Making an entry summary declaration  

In order to submit an ENS declaration, you must be registered to do so first : 

This is for either importing into Great Britain or Northern Ireland. 

For imports into Great Britain, it is the S&S GB service : 

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/register-to-make-an-entry-summary-declaration-in-great-britain 

For imports into NI, it is ICS NI service : 

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/register-to-make-an-entry-summary-declaration-in-northern-ireland 

When is an ENS declaration not required?  

• Imports into Northern Ireland from an EU country 
• Importing qualifying Northern Ireland goods from Northern Ireland to Great Britain 

Importing goods to Great Britain from the EU (Safety and security declarations for EU imports will be required from 31st January 2025) 

Also, if you are Importing the following goods: electrical energy, Imports by pipeline, Imports of letters, postcards, and printed material, this includes electronic media, imports of personal luggage and goods declared to customs orally. 

The legal requirement to submit the declaration is with the carrier of the goods. This is the operator of the active means of transport. 

Rail - Rail freight Operator 

Air - The airline 

Sea - The shipping line 

RORO (roll on, roll off ) : 

Accompanied Goods - The Haulage Company 

Unaccompanied Goods - The Ferry Operator 

A third party can submit the ENS declaration on the carrier's behalf; however, this cannot be done without the carrier's knowledge or consent. The ENS can be submitted by either using a CSP ( Community Service Provider) or compatible software. Should you complete ENS declarations on the carrier's behalf, you should ensure that you have evidence to do so in the form of a contract between both parties. 

The legal responsibility to ensure that it is submitted on time will still be with the carrier of the goods. 

HMRC recognise that some businesses will be ready to start submitting declarations for EU imports earlier than this – for example because they already submit declarations for rest of the world (RoW) imports. Those who are ready to start submitting their declarations ahead of this date are encouraged to do so.