Can I claim a Northern Ireland duty waiver?

Check what the waiver would cover

The scheme can waive duty on goods otherwise charged at-risk tariffs when brought into Northern Ireland from Great Britain or countries outside the UK and EU. For goods imported directly from China, the waiver covers the difference between the UK and EU tariff. Ask your customs agent to identify the amount you would claim before building it into your purchase budget. For duty already paid, see our guide to reclaiming Northern Ireland at-risk duty. For GB stock sales, see our guide to VAT on sales to Northern Ireland.

This guide covers the undertaking and allowance checks. For the underlying duty calculation, read finding your commodity code and import duty and VAT. Keep the proposed waiver amount separate from the other shipment costs.

Identify linked businesses before registering

The allowance belongs to the whole single undertaking. HMRC’s linkage tests cover majority voting rights, rights to appoint or remove a majority of the governing body, dominant influence through a contract or constitutional provision, and majority voting control under an agreement with other shareholders or members. Parent and subsidiary aid must be counted together where they form the undertaking.

Even a sole trader must create an undertaking. Where it includes several businesses, choose an administrator to manage the account and report non-customs aid. HMRC says to include all businesses in your VAT group. Prepare a group chart and ask each linked business’s finance contact for its aid records.

Register and complete the account checks

Subscribe to HMRC’s online service, then register the undertaking. Prepare your customs registration number, company email and sign-in details, plus the other businesses’ customs registration numbers and contact details. The number used to subscribe becomes the undertaking administrator. The administrator must report changes to the businesses through the service.

The administrator must also check each business’s beneficiary details and confirm the applicable company, VAT, charity or National Insurance registration number. Businesses cannot use the scheme until the required information has been provided. Check this before asking your agent to submit a waiver claim.

Select the sector and check its allowance

Select a specific industry sector in the account. If you operate across sectors, HMRC says to choose the sector best fitting the goods normally moved, or intended to move, under the scheme. Without a specific selection, the undertaking cannot use the waiver. Separately, where a business operates across sectors with a lower allowance, the lowest allowance applies to the whole undertaking.

Match the undertaking’s activities to the allowance below. Do not choose a sector simply because its allowance is higher; ask HMRC if the activities are unclear.

Reconcile other aid before every claim

Add previous duty waivers and non-customs de minimis aid across the undertaking for the applicable period, then include the proposed claim. Subsidised contracts, loans and grants can count; ask the granting authority if an award’s status is unclear. Aid is measured in euros, so convert sterling awards. Claiming is a legal declaration that the sector allowance will not be exceeded.

Report non-customs aid through the service, including aid to a related business without a customs registration number. HMRC already holds duty-waiver information, so you do not report it again. Submit a report at least every 90 days, including when no payments were received, or the account will be suspended. Reconcile your records with the balance shown in the account. See our guide to replenishing Northern Ireland duty waiver allowance.

Before the declaration is submitted, give your agent the route, goods details, proposed waiver amount and your allowance check. HMRC allows claims on the import declaration. Use our customs clearance guide to organise the paperwork handoff, and keep a dated copy of the check with the shipment file.