HMRC has released the following information on moving goods with a Certificate of Inspection (COI) into Northern Ireland.
As of September 2025, Certificates of Inspection (COI) for organic goods movements into Northern Ireland are automatically verified against declarations by an EU system called Certificates Exchange System (CERTEX).
To avoid delays or disruption to the movement of your organic goods, please follow these guidelines:
The first consignee must not sign the consignee declaration (box 30 of the COI) in TRACES.NT until the goods are received
The first consignee is the person or company that receives the imported consignment for initial handling.
They will need to complete and sign box 30 of the COI in TRACES.NT to certify that all requirements have been met, but must not do so until the goods have been physically received and all CERTEX checks and amendments are complete.
Signing too early will cause CERTEX validation to fail. Received goods will be marked as 'Arrived' on the Customs Declaration Service (CDS).
If using the Trader Support Service (TSS), both the importer and declarant can view the customs declaration status through the company’s goods movement page.
Linking the COI to the CHED in TRACES.NT
If you intend to release products in a consignment covered by a Common Health Entry Document (CHED) as organic or in-conversion products, the responsible party for the consignment must insert the product type 'organic' in the CHED in TRACES.NT and link a COI to the CHED.
The responsible party for the consignment should follow these steps:
- select the product type as 'organic' in the CHED
- link the COI to the CHED by adding the COI reference in the 'Accompanying documents' section of the CHED
- once linked, the COI reference appears in the 'Links' box of the CHED
- the CHED will be updated to reflect that the appropriate authority has reviewed the COI
The full HMRC notice can be found here.
If traders needs help navigating Northern Ireland specific requirements, the Chartered Institute of Export & International Trade's advisory services team can provide support Northern Ireland Trade and Compliance Services.
