Commercial goods or Merchandise In Baggage

Customs controls at the airport or port

If you are arriving in Ireland:

• directly from a country outside the European Union (EU)
  or
• from a country outside the EU via another EU country (for example, New York – London – Dublin)
  or
• from the Canary Islands, Channel Islands or Gibraltar

and you have commercial goods or samples in your baggage, you must declare your goods to customs. You can do this by going through the red channel and declaring your goods to a customs officer.

Merchandise in Baggage (MIB) goods do not form part of your passenger allowances.

What you should do if you are travelling on to another EU airport

• Cabin baggage: If your goods are in your cabin baggage, you must declare them in Ireland (even if you are travelling on to another EU airport).
• Hold baggage: If your goods are in the hold of the aircraft, and are in transit to another EU airport, you will not be able to declare them in Ireland. They cannot be dealt with until you clear your hold baggage at your final destination. Your hold baggage must be declared at your final destination.

When to complete a customs declaration for Merchandise in Baggage

This depends on the value of the goods:

• Where the value of the goods exceeds €260, a customs declaration must be completed.
• Where the value of the goods is less than €260, and you are not a Value-Added Tax (VAT) registered trader, a customs declaration will not be required. Any customs charges due will be receipted upon payment.
• Where the value of the goods is less than €260, and you are a VAT-registered trader, a customs declaration will not be required. You will only have to pay the Customs Duty provided an invoice is produced quoting your VAT registration number. You should account for any import VAT due in the appropriate VAT3 return.

Where a customs declaration is required, you may wish to employ a customs clearance agent to deal with the formalities, although they will charge for their services.

Other documents you may require

You will need documentary evidence of the value of the goods, for example, the supplier’s invoice.

Where applicable, you will need the following documents:

• Preferential origin certification if you are claiming a reduced or nil rate of duty under a trade agreement between the EU and a beneficiary country
• Import or export licence, if required.

If you are importing goods temporarily, you may be eligible for relief from import charges under the temporary admission procedure.

Next: Customs controls when exporting commercial goods in baggage