New rules for GB to NI parcels to come into force

People in Great Britain posting parcels to people in Northern Ireland will in future need to tell their parcel company what they are sending.

The change from 1 May is a requirement of the Windsor Framework, the Brexit deal which sets trading rules between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Government guidance says: "Businesses or consumers in Great Britain sending a parcel by direct transport to an individual residing in Northern Ireland for personal use will need to supply their parcel carrier with information."

An example of that information is "a description of the item inside the parcel".

Individual consumers in Northern Ireland will not have to do anything different to receive parcels from Great Britain.

The changes primarily impact business-to-business parcels being sent from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, which will need customs declarations for the first time.

Parcel companies will also have to be signed up to a trusted trader scheme and provide information to HMRC such as the details of the sender and recipient and a description of the goods.

The changes were originally supposed to happen last year but were delayed after businesses said they needed more time to prepare.

The government has published some new guidance in response to business concerns.

It confirms that 'click and collect', where consumers place orders for goods to be sent to a business address in Northern Ireland for collection, will not need customs declaration.

It says: "These can be treated as business-to-consumer parcels even when they are sent to a business address."

It also confirms that there are no new requirements for letters, postcards or other correspondence sent to Northern Ireland from Great Britain.

Parcels have been one of the most difficult post-Brexit trading issues for the UK government to resolve.

After Brexit, Northern Ireland effectively remained in the EU's single market for goods.

That meant new checks and controls have been applied to goods being sent from Great Britain to Northern Ireland - which some have described as the Irish Sea border.

This was originally governed by a UK-EU deal known as the Northern Ireland Protocol.

It was revised in 2023 and became the Windsor Framework.

Under the original deal most parcels going from Great Britain to Northern Ireland would have required customs declarations: that was never implemented as businesses and the UK government said it would be unworkable.

The Windsor Framework aims to radically simplify the original proposal while also including measures which give the EU assurance that goods will not illicitly enter its market.