This section answers common questions about the Windsor Framework.
The Windsor Framework is an agreement between the United Kingdom (UK) and the European Union (EU) regarding the movement of goods between Great Britain (GB) and Northern Ireland (NI), following the UK’s exit from the EU. GB refers to England, Wales, and Scotland. As a part of the framework, the regulations related to B2B shipments, including parcels, have been aligned with the existing regulations that have been used so far only for freight shipping.
The new regulations follow a concept of green and red lanes to group different use cases and requirements related to them.
The green lane is used for goods that are eligible for simplified and/or faster customs procedures. They don’t require all customs data, have no duties charged to them, and/or are processed faster. Where the red one is used for goods that require full customs declarations and applicable EU rate of duty will be charged to them, they are also typically processed slower due to more restrictive checks.
As a part of the Windsor framework, shippers can now declare whether their shipments are eligible for the green lane by declaring them as not-at-risk of entering the EU market if they or the recipient of the goods are registered under UKIMS (UK Internal Market Scheme). Not-at-risk declaration is also used for goods that fall under EU zero duty rate, and for such declaration, neither shipper nor receiver must be UKIMS registered.
For further details, please refer to The Windsor Framework - GOV.UK and also the government’s further details and publications page The Windsor Framework - further detail and publications - GOV.UK.
The following types of movements are affected by this change in shipping from GB to NI:
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B2C (Business to Consumer)
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B2B (Business to Business)
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C2C (Consumer to Consumer)
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C2B (Consumer to Business, aka returns)
Carriers may require you to provide additional information regarding shipments entering NI. The information will depend upon the type of movement taking place. To collect this information, carriers will update their technical integrations with Metapack.
Metapack’s changes will enable you to provide all the information required by carriers.
Carriers will need to be registered as Authorised to ship parcels from GB to NI.
The UK Carrier (UKC) Scheme is an authorisation that enables businesses to move eligible consumer parcels, from GB to NI, in line with Windsor Framework arrangements. UKC Scheme authorisation allows a business to send these parcels without completing any customs, or safety and security declarations. For more information, refer to the UK Government Guidance: Check if you can apply for the UK Carrier Scheme.