÌý

• Other related statistics and data sources are signposted with explanations of their consistency and comparability to this publicationÌý

• Advice about the appropriate use of these statistics is provided in the publication and in the methodology document published with this releaseÌý

You are welcome to contact us directly with any comments about how we meet these standards by emailing uktradeinfo@hmrc.gov.uk.Ìý

Alternatively, you can contactÌýOSRÌýby emailingÌýregulation@statistics.gov.ukÌýor via theÌý.Ìý

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A business or individual using an Economic Operators Registration and Identification (EORI) number to engage with customs procedures in the movement of goods into Northern Ireland (NI) from Great Britain (GB).Ìý

Country of dispatchÌý

The country from which the goods have been exported, depicted by a 2-digit alpha code, GB.Ìý

Customs Declaration Service (CDS)Ìý

CDS supports making import and export declarations when moving goods into and out of the UK.Ìý

Clearance dateÌý

The date when the customs authority releases the goods having carried out any checks deemed necessary.Ìý

Customs procedure codes (CPC)Ìý

CPCs identify the customs and/or excise regimes which goods are being entered into or removed from (where this applies).Ìý

Customs WarehousingÌý

A customs facilitation that allows businesses to store goods with duty or import VAT payments suspended. Goods are stored until they are either released into free circulation, re-exported or moved to another customs procedure.Ìý

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A declaration is an electronic submission of data which provides the legally required information about the goods being imported. A full declaration has been defined as one of the following declaration types:Ìý

• Standard customs declarationÌý

• Supplementary declarationÌý

• Supplementary declarations for Entry in Declarants Records (EIDR)Ìý

Inward ProcessingÌý

A customs facilitation that allows businesses to delay or reduce import duties or VAT on goods that are being processed or repaired.Ìý

NIDOMÌý

An additional information statement declared against items on a declaration of goods moved into NI f°ù´Ç³¾â€¯GB. This code identifies the goods have UK Domestic goods status. This excludes movements to NI f°ù´Ç³¾ UK Special Fiscal Territories.Ìý

NIIMPÌý

An additional information statement declared against items on a declaration of goods moved into NI f°ù´Ç³¾â€¯GB. This code identifies goods moved into NI f°ù´Ç³¾â€¯GB that are not in free circulation or home use. It can also be used for imports into NI f°ù´Ç³¾ rest of world countries.Ìý

Northern Ireland portsÌý

The following ports have been defined as ports based in Northern Ireland (port codes have been supplied):Ìý

• Belfast (BEL & LCA)Ìý

• Belfast International Airport (BFS)Ìý

• Coleraine (CLR)Ìý

• George Best Belfast City Airport (BHD)Ìý

• Irish land boundary (ILB)Ìý

• Larne (BEL)Ìý

• Londonderry (LDY)Ìý

• Portrush (CLR)Ìý

• Warrenpoint (WPT)Ìý

Entry and exit location codes used within this release may not have equivalent trade data available in other trade in goods publications.Ìý

Trader Support Service (TSS)Ìý

°Õ³ó±ð TSS was introduced as a free service by HMRC on 1 January 2021. The service acts as a customs intermediary to assist businesses in meeting the new legal requirement for movements of goods into and out of Northern Ireland.Ìý