Checklist for completing the entry summary declaration

Find out the main information that is required to complete an entry summary declaration for goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.

Contents

The following guidance is applicable when completing an entry summary declaration without a customs declaration (for example a supplementary or a standard declaration) or an Internal Market Movement Information (IMMI) linked to it. To complete an entry summary declaration with an additional form, follow every step in this checklist and those in the section on completing an entry summary declaration with a customs declaration.

Before you send goods to Northern Ireland, there are actions you must take to gather the information needed to complete the entry summary declaration.

Check the following tables and implement the highlighted actions, depending on your role in the supply chain. 

Actions you need to take

Before sending goods to Northern Ireland, make sure the company moving the goods has accurate details about the shipment.

The carrier (or haulier) will use this information to complete and submit the entry summary declaration.

Before submitting: who does what

Trader (seller, exporter, buyer, importer)

Discuss and ask accurate details about:

  • transport and journey information
  • parties involved in the supply chain
  • goods characteristics and packaging

You can find these details in the section information required to complete an entry summary declaration of the guide.

Ensure you and your customer are registered in the Trader Support Service (one-time step).

If you contract a carrier or haulier, make sure they are registered in GVMS (one-time step).

Transporter (carrier or haulier)

Discuss and ask accurate details about:

  • transport and journey information
  • parties involved in the supply chain
  • goods characteristics and packaginga

Ensure you and your customer are registered in the Trader Support Service (one-time step).

Register for the Goods Vehicle Movement Service (GVMS) (opens in a new tab) to get a Goods Movement Reference (GMR) (one-time step).

Intermediary (agent, freight forwarder)

Discuss and ask accurate details about:

  • transport and journey information
  • parties involved in the supply chain
  • goods characteristics and packaging

You can find these details in the section information required to complete an entry summary declaration of the guide.

Ensure you and your customer are registered in the Trader Support Service (one-time step).

Information required to complete an entry summary declaration

To complete an entry summary declaration, you need key details about the:

  • parties involved
  • goods and packaging
  • transport

Traders, hauliers, or intermediaries can get this information from the:

  • commercial invoice - includes the names of the seller and buyer, the value of the goods, and a basic description of the goods (check the goods description guidance)
  • packing list - shows the number of packages, as well as their weight and size
  • transport documents - Bill of Lading (sea), CMR note (road)

Collect information on the following categories to complete the entry summary declaration form.

Transport and journey information

  • type of movement
  • identity number of transport
  • conveyance reference number
  • nationality of means of transport
  • transport document number
  • transport document type
  • carrier XI or EU name, address and EORI
  • Arrival date and time
  • port of arrival
  • container indicator (registered shipping container)
  • seal number (when the container has one or more seals attached to it)
  • route
  • destination country
  • place or places of loading
  • place or places of acceptance (if different from place of loading – for RoRo accompanied movements)
  • place or places of unloading
  • place or places of delivery (if different from place of unloading – for RoRo Accompanied Movements)
  • transport charges

Parties involved in the supply chain

  • consignor and consignee name, address and EORI (if known)
  • importer name, address and EORI (if known)
  • exporter name, address and EORI (if known)
  • buyer name, address and EORI (if known) - (if different to Importer)
  • seller name, address and EORI (if known) - (if different to Exporter)

Goods characteristics and packaging

  • equipment number, if containerised
  • type of packages
  • number of pieces or packages
  • package marks
  • gross mass (kg)
  • goods description
  • ommodity code (6-digit)

Submitting information

The carrier or haulier needs to submit the entry summary declaration at least 2 hours prior to the movement.

The Trader Support Service will send the declaration directly to the Import Control System 2.

After submitting: who does what

Once the entry summary declaration has been submitted, you need to take the following steps.

Trader (seller, exporter, buyer, importer)

Check if the goods need inspection upon arrival in Northern Ireland by visiting the website: Check if you need to report for an inspection (opens in a new tab).

Transporter (carrier or haulier)

Create a GMR in the Trader Support Service with the GMR Automation feature, or make one directly in GVMS. Make sure you include the ENS MRN so that your declaration is automatically Arrived & Presented.

For more help see the Creating a goods movement reference guide.

After finishing the GMR, save a copy of it to present it at the port, so you board the ferry and transport the goods.

Check if the goods need inspection upon arrival in Northern Ireland by visiting the website: Check if you need to report for an inspection (opens in a new tab).

If you did not include the ENS MRN in your GMR, you must manually submit an Arrival and Presentation of Goods notification for the ENS. Details on how to do this are at: Make an entry summary declaration using the Import Control System 2 (opens in a new tab).

Intermediary (agent, freight forwarder)

If you are acting on behalf of the carrier or haulier, you'll need to create a GMR in the Trader Support Service with the GMR Automation feature, or make one directly in GVMS. Make sure you include the ENS MRN so that your declaration is automatically Arrived & Presented.

For more help see the Creating a goods movement reference guide.

If you are acting on behalf of the trader:

Completing an entry summary declaration with a customs declaration

You can choose to complete the IMMI (if eligible) or a customs declaration at the same time as the entry summary declaration. You’ll need to provide some extra information.

Submitters of the entry summary declaration need to check with the ‘Importer of record’ what type of form they need to submit.

For UKIMS authorised traders who are moving ‘not at risk’ goods, check the information you need to complete the IMMI.

For all other traders: