The Customs (Northern Ireland) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020

PART 2 Importation of goods and goods potentially for export

CHAPTER 1 Preliminary

Part 2 interpretation

3.  In this Part—

“British ship” has the meaning given in section 1 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995(1) (British ships and United Kingdom ships);

“catch” means fish or any other aquatic life which is commonly fished or obtained in maritime waters or on the seabed;

“goods for the internal market” has the meaning given in regulation 4.

CHAPTER 2 Goods not at risk

Goods for the internal market

4.—(1) Goods are “goods for the internal market” if the goods —

(a) are not to be considered at risk of subsequently being moved into the Union by virtue of Joint Committee Decision No 4/2020; and

(b) do not enter Northern Ireland for the purposes of commercial processing.

(2) In this regulation—

“commercial processing” means processing which is not considered not to be commercial processing by virtue of Article 5(2) of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland in the EU withdrawal agreement and Joint Committee Decision No 4/2020;

“Joint Committee Decision No 4/2020” means Decision No 4/2020 of the Joint Committee established under the EU withdrawal agreement of 17th December 2020.

CHAPTER 3 Importation of goods entering Northern Ireland

Goods not chargeable under section 30A

5.—(1) Goods to which this regulation applies are not chargeable to duty under section 30A(3) of the Act.

(2) This regulation applies to goods for the internal market that are imported into the United Kingdom as a result of their entry into Northern Ireland if the goods—

(a) enter Northern Ireland from the Bailiwick of Jersey or the Bailiwick of Guernsey;

(b) enter Northern Ireland from the Isle of Man, unless they are goods of a description in section 8(2)(a), (b) or (c) of the Isle of Man Act 1979(2) (removal of goods from the Isle of Man to United Kingdom); or

(c) are goods to which paragraph (3) or (4) applies.

(3) This paragraph applies to a catch which is caught by a non-NI British ship whilst fishing in international waters and brought to Northern Ireland—

(a) directly by that or another ship; or

(b) after merely landing at a port outside the United Kingdom and the catch are itemised in a travel document issued at that port by the person responsible for the carriage of the catch which specifies the destination and recipients of the catch.

(4) This paragraph applies to goods which are products of a catch which is—

(a) caught by a British ship whilst fishing in international waters and processed on a factory ship which is a non-NI British ship operating in international waters; or

(b) caught by a non-NI British ship whilst fishing in international waters and processed on a factory ship which is a British ship operating in international waters,

if the goods are brought to Northern Ireland in accordance with paragraph (5).

(5) Goods are brought to Northern Ireland in accordance with this paragraph if they are brought—

(a) directly by the ship that caught them or another ship; or

(b) after merely landing at a port outside the United Kingdom and the goods are itemised in a travel document issued at that port by the person responsible for the carriage of the goods which specifies the destination and recipients of the goods in Northern Ireland.

(6) In this regulation—

(a) “factory ship” means a vessel providing processing services for the fishing industry;

(b) “international waters” means any part of the sea outside the seaward limits of the territorial sea of any country or territory;

(c) “non-NI British ship” means a British ship which has as its port of registration a port outside Northern Ireland.

Goods entering Northern Ireland - relevant goods

6.—(1) Goods are “relevant goods” for the purposes of this Chapter if—

(a) they are not goods to which regulation 5 applies;

(b) they are not Union goods;

(c) they are imported into the United Kingdom as a result of their entry into Northern Ireland;

(d) they are moved by direct transport into Northern Ireland, other than from the European Union; and

(e) they are goods for the internal market.

(2) In paragraph (1)(d) “moved by direct transport” has the same meaning as it has in Article 5(1) of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland in the EU withdrawal agreement.

Application of provisions made by or under the Act

7.—(1) The relevant tariff provisions apply for the purposes of duty charged under section 30A(3) in respect of relevant goods.

(2) A provision is a “relevant tariff provision” if it is—

(a) section 7(1) of the Act (amount of import duty: introduction);

(b) provision made by or under any of—

(i) sections 9 to 15 of the Act (preferences, safeguarding etc.), including as modified by any provision made by or under section 31 (territories forming part of a customs union with UK) or 51 (power to make provision in relation to VAT or duties of customs or excise) of the Act;

(ii) section 17 of the Act (place of origin of chargeable goods); or

(c) provision relating to relief contained in any of—

(i) the Customs (Tariff Quotas) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020(3);

(ii) the Customs (Tariff-free Access for Goods from British Overseas Territories) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020(4);

(iii) the Customs Tariff (Preferential Trade Arrangements) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020(5).

Determination of section 30A charge

8.  Regulations 7 and 9 apply for the purpose of determining the amount of duty charged under section 30A(3) of the Act.

Relief from section 30A duty

9.  Relief from duty charged under section 30A(3) of the Act is to be given in accordance with—

(a) Union customs legislation (as applied to that duty by section 30A(3) of the Act);

(b) provision made by or under the Customs and Excise Duties (General Reliefs) Act 1979(6); and

(c) regulation 7.

CHAPTER 4 Goods potentially for export from Northern Ireland

“At risk of subsequently being moved into the European Union” – definition

10.  For the purposes of section 40A of the Act “at risk of subsequently being moved into the European Union” in relation to goods means that they are not goods for the internal market.

