Essential requirements for Shipping to EU and Northern Ireland

The UK and EU trade deal that was announced on Christmas Eve provided more clarity for UK and EU trade following the end of the transition period, although we know many are now trying to make sense of it and how it applies to their business when shipping to the EU and Northern Ireland.

Our friends are GFS are continuing to work through the details of the deal to ensure that shipping to EU and UK (Northern Ireland) is as smooth as possible for their customers. To help, they have noted the following essential requirements which will also apply if you’re not yet using GFS to streamline your shipping operations.

Customs Declarations are required for shipments between Great Britain and the European Union

Although the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement refers to ‘zero tariffs’ (zero customs duties), this doesn’t replace the need to generate a Customs Declaration, and so a Commercial or Pro-forma Invoice is required.

The trade deal only applies to Customs duties, meaning that in most cases Customs duties will not be applied to goods fulfilling all necessary “rules of origin” requirements. However, VAT will still be levied. Customs declarations are therefore required for goods to clear the border (in almost all cases these can be provided electronically), as the UK will have left the single market and the customs union.

Country-specific restrictions will still be in place and any associated licences will also be required.

Rules of Origin Requirements

In order to benefit from the EU-UK Trade Agreement ‘zero tariff’ (zero Customs duties), it’s essential that you provide evidence of the country of origin in the Commercial or Pro-forma Invoice for both B2B and B2C shipments.

IMPORTANT: The goods Country of Origin must be calculated and recorded accurately, and it is your responsibility to do this.

Shipping between Great Britain and Northern Ireland

For customers in Great Britain shipping to Northern Ireland we await confirmation of the final requirements. In the meantime please check the government website for the latest guidance.

N.B. Customers shipping to EU from Northern Ireland will not be affected as customs paperwork will not be introduced when trading with the EU.

Where to get more information

sign up for our webinar ‘Goodbye 2020, Hello 2021: Gearing up for success post-Peak, Brexit & COVID’ being held on the 27th of January when we’ll take a deeper dive into the changes that have taken place.