Check if you can apply for a Northern Ireland tariff rate quota
Last updated: 2 April 2025
A Northern Ireland tariff rate quota allows you to move limited amounts of specific goods into Northern Ireland at a lower rate of duty than would normally apply.
Check if your goods are covered
Tariff rate quotas are only available for:
- steel — at zero duty
- sheepmeat, lamb, beef and poultry — at zero duty or a lower duty than the standard rate
There are tariff rate quotas to import meat from specific countries into Northern Ireland, which get a reduced or zero rate of duty. Find out more about moving sheepmeat, lamb, poultry and beef to Northern Ireland from countries outside the UK and EU.
You can use the Trade Tariff tool to check if individual goods are covered by a specific tariff quota.
Select the relevant quota type
There are 2 types of quotas.
- First come first serve quotas are allocated in the order they are received. All steel quotas are first come first serve quotas.
- Licensed quotas need an import licence. Find out which beef, lamb and poultry quotas need a licence when moving sheepmeat, lamb, poultry and beef to Northern Ireland from countries outside the UK and EU. These quotas are also filled on a first come first serve basis.
How to apply for a tariff rate quota
You can apply for a rate quota by adding the correct 6-digit quota number either to a:
- full customs declaration (in the same quota period)
- supplementary declaration (submitted by the 10th day of the month following the month in which the goods were first moved)
Find out more about applying for a tariff rate quota:
- to move steel into Northern Ireland
- when moving sheepmeat, lamb, poultry and beef to Northern Ireland from countries outside the UK and EU
Reclaiming duty through other schemes
If your quota claim is unsuccessful, or if you do not want to make a quota claim, you can apply to reclaim duty through the: