The Customs (Northern Ireland) (EU Exit) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 modify the existing 2020 Regulations concerning customs duties in Northern Ireland post-EU exit by correcting minor errors across several chapters and introducing two key substantive changes: establishing a linkage for claims between the Chapter 5 relief scheme and the Chapter 6 repayment/remission scheme, and introducing a mechanism for 'interchangeable goods' claims where identifying specific goods is impracticable due to mixing.

These Regulations, officially titled The Customs (Northern Ireland) (EU Exit) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2026, introduce a technical amendment to delay the enforcement date of a preceding Statutory Instrument, specifically S.I. 2026/393.

The Treasury exercised powers under the Taxation (Cross-border Trade) Act 2018 to move the commencement date for specific customs amendments in Northern Ireland from April 20th, 2026, to May 25th, 2026.

These regulations amend the Wireless Telegraphy (Exemption) Regulations 2021 to remove the requirement for individual licences for certain classes of radio equipment.

They establish new categories for licence-exempt use, specifically covering autonomous maritime radio devices operating at 160.9 MHz, indoor maritime radio training equipment, and fixed wireless access apparatus in the 5.8 GHz band.

The regulations apply to any person or entity establishing, installing, or using such equipment within the United Kingdom or its territorial sea, provided the equipment meets specific technical interface requirements and does not cause undue interference.

These Regulations amend several existing statutory instruments governing UK public procurement, primarily focused on refining the operation of the central digital platform, enhancing transparency requirements for contract payments, and modifying rules for below-threshold tenders.

Key changes include detailing payment information disclosure, allowing alternative publication methods when the central platform is down, creating mechanisms to reserve contracts for SMEs and value-driven NGOs, streamlining supplier identification requirements for smaller contracts, and introducing ministerial notification requirements before terminating specific healthcare contracts on national security grounds.

This Order establishes a block exemption from the Chapter I prohibition of the Competition Act 1998 for specific technology transfer agreements involving the licensing or assignment of technology rights such as patents, know-how, and software copyright.

It directs that such agreements are exempt from competition law provided they meet specific market share thresholds and do not contain restricted anti-competitive clauses.

The Order applies to licensors and licensees operating in the United Kingdom and empowers the Competition and Markets Authority to withdraw the exemption in individual cases where an agreement is found to be anti-competitive.

These Regulations amend the Procurement Act 2023 to include the UK-India Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) as a specified international agreement, granting Indian suppliers enforceable rights in UK public procurement.

The instrument requires contracting authorities to treat eligible Indian economic operators no less favorably than those from the United Kingdom, except in cases involving procurements regulated by the Welsh Ministers.

It also updates transitional and saving provisions to ensure these international obligations apply to legacy procurement systems, including dynamic purchasing and qualification systems, for procurements commenced after the treaty enters into force.

These Regulations establish the comprehensive statutory framework governing vaping products under the new excise duty regime enacted by the Finance Act 2026, detailing mandatory approval requirements for production and storage, specifying procedures for volume measurement and retail packaging, setting out rules for the payment of duty, and establishing the critical framework around the use, scanning, activation, and management of mandatory duty stamps, including transitional arrangements and modifications to existing excise legislation concerning movement and drawback.

These Regulations amend the Procurement Act 2023 to incorporate the procurement obligations stemming from two international agreements: the Strategic Partnership and Cooperation Agreement with Kazakhstan and the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement with Iraq.

The amendments specify these treaties as 'specified international agreements' under Schedule 9 of the 2023 Act, granting treaty state suppliers reciprocal treatment under certain conditions, excluding procurements regulated by the Welsh Ministers.

Furthermore, the instrument modifies the 2024 Commencement and Saving Provisions Regulations to ensure consistency, allowing the procurement chapters of these new agreements to apply to procurements still governed by the retained 2015 and 2016 procurement legislation, with transitional rules protecting procurements already underway.