CERTEX will no longer be implemented on 28 June 2025. A new implementation date has not been set.  

Action to take for traders  

Traders may need to take action depending on whether they are moving goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland or from the Rest of the World to Northern Ireland.  

They should continue to follow standard processes for controlled goods in Northern Ireland, including reporting for inspections as required.   

Moving goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland  

This delay does not affect the use of the new Common Health Entry Document (CHED) reference format on traders’ declarations from 28 June 2025. The reference format is letters followed by numbers and includes the full stop character. For example, 'CHEDA.XI.2025.1234567'.  

Declarations using the existing format (e.g. ‘GBCHD2025.1234567’) will not be rejected; however, we encourage traders to use the new format in readiness for the implementation of CERTEX at a later date.  

Traders will not receive CERTEX-specific messages for these movements in CDS, so they must continue to monitor the Goods Vehicle Movement Service (GVMS) at GVMS locations or the respective inventory system at inventory locations.  

For detailed guidance, please visit GOV.UK.  

Moving goods from the Rest of the World (ROW) to Northern Ireland   

This delay means that traders must not use the new Common Health Entry Document (CHED) format on their declarations as of 28 June 2025. They must continue to use the existing format found in Appendix 5a. For example, ‘GBCHD2025.1234567’.  

If they have pre-lodged any declarations using the new format, these must be changed before arrival on the Customs Declaration Service (CDS). Failure to use the correct CHED format will result in rejections or holds on your goods upon arrival, potentially leading to delays in releasing the goods.