Northern Ireland
Information about Freeports in Northern Ireland.
No Freeports have been announced for Northern Ireland, and there are no free zones operating there under the 2021 Free Zones (Customs, Excise and VAT) Regulations.
Whilst Northern Ireland is part of the UK, it is subject to EU Union Customs Code (UCC) requirements. This applies to direct movements of goods to and from EU member states, and to and from ‘rest of world’ countries. Whilst the Windsor Framework provides the mechanism for the movement of goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, including movements from the EU and the rest of the world entering Northern Ireland through Great Britain. As such most goods moving to Northern Ireland from Great Britain can already do so without incurring duty and the customs benefits of any free zone would be limited.
Free zone goods moving from a Great British free zone to Northern Ireland
Because there are no free zones in Northern Ireland, it is not possible to move free zone goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland under the Freeport customs procedure. A customs declaration to discharge the goods from the Freeport customs procedure in Great Britain is therefore required, with the goods moved to Northern Ireland in accordance with the requirements of the Windsor Framework.