The Customs Transit Procedures (EU Exit) Regulations 2018

Made: 29th November 2018

Laid before the House of Commons: 30th November 2018

Coming into force in accordance with regulation 1(2)

The Treasury make these Regulations exercising the powers in sections 32(7), 32(8), 32(13), 51(1), 51(3) and 52(2) of, and Schedule 2 paragraphs 5, 6, 7, 19(2) and 21(1) to, the Taxation (Cross-border Trade) Act 2018 .

The Treasury consider them appropriate in consequence of, or otherwise in connection with, the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the EU.

Citation and commencement

1

• (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Customs Transit Procedures (EU Exit) Regulations 2018.

• (2) They come into force on such day as the Treasury may by regulations appoint .

Common transit procedure

2

• (1) Schedule 1 has effect for the purpose of the United Kingdom giving effect to the Convention done at Interlaken on 20th May 1987 on a common transit procedure , as most recently amended by Decision No 1/2017 of the EU-EFTA Joint Committee on common transit .

• (2) That Schedule must be interpreted and applied consistently with, and so as to give proper effect to, that Convention in relation to goods moving to, from or within the United Kingdom subject to the common transit procedure.

TIR transit procedure

3

• (1) Schedule 2 has effect for the purpose of the United Kingdom giving effect to the Customs Convention on the International Transport of Goods subject to cover of TIR Carnets done at Geneva on 14th November 1975, as most recently amended on 1st October 2009 .

• (2) That Schedule must be interpreted and applied consistently with, and so as to give proper effect to, that Convention in relation to goods moving to, from or within the United Kingdom subject to the TIR transit procedure.

United Kingdom transit procedure

4

• (1) Schedule 3 has effect and makes provision for a United Kingdom transit procedure.

• (2) Where Part 4 of Schedule 3 applies, that Schedule has effect for the purpose of the United Kingdom giving effect to—

• (a) the Customs Convention on the “A.T.A. Carnet” for the temporary admission of goods done at Brussels on 6 December 1961; and

• (b) the Convention on Temporary Admission done at Istanbul on 26 June 1990.

• (3) Part 4 of Schedule 3 must be interpreted and applied consistently with, and so as to give proper effect to, those Conventions in relation to goods declared for a United Kingdom transit procedure.

North Atlantic Treaty procedure

5

Schedule 4 has effect and makes provision for use of NATO form 302 in the case of movements of goods from one point to another within the United Kingdom, goods leaving and re-entering the United Kingdom, and customs controls and formalities applicable in accordance with the Agreement between the Parties to the North Atlantic Treaty regarding the Status of their Forces, done in London on 19th June 1951 .

SCHEDULE 1 — The common transit procedure

PART 1 — Common transit procedures that start outside Great Britain

Common transit procedure: preliminary

1

• (1) The goods need not be presented to Customs on import when goods subject to a common transit procedure that starts outside Great Britain are brought into Great Britain. If they are chargeable goods , they are deemed to be declared for a transit procedure within TCTA (see paragraph 58(1)(f)), section 3(4)(b), and no additional declaration for the purposes of that importation is necessary either before or on import.

• (2) For the purposes of this Part, the “common transit procedure” is one covered by the Convention of 20th May 1987 on a common transit procedure in regulation 2 and applicable to the carriage of goods into Great Britain , and “Convention” refers to this one.

• (3) Where that common transit procedure does not end in Great Britain, the continuation of the procedure outside Great Britain discharges the procedure for the purposes of TCTA, Schedule 2, paragraph 19(2).

• (4) Where goods transported by a fixed transport installation enter Great Britain through that installation, those goods are deemed to be subject to the common transit procedure.

• (5) In this Part—

• (a) a “common transit state” is a member State or is any other country that is a Contracting Party to the Convention or that has acceded to it , and also includes the Isle of Man, the Channel Islands and the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia and any reference to a common transit state is to be read as a reference to a common transit state or Northern Ireland;

• (b) a “fixed transport installation” is a technical means used for the continuous transport of goods such as electricity, gas or oil.

• (6) Chargeable goods may be moved within Great Britain without being subject to import duty if the movement takes place in accordance with the common transit procedure.

• (7) For the purposes of the common transit procedure, goods brought directly to Great Britain from the Isle of Man are not imported.

• (8) Sub-paragraph (1), first indent does not apply in the case of goods brought into Great Britain directly from the Channel Islands or the SBA.

• (9) For the purposes of this Schedule, references to—

• (a) the Channel Islands are to the Bailiwick of Jersey or Guernsey, as the case requires;

• (b) the “SBA” are to the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia.

• (c) a “free zone” are to an area in the United Kingdom designated as a special area for customs purposes under section 100A of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979;

• (d) a “free zone business” are to a person authorised to carry out an activity described in regulation 3(2)(b)(v) or (c) of the Customs (Special Procedures and Outward Processing) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018;

• (e) a declaration of goods for a “free zone procedure” are to a declaration of goods for a storage procedure in a case where the goods are to be kept in a free zone.

