The Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community (‘the Withdrawal Agreement’) was concluded on behalf of the Union by Council Decision (EU) 2020/135 and entered into force on 1 February 2020.

Article 4 of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland annexed to the Withdrawal Agreement (‘the Protocol’) reiterates that Northern Ireland is part of the customs territory of the United Kingdom, and that nothing in the Protocol prevents the United Kingdom from including Northern Ireland in the territorial scope of its Schedules of Concessions annexed to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (‘GATT 1994’). Therefore, for the purpose of applying preferential trade arrangements, third countries or groups of third countries with which the Union has such preferential trade arrangements cannot consider Northern Ireland to be part of the Union. In particular, for the purposes of applying the provisions on cumulation, goods originating or processing carried out in Northern Ireland should not be counted as goods originating or processing carried out in the Union.

However, Article 13(1) of the Protocol sets out that any reference to the customs territory of the Union in the Protocol as well as in the provisions of Union law that makes it applicable to and in the United Kingdom in respect of Northern Ireland by the Protocol, applies to the land territory of Northern Ireland. In accordance with Article 5 of the Protocol, Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 and obligations stemming from international agreements concluded by the Union, or by its Member States acting jointly, insofar as they relate to trade in goods between the Union and third countries, apply to and in the United Kingdom in respect of Northern Ireland.

The bilateral arrangements between the Union and the United Kingdom under the Protocol do not give rise to rights and obligations for other third countries.

Under Article 5(2) and Article 56(2)(d) and (e) of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Union customs legislation includes preferential tariff measures under agreements that the Union has concluded with, or adopted unilaterally in respect of certain countries or territories outside its customs territory or groups of such countries or territories.

Under Article 64(1) Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, in order to benefit from the preferential tariff measures referred to in Article 56(2)(d) and (e) of that Regulation, goods must comply with the rules on preferential origin referred to in its Article 64(2) to (5). Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2447 lays down the procedural rules, as referred to in Article 64(1), to facilitate the establishment in the Union of the preferential origin of goods.

Given the special customs-related situation of the United Kingdom in respect of Northern Ireland, and in order to apply the preferential tariff measures and to ensure compliance with the relevant rules of origin after the end of the transition period provided for in the Withdrawal Agreement, it is necessary to adopt specific procedural rules to facilitate the establishment in Northern Ireland of the preferential origin of goods.

The measures laid down in this Regulation relate to the preferential proofs of origin to be used for goods imported into the United Kingdom with respect to Northern Ireland, the verification of the preferential origin of such goods and the conditions for granting and suspending preferential tariff measures.

As the transition period provided for in the Withdrawal Agreement ends on 31 December 2020, this Regulation should enter into force as a matter of urgency and apply from 1 January 2021.

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Customs Code Committee,