Goods not chargeable under section 40A

11.—(1) Goods to which this regulation applies are not chargeable to duty under section 40A(1) of the Act.

(2) This regulation applies to goods that are not domestic goods if they are—

(a) goods for the internal market; and

(b) subject to an inward processing procedure that was not discharged in accordance with paragraph 9(5) of Schedule 2 to the Act or regulation 26 of the special procedures regulations (temporary export of goods released to an inward processing procedure) when the goods were removed to Northern Ireland.

Goods potentially for export – relevant goods

12.—(1) Goods are “relevant goods” for the purposes of this Chapter if they—

(a) are removed to Northern Ireland from Great Britain by direct transport;

(b) are not goods to which regulation 11 applies;

(c) are not domestic goods; and

(d) are goods for the internal market.

(2) In paragraph (1)(a) “moved by direct transport” has the same meaning as it has in Article 5(1) of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland in the EU withdrawal agreement.

Application of provisions made by or under the Act

13.—(1) The relevant tariff provisions apply for the purposes of duty charged under section 40A in respect of relevant goods as if any reference to the importation of goods were to their removal to Northern Ireland from Great Britain.

(2) A provision is a “relevant tariff provision” if it is—

(a) section 7(1) of the Act;

(b) provision made by or under any of—

(i) sections 9 to 15 of the Act, including as modified by any provision made by or under section 31 or 51 of the Act;

(ii) section 17 of the Act; or

(c) provision relating to relief contained in any of—

(i) the Customs (Tariff Quotas) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020;

(ii) the Customs (Tariff-free Access for Goods from British Overseas Territories) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020;

(iii) the Customs Tariff (Preferential Trade Arrangements) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020.

Determination of section 40A charge

14.  Regulations 13, 15 and 16 apply for the purpose of determining the amount of duty charged under section 40A of the Act.

Amount of section 40A charge

15.—(1) Paragraph (2) applies for the purposes of determining the amount of duty applicable to any relevant goods chargeable to duty under section 40A of the Act.

(2) Where—

(a) a liability to import duty was incurred in respect of the goods in accordance with Part 1 of the Act or the EU Customs Code(7) as a result of their importation into the United Kingdom;

(b) that duty was paid; and

(c) after IP completion day, the goods subsequently moved from Great Britain to Northern Ireland without leaving the United Kingdom,

the amount of duty applicable to the goods under section 40A(1)(a) of the Act is to be reduced by the amount of duty paid in respect of the goods in accordance with Part 1 of the Act or the EU Customs Code.

(3) In this regulation “EU Customs Code” means—

(a) the UCC;

(b) Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446 of 28 July 2015 supplementing Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards detailed rules concerning provisions of the Union Customs Code(8);

(c) Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2447 of 24 November 2015 laying down detailed rules for implementing certain provisions of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down the Union Customs Code(9); and

(d) Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/341 of 17 December 2015 supplementing Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards transitional rules for certain provisions of the Union Customs Code where the relevant electronic systems are not yet operational and amending Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446(10).

Relief from section 40A duty

16.—(1) Relief from duty charged under section 40A of the Act is to be given in accordance with—

(a) Union customs legislation (as applied to that duty by section 40A(4) of the Act);

(b) provision made by or under the Customs and Excise Duties (General Reliefs) Act 1979(11); and

(c) regulation 13.

(2) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(a) relief given in accordance with Union customs legislation is to include relief in respect of cases described in the Personal Property Relief document.

(3) In this regulation “the Personal Property Relief document” means the document entitled “Personal Property Relief”, version 1.0 dated 17th December 2020(12) which describes cases where a claim for relief may apply, expressed by reference to—

(a) the goods to which the relief applies;

(b) the persons who may be a claimant or consignee for the purposes of the relief; and

(c) the eligibility criteria which apply for the purposes of the relief.

(1)

1995 c. 21.

(2)

1979 c.58. Section 8(2)(c) was substituted by S.I. 2014/1638. Section 8(3) and (3A), which provide for goods to be excluded from the description in section 8(2)(a), were substituted for subsection (3) by paragraph 140 of Schedule 7 to the Taxation (Cross-border Trade) Act 2018 (c. 22) (“the Act”).

(3)

S.I. 2020/1432.

(4)

S.I. 2020/1434.

(5)

S.I. 2020/1457.

(6)

1979 c. 3. The Customs and Excise Duties (General Reliefs) Act 1979 (“the 1979 Act”) is amended by Part 3 of Schedule 7 to the Act. Part 4 of that Schedule, inserted by Schedule 1 to the 2020 Act, makes savings and modifications of the 1979 Act in relation to Northern Ireland.

(7)

The legislation which constitutes the EU Customs Code has effect before IP completion day as a result of section 1A of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (c. 16) and to a limited extent after IP completion day as a result of section 7A of that Act.

(8)

OJ L 343, 29.12.2015, p. 1.

(9)

OJ L 343, 29.12.2015, p. 558.

(10)

OJ L 69, 15.3.2016, p. 1.

(11)

1979 c. 3.

(12)

Available electronically from https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reference-document-for-northern-ireland-personal-property-relief. A person unable to access the document electronically may access it while government advice on social distancing and unnecessary travel applies, in hard copy free of charge on application to 07741835049, and otherwise by inspection free of charge at HMRC, 100 Parliament Street, London SW1A 2BQ.