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British firms selling into Northern Ireland will be hit with a barrage of red tape and higher costs under Boris Johnson's Brexit deal, government documents confirm.

Analysis slipped online late tonight confirms British firms will have to fill out at least two customs forms for goods traded west across the Irish Sea.

This will lead to "additional administrative costs" on goods moving from east to west - estimated at around £15 to £56 per customs declaration.

Separately firms will also face fees of at least 55 Euros (£47) at border inspection posts when sending "products of animal origin" from Britain to Northern Ireland.

In other developments the government admitted the deal itself will cost £167m a year; other costs simply couldn't be worked out due to a lack of data; and a new public body will cost millions of pounds per year.

The revelations - contained in a 69-page impact assessment of Boris Johnson's Withdrawal Agreement Bill - is likely to enrage his allies in the DUP, who slammed the deal for creating a border in the Irish Sea.

It was published online hours after Northern Ireland Secretary Julian Smith boasted he was aiming for "unfettered access" between Belfast and Britain. "On the issue of checks and forms, unfettered access is a key part of this protocol," he told MPs.

(Image: AFP via Getty Images)

But Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay admitted to a Commons committee: "Exit summary declarations will be required in terms of NI to GB."

The damning impact assessment confirms there will be "additional costs" for business exporting both from Britain to Northern Ireland and vice versa.

But it says that "due to data limitations" it was not possible to work out the exact cost of customs arrangements for goods moving in either direction.

The document estimates the total cost of the Bill to the country at £167m a year. But this figure does not include vast swathes of what Brexit will include - such as the £39bn divorce bill, or the end of the billions in annual payments to Brussels.

(Image: UK PARLIAMENT/AFP via Getty Imag)

For east-west trade, historically customs costs have been estimated at £15 to £56 per declaration, the impact assessment says.

It adds: "Goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland will be required to complete both import declarations and Entry Summary (ENS) Declarations because the UK will be applying the EU’s Customs Code in Northern Ireland.

"This will result in additional administrative costs to businesses."

It comes despite Downing Street bragging the deal would put Northern Ireland “in the UK customs union forever”.

While legally this is true, the deal makes clear that EU customs rules would apply to goods entering Northern Ireland that are deemed "at risk" of moving into the EU at a later date.

And due to a commitment not to have checks on the 310-mile Irish border, checks would instead happen when goods enter Northern Ireland across the Irish Sea.

Separately, the impact assessment says there will also be extra costs for some products in order to comply with single market rules, which Northern Ireland will share with the EU, for goods moving from Britain to Northern Ireland.

(Image: Photolibrary RM)

The document says: "There will be additional documentation required on all agri-food goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland to ensure that they comply with the necessary regulations."

It adds: "There would be additional fees to cover document and physical inspections as well as Export Health Certificates and other administrative checks prior to arrival at the border.

"Fees for products of animal origin inspections at the border inspection post will depend on the weight of the imported consignment, although minimum fees are set by the EU, with €55 the minimum for a consignment of any size."

Meanwhile there will be a brand new public body as part of the deal.

Setting up the Independent Monitoring Authority for the Citizens’ Rights Agreements (IMA) is expected to cost an estimated £6.5 million in the first year and £30 million in the second year.

There will be an ongoing annual running cost estimated to be £14.9 million.

This gives an estimated establishment cost of £35.5 million and estimated ongoing cost of £109.5 million.

The government expects the new public body to employ around 100 people, mainly legal professionals, costing £70,000 a year each in total average staffing costs.

A maximum cost for the IMA’s board salaries could be around £200,000 in total.

Jenny Chapman, Labour’s Shadow Brexit Minister, said: “This analysis exposes the real cost of the Government’s Brexit deal on British business. Firms are at risk of being burdened with extra costs and red tape because of the terrible deal negotiated by the Tories.



“The truth is Boris Johnson knows that the more time people have to read the small print of his deal, the more it will be exposed for the risks it represents to our economy.”