To ensure the transition from NCTS4 to NCTS5 in Northern Ireland (NI) and Great Britain (GB) takes place with minimal disruption for traders the changes will be taking place on separate dates as follows:

• Friday 28 June NCTS5 in NI (XI)
• Monday 1 July NCTS5 in GB

Some commercial software providers will be switching their software from NCTS4 to NCTS5 on 1 July to ensure this takes place after both changes have been implemented.

Friday 28 June 2024

The XI service will be unavailable from 09:00 – 16:00 British Summer Time (BST), for approximately 7 hours.

Before this time, you will need to: -

• Discharge all arrivals, where possible, to avoid delays as HMRC need to do this manually while the system is unavailable.
• Make sure you have received the Release for Transit notification for any submitted declarations in order to move the goods.

If your software provider cannot switch from NCTS4 to NCTS5 until 1 July, you should:

• Submit and release before 09:00 on 28 June, all XI declarations for goods moving on 28, 29, or 30 June and 1 July, if you are an Authorised Consignor.
• Re-plan your movement of goods to avoid 28, 29, 30 June and 1 July if you are moving goods under the Normal procedure; or
• Use the Web portal following the downtime on Friday 28 June to submit declarations.

Monday 1 July 2024

The GB service will be unavailable from 06:00 to 13:00 (BST), for approximately 7 hours.

Before this time, you will need to: -

• Discharge all arrivals, where possible, to avoid delays if HMRC need to do this manually while the system is unavailable.
• Submit and release all declarations for goods moving on 1 July, if you are an Authorised Consignor/Consignee.

While NCTS is down, you should refrain, where possible, from moving goods under the Normal procedure which requires attending Inland Border Facilities (IBFs) or ports to start movements.

Please note:

• While NCTS4 in XI is unavailable, the GB NCTS4 service will still be online and available to submit declarations.
• While NCTS4 in GB is unavailable, the new XI NCTS5 will be online and available to submit declarations.

Important

If you must move goods and have been unable to submit the declarations prior to the start of system downtime, you will be able to use the existing manual fallback procedure, although we recommend you do not travel to an Inland Border Facility (IBF) to start a transit movement until the system is available. You can find the manual fallback process in the Transit Manual Supplement.

HMRC will issue communications and update their service availability page to confirm when each service has successfully gone live.

To discuss these changes in regulations or any other questions concerning your supply chain, please contact us here, and our expert Woodlanders will be able to assist promptly.