Guidance

Making an indirect export from Northern Ireland

Find out what to do when goods are exported from Northern Ireland and move through an EU country before arriving in Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) or a country outside both the UK and the EU, or when goods are exported from a country in the EU and move through Northern Ireland before arriving in Great Britain or a country outside both the UK and the EU.

• From: HM Revenue & Customs
• Published: 13 January 2021
• Last updated: 10 December 2025 — See all updates

Applies to Northern Ireland

From 15 December 2025, you will no longer be able to use the Customs Declaration Service (CDS) for handling indirect exports end-to-end from Northern Ireland.  

You can still use CDS for goods exiting through the Republic of Ireland.

What  you’ll  need as a trader in Northern Ireland

For traders in Northern Ireland making export declarations and planning to complete exit through an EU member state, you must use one of the following options:

• submit your export declaration in HMRC’s CDS if you’re moving goods through a port of exit in the Republic of Ireland — if you use this process, you must make sure that:
  • the export declaration includes the Additional Information (AI) code ‘AG999’, in Data Element (DE) 2/2
  • the office of exit code the goods are intended to exit from in the Republic of Ireland is entered in DE 2/2 against code AG999
  • DE 5/12 office of exit shows the office of exit as matching the office of export
  • your haulier carries a copy of the export declaration, either in paper or electronic format
  • you include the Movement Reference Number (MRN) of the declaration in the Irish Revenue’s pre-boarding notification (PBN) system for movements exiting on RoRo service
  • you provide the MRN to the airline or handling agent for movement exiting using air
• declare a direct export with the customs authority where the goods depart — this option is only available if the goods are under €3,000 in value and are not subject to licence controls
• use the Common Transit Procedure where the destination is within a Common Transit Convention (CTC) country — this can include Great Britain which is a signatory to the Common Transit Convention — read about the Common Transit Convention
• make changes to the routing and moving goods directly from Northern Ireland, as the majority of qualifying Northern Ireland goods do not require an export declaration when moved directly from Northern Ireland to Great Britain, unless this is required to fulfil an international obligation — for example, for the movement of endangered species
• move goods under a single transport contract (STC) with an airline or shipping company who take over the carriage of the goods in Northern Ireland — this can not be used for movements exiting by road, or goods subject to excise duty

Arrangements for moving goods directly from Northern Ireland to Great Britain, either under unfettered access or in the limited circumstances where declarations apply, are unchanged.

What you’ll need as a trader from the Republic of Ireland

If you’re responsible for exports declared in the Republic of Ireland that move through ports in Northern Ireland, you must provide HMRC with the master reference number of your export declaration and carry a physical or digital copy of your declaration (Export Accompanying Document (EAD)) to provide if requested at the port you exit from.

Moving goods through a Goods Vehicle Movement Service (GVMS) linked port

If you move goods out of Northern Ireland through a port using the Goods Vehicle Movement Service (GVMS), you need to create a goods movement reference number and include the master reference number of the declaration for export made in the Republic of Ireland.

You should provide the goods movement reference to the carrier at check-in. You do not need to provide HMRC with any more information unless requested.

Moving goods through an inventory-controlled port

Goods leaving Northern Ireland through inventory-controlled locations must follow the procedures at that location.

Once you have moved goods through the port, you need to provide HMRC with both:

• the master reference number of the declaration made in the Republic of Ireland
• evidence that the goods have departed

Evidence of departure can include:

• the C21 inventory clearance MRN
• airway bills
• bills of lading
• ferry boarding passes

You must send this information to the following address:

FREEPOST
BT OPS
EAD

You can also email: mailbox.eadexit@hmrc.gov.uk

If goods have already been marked as exited in GVMS, the process is complete. You do not need to:  

• provide any additional evidence or information  
• take any further action

What you’ll need as a trader from an EU country other than the Republic of Ireland 

If your goods are valued below €3,000 and are not subject to licence controls, you can continue to declare them for export on the UK’s CDS and remove them from ports in Northern Ireland. 

If you’re responsible for exports declared in an EU country, other than the Republic of Ireland, and exit goods through ports in Northern Ireland, you must either: 

• declare your goods to the transit procedure and follow the processes for transit movements when leaving through a port in Northern Ireland 
• complete the export declaration where the goods were undertaken by a single transport contact, and follow the port processes for providing evidence the goods move under a single transport contract

Published 13 January 2021

Last updated 10 December 2025 + show all updates

1. 10 December 2025

   The way you make an Indirect Export from Northern Ireland has changed.

2. 4 July 2021

   Information about if you move goods through a Goods Vehicle Movement Service has been added.

3. 13 January 2021

   First published.