Appendix 25A: Declaration Category Data Sets BIRDS
Updated 28 February 2025
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The following table identifies the requirements for completion of the appropriate Data Elements on a Bulk Import Reduced Data Set (BIRDS) Declaration.
| Symbol | Symbols in the cells — Symbol description |
|---|---|
| A | Mandatory: data required by every Member State or data for which the UK has opted to mandate as always required. |
| C | Optional for economic operators: data that economic operators may decide to supply. |
| D | Dependant on BIRDS Declaration scenario e.g., Net Mass etc. |
| X | Data element required at the item level of the BIRDS Declaration. |
| Y | Data element required at header level of the BIRDS Declaration. |
| Data Element (DE) Number | Data Element (DE) name | Symbol | Note | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1/1 | Declaration type | A | Y | No Note |
| 1/2 | Additional Declaration type | A | Y | No Note |
| 1/6 | Goods item number | A | X | No Note |
| 1/8 | Signature/Authentication | D | Y | Only mandatory for a paper declaration |
| 1/9 | Total number of items | A | Y | No Note |
| 1/10 | Procedure | A | X | No Note |
| 1/11 | Additional Procedure | A | X | No Note |
| 2/1 | Simplified declaration/Previous documents | A | X, Y | No Note |
| 2/2 | Additional information | D | X | [7] [7a] |
| 2/3 | Documents produced, certificates and authorisations, additional references. | A | X | No Note |
| 2/4 | Reference number/UCR | C | X, Y | No Note |
| 2/5 | LRN | A | Y | No Note |
| 3/1 | Exporter | A | Y | No Note |
| 3/16 | Importer identification no | A | Y | No Note |
| 3/18 | Declarant identification no | A | Y | No Note |
| 3/20 | Representative identification no | D | Y | [12b] |
| 3/21 | Representative status code | D | Y | [12c] |
| 3/39 | Holder of the authorisation identification no | A | Y | No Note |
| 4/14 | Item price/amount | A | X | No Note |
| 5/14 | Country of dispatch/export code | A | X, Y | No Note |
| 5/23 | Location of goods | A | Y | No Note |
| 5/27 | Supervising customs office | A | Y | No Note |
| 6/1 | Net mass (kg) | D | X | [31b] |
| 6/5 | Gross mass (kg) | A | X, Y | No Note |
| 6/8 | Description of goods | A | X | No Note |
| 6/9 | Type of packages | A | X | No Note |
| 6/10 | Number of packages | A | X | No Note |
| 6/11 | Shipping marks | A | X | No Note |
| 6/18 | Total packages | A | Y | No Note |
| 7/2 | Container | A | Y | No Note |
| 7/4 | Mode of transport at the border | A | Y | No Note |
| 7/9 | Identity of means of transport on arrival | D | Y | [43] |
| 7/10 | Container identification number | D | X, Y | [43a] |
Note:
DE 4/10 Invoice currency is not declared as a separate data element however, a currency must always be declared against any monetary amount entered on the BIRDS declaration.
DE 8/7 Writing-off functionality is included in DE 2/3.
For an explanation of each note in the table see the Declaration Category Data Sets Reading Notes.