Guidance

Moving F gas between Great Britain and Northern Ireland

What you need to do to trade fluorinated gases (F gases) between Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) and Northern Ireland.

• From: Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs
• Published: 24 February 2021
• Last updated: 28 November 2022
  Show all updates

  1. 28 November 2022

     Removed point 3 'Check any export changes and how they may affect you' under the Customs declaration and the Goods Vehicle Movement Service (GVMS) heading as it duplicated information.

  2. 25 July 2022

     Updated URLs to the EU HFC Registry. Included information on completing a declaration of conformity. Rearranged content for better flow.

  3. 18 May 2021

     Updated moving F gas from Northern Ireland to Great Britain section with new requirements for customs declaration and using the Goods Vehicle Movement Service.

  4. 24 February 2021

     First published.

Moving F gas from Great Britain to Northern Ireland

To move hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), the most common type of F gas, from Great Britain to Northern Ireland (which is in the EU F gas system) you must comply with EU quota and registration requirements.

If you bring HFCs into Northern Ireland from Great Britain, you must:

• register on the EU HFC Registry
• have sufficient EU quota, quota authorisation or delegations to cover the amount of HFC you’re moving
• make a customs declaration - you can use the Trader Support Service
• include export consignments from Great Britain to Northern Ireland in your annual your annual Great Britain F gas report

Moving F gas from Northern Ireland to Great Britain

To move HFCs from Northern Ireland to Great Britain, you must comply with Great Britain quota and registration requirements.

You must:

• register on the F gas service
• have enough quota, quota authorisations or delegations to cover the amount of HFCs you’re importing to Great Britain
• make a customs declaration - you can use the Trader Support Service
• include import consignments from Northern Ireland in your annual F gas report
• complete a declaration of conformity to certify that the HFCs in the equipment are covered by a quota authorisation or delegation
• include your export consignments to Great Britain in your annual EU HFC report

Customs declaration and the Goods Vehicle Movement Service (GVMS)

Before moving HFCs from Northern Ireland ports to Great Britain, you must:

1. Make a customs declaration on the Customs Declaration Service - this generates a declaration unique consignment reference (DUCR).

2. Create a new goods movement reference for the move using the Goods Vehicle Movement Service - the haulier will need the DUCR to do this.

Read the guidance on how to get a goods movement reference.