The new Duty Reimbursement Scheme launched on 30 June 2023. The scheme offers benefits to traders where they cannot be certain of the end destination of their goods when moving them into Northern Ireland but can later show the goods were sold or used outside of the EU.
Traders will be able to reclaim on any such EU duties charged for goods ‘at risk’ where the necessary evidence is provided.
Traders will be eligible for reimbursement if they:
- paid EU duty on goods you brought into Northern Ireland
● can provide sufficient evidence to demonstrate that their goods have subsequently met the conditions to qualify for reimbursement
When can traders claim?
● traders can make a claim for EU duty paid on goods brought into Northern Ireland from 1 January 2021 onwards
They will need to claim:
- by 30 June 2026 for goods brought into Northern Ireland before 30 June 2023
● within 3 years of being notified of the duty owed for goods brought into Northern Ireland after 30 June 2023
Is a movement eligible to make a claim?
Traders must provide sufficient evidence to support their claim, to demonstrate that one of the following has happened to the goods:
- 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
Evidence to support a claim
Traders will need to provide evidence to support their claim.
Full guidance on these requirements will be set out alongside the launch of the scheme, but illustrative examples of evidence could include:
- export declaration
● sales invoice
● commercial evidence, such as a VAT invoice
● evidence of customer orders
● packing list
● transport documents
● manifest data
● bill of lading
● inventory records
● contracts for sale
If the goods moved into Northern Ireland have been processed, traders will need to provide additional evidence with their reimbursement claim. This may include evidence of the inputs, processing and outputs to demonstrate that the goods moved into Northern Ireland later met one of the criteria set out above.
Full guidance and application form is available on GOV.UK.
