Trading with Northern Ireland? Confirm your XI EORI number

The past two weeks have seen HMRC on a letter spree to organisations that have an XI Economic Operator Registration Identification (EORI) number, which is used to import goods into Northern Ireland. 

After the introduction of the temporary Northern Ireland Protocol, HMRC issued XI EORI’s to all businesses that traded with Northern Ireland as a way to mitigate the disruption felt by Brexit. No questions were asked by HMRC about the status of these organisations. HMRC are now sending letters asking two questions – why is an XI EORI required? And importantly, does your organisation have an establishment in Northern Ireland? 

Answering these questions is not straight forward, in this article we share our knowledge on the subject and how we have helped clients so far.

Why are the letters being sent?

Simply, HMRC are checking to see whether each organisation with an XI EORI number needs it. To do that, they are taking the approach that no response to the letter means no requirement and hence they will cancel EORIs held by those who fail to respond. Therefore, the first question to ask is whether your XI EORI is required. If not, the action is to ignore the letter – easy! 

HMRC will cancel the EORI six weeks after the date shown on the letter. It is important to note that without an XI EORI, organisations cannot import goods into Northern Ireland in their own name so organisations should think carefully before deciding to ignore the letter.

Still need your XI EORI?

Those that recognise the need for their XI EORI will need to confirm this to HMRC. In doing so, they will have to do the following.

1. Confirm whether they have a permanent business establishment in Northern Ireland: a standard check usually asked on applications for an EORI in the UK or any EU member state is whether you have a permanent business establish in that location. This is defined as having the necessary human and technical resources that are permanently present for which a person’s customs-related operations are wholly or partly carried out. This would, in the event of non-compliance or fraud, give HMRC a location at which they can contact the organisation.

In looking to confirm the presence of an establishment HMRC request two forms of evidence that can verify that establishment in order to successfully retain their XI EORI. These will be recent documents, usually no older than three-months that confirm the address stated. A full list of those valid documents can be found here. 

2. If they do not have a permanent business establishment in Northern Ireland, they need to demonstrate an intention to undertake or show there is ongoing limited Customs activities that need the XI EORI. 

If neither of the above requests can be met, then the letter states an indirect representative will be needed to make the customs declarations on their behalf. The assumption is that representative will have an XI EORI number. Our understanding is that GB businesses who do not keep their XI EORI numbers will instead need to supply their GB EORI numbers to the indirect representatives, and these will be used on the import declaration. 

Indirect representatives become joint and severally liable for any VAT and duties due. They often charge high fees for taking on this risk. The majority of GB established businesses have been using the Trader Support Service (“TSS”) since the introduction of the Northern Ireland Protocol to make their declarations. This is a free of charge service and it will continue to act as indirect representative for those GB organisations that sign up free of charge. There has been no indication that the introduction of the Windsor Framework will remove the use of the TSS for businesses already using the service, or for those looking to sign up.

HMRC’s timeframes

Where necessary organisations need to submit their response in the timeframe given to them on their letter by using the link found here, which is accessed via the online gateway account. The form can only be used where you have received a letter asking for you to confirm the organisations eligibility for an XI EORI number.

How we can help

The Northern Ireland Protocol and the new Windsor Framework have been and are still far from straightforward. Our VAT and customs team have experience with Northern Ireland trade, be that with established businesses or those selling into the province and can provide advice on your next steps. Time is running out for organisations to confirm their status, so please get in touch with Rob Janering if you receive a letter.