You are trading under the Protocol if you are VAT registered and either:

• your goods are located in NI at the time of sale;
• you receive goods in NI from VAT registered EU businesses for business purposes;
• you sell or move goods from NI to an EU Member State.

You need to be identified within HMRC’s VAT system if you’re making transactions that fall within the Protocol.

A separate NI VAT registration number is not required. However, you’ll need to put an “XI” prefix in front of your VAT number when communicating with an EU customer or supplier (your invoices will show an XI number ahead of your VAT number – for example, XI 123456789 – instead of GB).

For suppliers, HMRC have confirmed that they are happy for you to include an XI and GB invoice on your supplier invoice but XI must be included for supplies to EU.

You’ll be automatically identified as falling within the scope of the protocol if:

• your VAT registered address has a BT postcode;
• your VAT registration certificate shows a type of business that is not solely involved in the provision of services.

Further information on this can be found on gov.uk.