Where a business has moved ‘at risk’ goods into Northern Ireland, it may be eligible to claim for repayment of any duty paid on import, or remission of import duty deferred. A business will be eligible to claim for single or multiple movements if it both:
- Paid or deferred EU import duty on goods brought into Northern Ireland
- Has evidence that the goods have met the conditions to qualify for a repayment or remission
Where a business is not resident or established in the UK, it must use an agent or representative established in the UK to submit the claim on its behalf.
It is possible for a claim to be submitted for a portion of the import duty paid or deferred on a consignment of ‘at risk’ goods, for example, if a consignment of 100 ‘at risk’ goods is moved into Northern Ireland and 50 of those goods subsequently meet the conditions, the business may claim for the duty charged on those 50 goods.
The Duty Reimbursement Scheme will also be available for EU duty charged when goods move under the new arrangements to be put into place under the Windsor Framework in autumn 2024.
Time limits
Claims for EU duty paid or deferred on goods brought into Northern Ireland from 1 January 2021 onwards can be claimed as follows:
- By 30 June 2026, if the duty was paid between 1 January 2021 and 30 June 2023
- Within three years following notification of the duty, if notified after 30 June 2023
What can be claimed?
Where duty is paid or deferred on movements of goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, the full amount can be claimed and where imports to Northern Ireland are from a country outside of the UK or EU, if the EU duty was greater than the UK duty at the time of import, the difference between the two rates can be claimed.
The claim must be made by the original importer of the at risk goods moved into Northern Ireland, an agent or representative acting on the importer’s behalf, who has been authorised to do so.
The conditions
Sufficient evidence must be provided to show that the goods meet one of the following conditions, as long as those goods have not first been moved into the EU:
- Physical retail sale or goods intended to be sold by physical retail sale in Northern Ireland
- Onward movement from Northern Ireland to Great Britain
- Export from Northern Ireland to a location outside of the UK or the EU
- Final consumption in Northern Ireland
- Permanent installation in Northern Ireland
- Destruction in Northern Ireland
HMRC’s guidance provides detail on the conditions, with examples of evidence that can be provided to support a claim. Each claim will be assessed according to the facts and the evidence presented and can be rejected where evidence is insufficient. Where goods have been processed in Northern Ireland after duty was charged, additional evidence may be required to demonstrate the goods imported for the processing met the conditions.
How to claim
Claims must be made online through the Government Gateway and require the following information:
- Form E2
- Form C88
- Contact and address details
- Movement Reference Number (MRN) for single movements
- Lead MRN which will be the movement with the highest value, for bulk movements
- Spreadsheet covering details of the additional MRN (for bulk claims)
- GB or XI EORI number
- Commercial record, or commercial document for the imported goods
- Commercial invoice for the imported goods
- Amount of import duty that was paid to HMRC
- Amount of duty that should have been paid to HMRC
- Bank account details
- Relevant evidence to support the claim
A unique reference number will be received on receipt of the claim and the business will be notified once the claim is approved, or whether further information is being requested.