The UK will introduce controls on goods arriving in Britain from the Republic of Ireland from next year.
A new delayed timeline has now been set out by the UK government.
Checks on British goods entering the European Union began in January 2021.
In the other direction, EU goods have been able to continue to enter Britain as they did before Brexit.
The UK government has repeatedly said it was giving “businesses more time”.
According to the UK’s “final Border Target Operating Model“, published today, Irish goods travelling directly to Britain will “face new checks and controls”.
“As well as implementing the new biosecurity and security controls set out in this Border Target Operating Model on Irish goods moving direct from Ireland to Great Britain, we will also bring in full customs controls for these movements.”
In reality, these new checks will be brought in in phases:
The UK says the “world-class border system…introduces a new global regime for security and biosecurity controls, including bringing in controls on imports from the EU for the first time and using Brexit freedoms to simplify import controls on goods from across the globe.”
It concedes that for importer/exporters the process will be “familiar with similar requirements already in place for exporting to the EU”.
As agreed between the UK and the EU, there will continue to be no checks at the border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The British government also emphasises that the new system will not impact Northern Irish goods shipped via the republic:
“In accordance with the Windsor Framework, Northern Ireland businesses will retain unfettered access to their most important market in Great Britain, whether moving qualifying NI goods directly from Northern Ireland or indirectly through Irish ports.”