Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of duty-free sales arrangements under the Windsor Framework on Northern Ireland’s airports; and whether she has had discussions with the Northern Ireland Executive on enabling passengers travelling from Northern Ireland airports to (a) Great Britain and (b) third countries to access duty-free sales on the same basis as passengers travelling from other UK airports.

Excise duty is due on excise goods due to be consumed in the UK. There are no plans to allow individuals moving from one part of the UK to another to purchase duty free goods.

Passengers travelling from Northern Ireland to a place outside the UK and the EU are entitled to purchase duty free goods in the same way as passengers travelling from Great Britain to a place outside the UK. Duty free shopping between Northern Ireland and the EU would require the application of personal allowances, to prevent the uncontrolled flow of tax-free goods into either Northern Ireland or the EU. The enforcement controls required for this would run counter to the shared ambitions of the UK and the EU set out in the Windsor Framework and the principle of the frictionless movement of people and goods between Northern Ireland and Ireland.