Image copyright Getty Images Image caption The 310-mile Irish border will represent the only land border between the UK and the EU

Customs duties may have to be paid on most goods entering NI from Great Britain under the Brexit deal, a trade expert has told the House of Lords.

Former UK government official David Henig was giving evidence to the Lords EU committee.

NI remains part of the UK's customs territory under the withdrawal deal.

But goods entering from Great Britain and deemed at risk of being moved to the Republic of Ireland could be subject to EU tariffs.

The tariff could then be rebated if it can be shown the goods were consumed in NI.

Tariffs will only apply if the UK and EU cannot reach a zero-tariff trade deal by the end of this year.

The withdrawal deal means a UK and EU joint committee will assess what goods are deemed to be "at risk" and therefore subject to tariffs.

Mr Henig said the deal only specifies that person-to-person selling, such as eBay trade, would definitely be exempt from tariffs.

He said it was also likely items bought online with a value of less than 22 euros would be exempt.

But beyond that, Mr Henig said most goods could be classified as "at risk".

He said the text of the agreement sounded "very soft" but "in fact chances are customs duties will be payable on most importation into Northern Ireland and then reclaimed".