The EU have now released details of the steel melt and pour requirements which are due to be applied in the EU tariff measures from 1st October 2026. The relevant Commission Implementing Regulation can be found here: Implementing regulation – EU
– 2026/1963 – EN – EUR-Lex. This follows the commitment made within their Steel Regulation published in June 2026 to implement Melt and Pour reporting from 1 October 2026.
These requirements apply to movements of steel into Northern Ireland from Great Britain or from RoW countries. HMRC are now making provision for implementation on 1st October 2026.
This provisional guidance is being issued to assist software developers, declarants and importers to prepare for the changes, which are relevant to certain goods movements declared into Northern Ireland. It is subject to change.
The EU melt and pour requirements do not change the requirements for goods imported into Great Britain. As announced in March’s Steel Strategy, the UK is also exploring possible melt and pour reporting requirements for steel.
The Department of Business, Innovation, Science and Trade will confirm any further developments on this, and should a UK reporting requirement be implemented, we will ensure sufficient notice and guidance for traders is issued.
Since March’s announcement, BIST have been discussing with UK industry how best a potential UK reporting requirement could operate.
The country of melt and pour relates to the country in which steel was originally melted and poured. If the steel has been sufficiently processed to change the country of origin and/or country of preferential origin, then the country of melt and pour may not match the country codes declared in DE 5/15 Country of Origin and/or DE 5/16 Country of Preferential Origin.
Declarants must not assume that the declared country of origin or country of preferential origin is also the country of melt & pour.
The EU Tariff measure that will be applied to steel commodity codes from 1st October 2026 will require declaration of the country of melt and pour by means of document codes declared in DE 2/3 as follows:
- Y376 – Country of ‘melt and pour’ of the imported steel: China
- Y377 – Country of ‘melt and pour’ of the imported steel: India
- Y378 – Country of ‘melt and pour’ of the imported steel: Indonesia
- Y379 – Country of ‘melt and pour’ of the imported steel: Viet-Nam
- Y380 – Country of ‘melt and pour’ of the imported steel: Malaysia
- Y381 – Country of ‘melt and pour’ of the imported steel: Algeria
- Y382 – Country of ‘melt and pour’ of the imported steel: Japan
- Y383 – Country of ‘melt and pour’ of the imported steel: Korea (the assumption is that this refers to South Korea)
- Y384 – Country of ‘melt and pour’ of the imported steel: Türkiye
- Y385 – Country of ‘melt and pour’ of the imported steel: Iran
- Y386 – Country of ‘melt and pour’ of the imported steel: EU
- Y387 – Country of ‘melt and pour’ of the imported steel: other countries
One or more of the following document codes must also be declared as evidence to support the declared country of melt and pour, and must include the heat number:
- C131: Mill Test Certificate
- C132: Invoice containing information on the country of ‘melt and pour’ and the heat number
- C133: Delivery note containing information on the country of ‘melt and pour’ and the heat number
- C134: Quality certificate or clauses in implemented purchase orders or contracts containing information on the country of ‘melt and pour’ and the heat number
- C135: Long-term declaration from the supplier containing information on the country of ‘melt and pour’ and the heat number
- C136: Cost accounting or production documents containing information on the country of ‘melt and pour’ and the heat number
- C137: Customs document from the exporting country containing information on the country of ‘melt and pour’ and the heat number
- C138: Commercial correspondence containing information on the country of ‘melt and pour’ and the heat number
- C139: Production descriptions containing information on the country of ‘melt and pour’ and the heat number
The legislation (Regulation (EU) 2026/1963) sets a preference for the use of C131 – Mill Test Certificates and for the document codes C132-C139 to be used as ‘complementary’ to a Mill Test Certificate if it does not contain one of the two pieces of information, the country of melt and pour, or the heat number.
The EU legislation implies that Customs will need to validate documentation for all imports which use evidence other than a Mill Test Certificate (C131) as a pre-clearance check. Declarants are therefore advised to use a Mill Test Certificate whenever available, even if this needs to be specifically requested from the supplier.
Declarants must supply one of document codes C131 to C139 where they have used one of the document codes Y376 to Y387. It is currently not clear if the tariff measures will mandate the document codes C131 to C139, but they will nevertheless be required to support the declared country of melt and pour and any incomplete declarations could lead to further checks by HMRC.
The EU changes follow the announcement within their Steel Regulation adopted in June 2026, and their subsequent consultation on the type of evidence to be provided on the country of ‘melt & pour’ which ran in July 2026. Importers and suppliers should already be making preparations for these controls.
Further guidance will be issued in due course.