Customs when sending a parcel from Ireland to the UK

Great Britain left the EU customs union on 1 January 2021, and every parcel crossing to it has been an export since. Northern Ireland did not, for goods, which is why the two halves of the same country are answered differently on this page and everywhere else.

Declaration requirements from An Post’s published guidance, and the UK value thresholds from GOV.UK, both read 14 August 2026. These rules do not refresh with our weekly price check, so the date is the date.

It depends on how you send it, and the two routes work differently enough to be worth separating.

Posting it with An Post

A CN23 customs declaration, completed online through An Post’s own booking flow or at the counter. The CN22 is the shorter version of the same idea, used on lighter, lower-value items; for Great Britain, An Post states the CN23 is the one required.

Booking a courier

No paper CN form. Couriers collect the same information in the booking flow and transmit it electronically, then print it as a commercial invoice that travels with the parcel. The fields are the same and so is the consequence of getting them wrong.

Seven fields do the work. The first two cause almost every problem on this lane.

Description of goods

Specific, in plain words, item by item. "Two cotton t-shirts, one wool scarf" clears. "Gift", "sample", "clothing" or "personal items" is the single most common reason a parcel is stopped, because none of them can be assigned a duty rate.

Value, per item

What the goods are actually worth, in euro or sterling, not what you paid for postage and not zero because it was a present. A declared value of nothing is treated as a false declaration, not a favour.

Quantity and weight

Per line, matching what is in the box. If the box holds three of something, the form says three.

HS commodity code

The tariff code for each type of goods. Optional on a low-value personal parcel and effectively required on anything commercial, because it is what decides the duty rate. The codes are published and searchable.

Country of origin

Where the goods were made, not where you are posting from. It decides whether a preferential tariff rate applies.

Reason for export

Sale, gift, return, sample or personal effects. Each is treated differently at the far end, so this is not a formality.

Sender and recipient in full

Including a phone number or email for the recipient. Clearance queries go to the recipient, and a parcel nobody can contact is a parcel that sits.

This is the part worth telling the recipient before you post, because a surprise charge at the door is what turns a parcel into an argument.

Thresholds as published by An Post and GOV.UK, read 14 August 2026. They are set in sterling by the UK, which is why they are quoted in sterling here rather than converted into a euro figure that would drift with the exchange rate.

The practical consequence for a private sender is simple: under the threshold the parcel usually walks straight through, and over it somebody is going to be asked for money before it is handed over. Say so in advance.

Gifts

A gift valued over £39 is liable to UK import VAT, and customs duty starts above £135. To count as a gift it has to be sent by a private person to a private person, be occasional in nature, such as a birthday or Christmas present, and not have been paid for by anyone in the UK.

Buying something online and having it sent to a friend in Britain is not a gift for customs purposes, however it is described on the form. That is one of the more common honest mistakes on this lane.

Returns

Sending goods back to a British retailer is still an export and still needs a declaration. Mark it as a return and give the original order reference, because a return that is declared as a sale can generate a charge on goods the recipient already owns.

Personal effects

Your own belongings, moving with you or after you, are declared as personal effects rather than goods. They still need itemising and valuing, and the values are the second-hand ones, not what the items cost new.

Northern Ireland remains aligned with EU single-market rules for goods, so a parcel crossing the border is not an export and never has been. The persistent confusion comes from a different movement entirely: parcels going from Great Britain into Northern Ireland, which do have their own arrangements. Nothing about that applies to a parcel posted in Dublin for Derry.

Courier prices from Ireland to Northern Ireland are worth comparing against the post office rate, particularly on anything light.

Five things, in the order they happen.

A vague description

"Gift" or "clothes" with no detail. Customs cannot classify it, so it waits until somebody asks you what is in it.

A value that is obviously wrong

Nothing declared, or a nominal figure on something clearly worth more. Under-declaring is the fastest route to a delay, a penalty, or the parcel going back.

No contact details for the recipient

If VAT or duty is owed, the carrier has to reach the recipient to collect it before delivery. No phone number means no delivery.

Restricted contents nobody mentioned

Aerosols, perfume, batteries, alcohol over the allowance, anything flammable. Each carrier keeps its own list and shows it before you pay.

Paperwork that disagrees with the box

Three items on the form and four in the parcel. It is checked, and a mismatch is treated as a false declaration rather than a slip.

None of these is bad luck. All five are decided at the kitchen table before the parcel leaves, which is the good news.

The paperwork differs, and so does the price. Both lanes at 2 kg, from the last check.

Prices from our weekly market check, run Friday, 14 August. Transit estimates exclude time spent in customs, which no carrier includes: more on what the estimate does not cover.