Sign up for the Northern Ireland Retail Movement Scheme

Guide

Last updated 11 September 2023

The Northern Ireland Retail Movement Scheme (ReMoS) will start on 1 October 2023, replacing the existing Scheme for Temporary Agrifood Movements into Northern Ireland (STAMNI) from that point.

Any business that is involved in moving retail goods that will be sold in Northern Ireland to the final consumer needs to sign up for the scheme. For example, consignees, consignors or any organisation that owns a place of dispatch in Great Britain or a place of destination in Northern Ireland.

To sign up for the scheme, you will need to provide:

  • your business Food Business Operator (FBO) number – if you do not have an FBO number, you can apply for a food business licence
  • the contact details of the authorised representative at your business – this is the person who can legally accept the terms and conditions of the scheme
  • the details of all the places of dispatch or places of destination that belong to your business that will be used under the scheme

If your sign-up request is approved, you will receive an email with information on how to move goods under the scheme, including applying for General Certificates if you are sending consignments to Northern Ireland.

Before you sign up

You will need:

  • a Government Gateway account
  • a Defra account (you will have one if you currently use a Defra service using your Government Gateway account)

If you do not have both accounts, you can register for Government Gateway and a Defra account. This will take around 5 minutes.

Sign up for the NI Retail Movement Scheme

Common Health Entry Document Operator Portal (CHOP)

DAERA has developed a database called CHOP (CHED Operator Portal). Traders currently moving goods from GB to NI will be familiar with CHED terminology - Common Health Entry Document which is the prenotification process on TRACESNT for consignments of sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) goods entering NI from GB.

CHOP has been designed specifically for the benefit of NI Traders to ease the movement of SPS goods between GB and NI. It aims to assist with:

  • Monitoring consignment status
  • Completion of channelling returns
  • Large document/photo uploads

Find out more about the Common Health Entry Document Operator Portal (CHOP).