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Notice

Certified traders and tax representatives — EU trade in duty-paid goods (Excise Notice 204b)

Find out about UK requirements when moving duty-paid goods for commercial purposes between Northern Ireland and the EU.

Updates to this page

From:
HM Revenue & Customs
Published:
23 October 2014
Last updated:
18 November 2025
Show all updates

  1. The links to use to contact HMRC have been updated.

  2. This notice has been updated to reflect that the Alcohol Duty Stamps Scheme has been discontinued. From 1 May 2025, the legal requirements relating to duty stamps for alcoholic products no longer apply.

  3. The address to write to with comments on this notice has been updated.

  4. The notice has been updated to add guidance in section 13.6 for EU consignors who choose not to use a tax representative for distance sales to private individuals in Northern Ireland. This follows amendments made to excise holding and movement legislation applicable in Northern Ireland effective from 1 October 2024.

  5. This notice has been updated to remove references to the commercial importers scheme which was replaced by the certified trader schemes on 13 February 2023. It has also been updated to provide more details of how goods need to be moved in line with these changes to the duty-paid process, including the use of the Excise Movement and Control System (EMCS).

  6. Section 11 has been updated to include details of an end date for the current transitional arrangements for moving duty-paid goods, with the introduction of the Excise Movement and Control System. Link to information on rules for non-EU sales in section 12.1 has been updated.

  7. This notice has been updated due to the changes in Alcohol Duty which came into effect on 1 August 2023, including changing all references of 'made-wine' to 'other fermented products' and replacing the duty calculation examples in section 18 with a link to the new guidance.

  8. The address has been updated at section 17 for HMRC Duty-paid Movements Team.

  9. Sections 11.7 and 11.8 of the notice have been updated, as it is no longer possible to fax HMRC a 'Notification of Movement starting in Fallback' form or 'Fallback change of destination' form.

  10. This notice has been amended to include details of how to gain approval as a Certified Consignee or Certified Consignor, as well as how goods need to be moved in line with changes to the duty-paid process from 13 February 2023.

  11. The telephone number for movement queries has been updated.

  12. The address to contact the Duty-paid Movements team about movement queries has been updated.

  13. HMRC Duty-paid Movements Team telephone number changed to 03000 511995.

  14. This notice has been updated because the Brexit transition period has ended.

  15. This guidance is for the period up to 1 January 2021. Now that the Brexit transition period has ended we have published new guidance from 1 January 2021. A link to the new guidance has been added to this page.

  16. This page has been updated because the Brexit transition period has ended

  17. Section 3.2 has been updated following legislation changes on 1 July 2019 for heated tobacco.

  18. This notice replaces Notice 204b (23 October 2014). Details of any changes to the previous version can be found in paragraph 1.2 of this notice.

  19. Revised Notice 204B (October 2014). This notice cancels and replaces Notice 204B (October 2012). Details of any changes to the previous version can be found in paragraph 1.2 of this notice.

  20. First published.

Documents

Certified traders and tax representatives: EU trade in duty-paid excise goods (Excise Notice 204b)

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Details

This notice:

  • explains the UK’s requirements for the commercial movement of excise goods already released for consumption in Northern Ireland or an EU member state, referred to as duty-paid
  • provides guidance on certified trader schemes, distance selling and the use of tax representatives
  • explains the approvals needed and the processes that apply to commercial movements of duty-paid goods between Northern Ireland and the EU

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