The UK Government has announced a major £355m package of investment to help traders in Northern Ireland.

At the centre of this package is a new, free-to-use Trader Support Service (TSS) - an end-to-end support service to deal with import and safety and security declarations on behalf of traders. The new service will be available to businesses bringing in goods from Great Britain or the rest of the world, providing guidance as well as dealing with their requirements for moving goods into Northern Ireland.

A procurement exercise for the service has now been launched. We have committed £50m of funding for the establishment and first phase of the service, with the full contract to be worth up to £200m. Businesses in Northern Ireland can sign up for further information about the scheme from today, before it becomes operational in September.

UK Government

Part of the Northern Ireland Protocol, the UK Government will support UK traders by funding customs support including import declarations.

Currently (although this may change), these are the customs requirements for trade between Great Britain, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland from January 2021 -

• Great Britain - Northern Ireland : Customs declarations will be required and health checks will take place at the port of import in Northern Ireland. Goods must comply with EU regulations and there may be tariffs for goods that are potentially exported to the Republic of Ireland
• Northern Ireland - Republic of Ireland : No checks or restrictions announced
• Republic of Ireland - Northern Ireland : No checks or restrictions announced
• Great Britain - Republic of Ireland : Checks and customs declarations will be required at the port of entry into Republic of Ireland. Tariffs will apply
• Northern Ireland - Great Britain : No checks or restrictions announced but a declaration will be required
• Republic of Ireland - Great Britain : Checks and customs declarations will be required at the port of entry into Republic of Ireland. Tariffs will apply

For more information and advice on what may be required for trade between Northern Ireland and Great Britain in 2021, visit CustomsLink, our customs partner.