Presentation of goods moved subject to the common transit procedure to the HMRC customs office of transit

2

• (A1) Where the intended point of entry into Great Britain of the goods in paragraph 1(1) is at a location listed in a public notice published by HMRC, the MRN of the declaration of the goods (see sub-paragraph (3)) and one of the numbers specified in sub-paragraph (A6) must be provided, before the goods are brought into Great Britain, to a person listed in the notice, in the form and manner specified in the notice.

• (A2) HMRC must state in the notice the date on which a listing is made and the date it has effect.

• (A3) Except in cases of urgency, a listing must not have effect earlier than 30 days after the date on which the listing is made.

• (A4) HMRC may vary or cancel any listing.

• (A4A) Any variation or cancellation must state the date on which it is made and the date it has effect.

• (A4B) Except in cases of urgency, any variation or cancellation must not have effect earlier than 30 days after the date on which it is made.

• (A5) A notice must further—

• (a) identify a location which is listed, including by reference to a postcode or a delineation on a map or plan, and

• (b) be published as soon as practicable after it is made.

• (A5A) A notice may also include a requirement for the MRN to be provided in the form of a reference number for a record, which includes the MRN, on an electronic system that is specified in the notice.

• (A6) The specified numbers are—

• (a) the vehicle registration number of any vehicle in which the goods are carried,

• (b) the vehicle registration number of any trailer in which the goods are carried, or

• (c) the container identification number of any container in which the goods are carried.

• (A7) Sub-paragraph (A1) does not apply in relation to the goods in paragraph 1(1) if, before they are brought into Great Britain, HMRC notifies the carrier that it does not.

• (A8) For the purposes of sub-paragraph (A7), it does not matter whether information about the goods has been provided in accordance with sub-paragraph (A1).

• (1) Where sub-paragraph (A1) does not apply—

• (a) the goods in paragraph 1(1) must, once brought into Great Britain, be presented to the HMRC customs office of transit (see paragraphs 58(1)(d) and sub-paragraph (2)); and

• (b) the MRN of the declaration of the goods must be provided to the HMRC customs office of transit at the time and in the form and manner specified in a public notice published by HMRC.

• (2) In this Part, an “HMRC customs office of transit” is—

• (a) the HMRC office competent for the point of entry into Great Britain when the goods are entering Great Britain in the course of a common transit procedure; or

• (b) the HMRC office competent for the point of exit from Great Britain when the goods are leaving Great Britain, in the course of a common transit procedure, via a frontier with another territory that is not a common transit state.

• (3) In this Part, the “MRN” is the master reference number allocated by the competent customs authority outside Great Britain to the declaration made there for the common transit procedure.

• (4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (6) HMRC must record the border passage of the goods on the basis of the particulars of the common transit procedure received from the customs office of departure pursuant to the Convention. That passage must be notified by HMRC to the customs office of departure , if the customs office of departure does not already have these particulars.

• (7) In this Part, the “customs office of departure” is the customs office outside Great Britain where the declaration was accepted for the goods subject to the common transit procedure.

• (8) Where goods are carried via an HMRC customs office of transit that is not the one declared, HMRC must request the particulars of the common transit procedure from the customs office of departure (but only if they do not already have these particulars) and notify the border passage of the goods to the customs office of departure.

• (9) Any inspection of the goods at an HMRC customs office of transit must be carried out mainly on the basis of the particulars of the common transit procedure received from the customs office of departure.

• (10) Sub-paragraphs (1), (6) and (8) do not apply to the transport of goods by rail provided that HMRC can verify the border passage of the goods by other means. Such verification must take place only in the case of need, and may take place retrospectively.

• (11) Each of sub-paragraphs (A1), (1) and (6) do not apply where the goods are to be, or are, brought into the United Kingdom directly from the Isle of Man, the Channel Islands or the SBA.

Incidents in the United Kingdom during movements of goods subject to the common transit procedure

3

• (1) A carrier (see sub-paragraph (2)) must present the goods and provide the MRN of the declaration to HMRC if, within Great Britain—

• (a) the carrier is obliged to deviate from a route prescribed by the customs office of departure due to circumstances beyond the carrier's control;

• (b) the seals are broken or tampered with in the course of the transport operation for reasons beyond the carrier's control;

• (c) goods are transferred from one means of transport to another means of transport;

• (d) imminent danger necessitates partial or total unloading of the sealed means of transport;

• (e) there is an incident which may affect the ability of the holder of the procedure (see sub-paragraph (5)) or the carrier to comply with their respective obligations; or

• (f) any of the elements constituting a single means of transport is changed, namely—

• (i) a road vehicle accompanied by each of its trailers or semi-trailers;

• (ii) a set of coupled railway carriages or wagons;

• (iii) boats constituting a single chain.

• (2) In this Part (except for the purposes of paragraph 4(5)(a)), in the context of entry, the “carrier” is the person who brings the goods, or who assumes responsibility for the carriage of the goods, into Great Britain. And in the context of exit, the “carrier” is the person who takes the goods, or who assumes responsibility for the carriage of the goods, out of Great Britain.

• (3) Where HMRC consider that the common transit procedure concerned may continue, they may take any steps that they consider necessary.

• (4) In the case of an incident referred to in sub-paragraph (1)(c), presentation of the goods and provision of the MRN of the declaration is not required if the following conditions are fulfilled—

• (a) the goods are transferred from a means of transport that is not sealed; and

• (b) the holder of the procedure (see sub-paragraph (5)) or the carrier on behalf of the holder of the procedure provides relevant information concerning the transfer to the satisfaction of HMRC.

• (5) In this Part (except for the purposes of paragraph 4(5)(b)), the “holder” of the procedure is the person who lodges the declaration for the common transit procedure, or on whose behalf that declaration is lodged.

• (6) In the case of an incident referred to in sub-paragraph (1)(f), the carrier may continue the common transit procedure when one or more carriages or wagons are withdrawn from a set of coupled railway carriages or wagons due to technical problems.

• (7) In the case referred to in sub-paragraph (6), the carrier is waived from the presentation of the goods and provision of the MRN of the declaration to HMRC.

• (8) In the case of an incident referred to in sub-paragraph (1)(f), where the tractor unit of a road vehicle is changed without its trailers or semi-trailers being changed, presentation of the goods and provision of the MRN of the declaration is not required if the holder of the procedure, or the carrier on behalf of the holder of the procedure, provides relevant information concerning the composition of the road vehicle to the satisfaction of HMRC.

• (9) In the cases referred to in sub-paragraphs (1)(a) to (f), the MRN must be provided to HMRC at the time and in the form and manner specified in a public notice published by HMRC.

• (10) Relevant information concerning incidents during common transit procedures must be recorded in the electronic transit system by HMRC.

End of the common transit procedure in the United Kingdom (1): obligations of the holder of the procedure, and of the carrier and recipient of goods moving subject to the procedure

4

• (1) The holder of the common transit procedure is responsible for all of the following—

• (a) presentation of the goods intact, and the required information in paragraph 5(1)(c), at the HMRC customs office of destination in Great Britain (see sub-paragraph (2)) within the time-limit set by the customs office of departure and in compliance with the measures taken by HMRC and other customs authorities to ensure their identification;

• (b) observance of the customs provisions relating to the procedure;

• (c) provision of any guarantee mentioned in the Convention in order to ensure payment of any import duty and other charges which may be incurred in respect of the goods.

• (2) In this Part, the “HMRC customs office of destination” is the HMRC office where the goods subject to the common transit procedure are presented in order to end the procedure.

• (3) The obligation of the holder of the procedure in sub-paragraph (1) is met and the common transit procedure ends when the goods subject to the common transit procedure and the required information are available at the HMRC customs office of destination, in accordance with paragraph 5. This does not apply in a case covered by sub-paragraph (6) or (7).

• (4) A carrier, or recipient of goods who accepts goods knowing that they are moving subject to the common transit procedure, is also responsible for presentation of the goods intact at the HMRC customs office of destination within the time-limit set by the customs office of departure and in compliance with the measures taken by HMRC and other customs authorities to ensure their identification.

• (5) For the purposes of this Part and sub-paragraph (4)—

• (a) the operator of a fixed transport installation who is established in the United Kingdom is the carrier;

• (b) the holder of the common transit procedure in the case of a fixed transport installation is—

• (i) the operator of the installation who is established in the common transit state where the goods are placed in the installation at the start of the common transit procedure, or

• (ii) the operator of the installation who is established in the common transit state in the territory of which the goods enter a common transit state.

The operator in either paragraph (b)(i) or (ii) must agree with HMRC the methods of customs control over the goods transported.

• (6) The common transit procedure is deemed to have ended when the appropriate entry is made in the commercial records of the consignee, or the operator of a fixed transport installation, certifying that the goods transported by fixed transport installation—

• (a) have arrived at the consignee's plant;

• (b) are accepted into the distribution network of the consignee; or

• (c) have left Great Britain for a country other than a common transit state.

• (7) If an electronic transport document is used as the declaration if so authorised under provision corresponding to paragraph 18(5), the common transit procedure ends when both the goods are presented at the HMRC customs office of destination for the airport and the particulars of the electronic transport document have been made available to that customs office in accordance with the means defined in the authorisation.

• (8) The holder of the common transit procedure for the purposes of a case covered by sub-paragraph (7) must notify HMRC, at the HMRC customs office of destination, of all offences and irregularities related to the common transit procedure.

5

• (1) Where goods subject to the common transit procedure arrive at the HMRC customs office of destination—

• (a) the goods must be presented to HMRC at that office, together with any information required by HMRC, and