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On 15 December, the UK Government announced an extension, on a temporary basis, of the current arrangements for moving goods from the island of Ireland to Great Britain for as long as discussions on the Protocol on Ireland and Norther Ireland are ongoing. This means that goods moving from the island of Ireland, either from Ireland or Northern Ireland, directly to Great Britain will continue to do so on the basis of the arrangements that apply currently, until further notice; and will not, for now, be affected by the changes being introduced on 1 January 2022.

While controls on imports to GB from Ireland have been delayed, the timetable remains unchanged for the introduction of full customs controls and customs checks, and the requirement for pre-notification of certain agri-food imports, for goods from the rest of the EU from 1 January 2022, as per the Border Operating Model.

The UK Government has decided to take these measures since the implementation of the next stages of the introduction of border controls on EU imports has been found to be particularly complex for goods moving from the island of Ireland, whether from Ireland or Northern Ireland.