Further to the below, HMRC have announced that the current customs arrangements for goods moving from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, to Great Britain, will be extended, for as long as discussions on the Northern Ireland Protocol are ongoing. Full customs controls were introduced on 1 January 2022, for goods moving between the rest of the EU and Great Britain and also for goods exported from Great Britain to the Republic of Ireland.
This means that businesses importing non-controlled goods from the Republic of Ireland into Great Britain, can continue to delay making customs declarations, for up to 175 days, until further notice.
As part of the Brexit transitional measures, HMRC introduced an option to delay submission of customs declarations, for non-controlled goods, for up to 175 days. The date for when this option expired, was due to be 30 June 2021, but was subsequently extended to 31 December 2021 and this deadline is now fast approaching.
From 1 January 2022, where EU goods are imported to the UK, a full and final customs declaration must be made on arrival, together with payment of any duty and possibly import VAT, if Postponed Import VAT Accounting (PIVA) is not being used. For goods imported up to and including 31 December 2021, the delayed declaration option is still available.
If importers have not yet made declarations, they must start preparing now, to put in place the relevant procedures, either in house, or by engaging a customs broker, to make the required full customs declarations for goods imported from 1 January 2022.
If declarations have been delayed and are subject to the 175 day time limit, the importer should have:
- Obtained a UK EORI number
- Entered the goods to declarant’s records (EIDR)
- Decided whether to submit supplementary declarations in-house, or by using a customs broker
- Considered whether a duty deferment account was required
- If submitting declarations in-house, applied for authorisation to use simplified declaration procedures, registered for access to customs systems and considered appropriate software
- If UK VAT registered, accounted for any import VAT due in the VAT return
Before making a final declaration, importers should consider classification, valuation, along with rules of origin and available duty reliefs.
For more information on the rules around custom declaration, please contact Sean Turner below:
