The Northern Ireland Trader Support Service was launched on 28 September 2020 to support businesses moving goods under the Northern Ireland Protocol from 1 January 2021 after the Brexit transition period comes to an end. There will be changes in moving goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland whether or not a Free Trade Deal is reached.

These changes will affect those moving goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland or bringing goods into Northern Ireland from outside the UK. Under the Northern Ireland Protocol, all Northern Ireland businesses will continue to have unfettered access to the whole UK market.

Since the service was launched more than 7,000 businesses have signed up. A new contact centre has also been launched to support businesses over the phone with the registration process.

The Trader Support Service:

• provides a free end-to-end support package to manage import and safety and security declarations on behalf of traders removing the need to purchase specialist software.
• saves traders significant time in completing declarations.
• reduces traders’ declaration costs as the service is free-to-use.

Businesses who sign up for the service will receive full guidance and support on the next steps to take ahead of 1 January 2021, including online training sessions and webinars.