HMRC have urgently advised that the transition to CERTEX will not take place the weekend of the 28th of June as expected and will be implemented in due course.   

Presentation of the CHED reference on the declaration will need to be considered according to the type of movement being recorded 

Therefore, HMRC request that traders and agents note the following: 

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

Actions: 

• Traders may need to take action depending on where goods are being moved from – that is   
• Great Britain to Northern Ireland or 
• from the Rest of the World to Northern Ireland.  
• Traders should continue to follow standard processes for controlled goods in Northern Ireland including reporting for inspections where required to do so.   

Moving goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland  

• The new Common Health Entry Document (CHED) reference format on traders’ declarations will still be implemented from 28th June 2025. 
• Traders are reminded that the new 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, traders are encouraged to use the new format in readiness for the future implementation of CERTEX 

• Traders will not receive CERTEX specific messages for these movements in CDS 

Therefore, it will be necessary to continue to monitor the Goods Vehicle Movement Service (GVMS) at GVMS locations or the respective inventory system at inventory locations. 

Moving goods from Rest of World to Northern Ireland – Continue to use the CHED reference in the existing format: 

• The delay in the implementation of CERTEX will mean that traders moving goods from the rest of the world to NI must not use the new Common Health Entry Document (CHED) format on their declarations from 28th June 2025 as previously published. 
• Instead – ROW movements to NI must continue to use the existing format found in Appendix 5a. For example, ‘GBCHD2025.1234567’.  
• If a trader has 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 once the goods arrive and potentially delays in getting the goods released.  



Detailed guidance can be found at the link below: 

Moving licensed goods into or out of Northern Ireland - GOV.UK 

Additional support is available here: 

For support for goods in movement, contact the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (DAERA) on 0300 200 7852 or email daera.helpline@daera-ni.gov.uk. 

For general support with freight movements or if a change is required on your declaration, traders can contact the Trader Support Service team. 

For other queries, call the HMRC Customs and International Trade helpline on‌‌‌ 0300‌‌‌ 322‌‌‌ 9434‌‌‌ (textphone 0300‌‌‌ 200‌‌‌ 3719).  

For support with parcels movements, traders can contact their parcel express operator. 

Note: this change does not impact express operators moving consumer parcels under the UK Carrier Scheme.