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Statutory guidance

Special Direction under section 30(1) and (3) of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 (CEMA) related to Northern Ireland licenced goods

Updated 22 June 2026

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/special-directions-made-under-section-30-of-the-customs-and-excise-management-act-1979/special-direction-under-section-301-and-3-of-the-customs-and-excise-management-act-1979-cema-related-to-northern-ireland-licenced-goods

Application

  1. 1. This direction has effect where all of the following apply:
    1. a. Goods have been removed to Northern Ireland from Great Britain.
    2. b. Those goods are subject to non-customs formalities in Northern Ireland as listed in Part A of the Annex to Regulation (EU) 2022/2399 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 November 2022 establishing the European Union Single Window Environment for Customs and amending Regulation (EU) No 952/2013.
    3. c. The goods cannot be released for free circulation (as described at Article 201(3) of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 October 2013 laying down the Union Customs Code (UCC)) as formalities cannot be completed solely because of one or more mismatches between information provided in:
      1. (i) the customs declaration in respect of the goods
      2. (ii) the common data set within supporting documents provided for the purpose of these non-customs formalities
  2. 2. The rules set out in Special Direction 27 October 2025 apply when animals and other goods which require checks at a border control post are removed to Northern Ireland from Great Britain. Nothing in this direction overrides or otherwise affects the operation of that Special Direction.

Direction and Conditions

  1. 3. The Commissioners for His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs hereby grant a licence to any persons in possession or control of goods for which this direction has effect to move those goods between the port at which they arrived in Northern Ireland and the premises of the consignee or declarant or any other location agreed to or specified by HMRC. This licence is subject to conditions specified in paragraphs 4 and 5 below:
  2. 4. The declarant (as defined in Article 5(15) of the UCC) or a person acting on their behalf, must correct all mismatched data elements within a customs declaration in respect of the goods without delay.
  3. 5. The goods must not be used for their intended purpose, sold, consumed, transferred or processed until they are released for free circulation as described in paragraph 1(c). Until that time no handling of the goods is permitted except for:
    1. (i) loading, unloading or other handling necessary for the movement of the goods to their end destination
    2. (ii) examination or sampling by the declarant or holder of the goods (as defined in Article 5(34) of the UCC)
    3. (iii) handling necessary to preserve the goods in an unaltered state, without changing their appearance or technical characteristics
    4. (iv) handling necessary to secure and store the goods at the destination
    5. (v) any other handling carried out or expressly authorised by HMRC

Commencement

6. The Special Direction comes into force on 23 June 2026.

Signature

7. The Commissioners for His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs make this direction in exercise of their powers under section 30 (1) and (3) of CEMA.

Hermione Mackay on behalf of the Commissioners.

23 June 2026.

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