As of 1 January 2022, Brexit customs arrangements will change, and this article explains what will change, as well as how to prepare before moving your goods.
The following changes took effect on 1 January 2022 for imports from the EU (except Ireland) to Great Britain:
- For all goods being brought into Great Britain by your courier or freight forwarder, you will need a full customs import declaration
- In order to benefit from the zero tariffs agreed in the UK’s trade deal with the EU you may need a suppliers’ declaration to prove the origin of your goods (UK or EU)
- Commodity codes, which are used to classify goods for customs declarations, have changed.
Here is some additional information explaining these changes, what this means for you if you are importing or exporting goods from 1 January 2022, and what you need to do to prepare. You may incur additional costs if the clearance of your goods is delayed if you are not prepared for the changes.
Arrangements for movements from Northern Ireland and Ireland
There has been an announcement that current customs arrangements for goods moving from Ireland and Northern Ireland to Great Britain will be extended for as long as negotiations between the UK and EU continue regarding the operation of the Northern Ireland Protocol (NIP).
This means that, as planned, full customs controls will go into effect for goods moving between the rest of the EU and Great Britain, and for goods exported from Great Britain to Ireland on 1 January 2022.
Trader Support Service can guide you through the process of moving goods into or out of Northern Ireland.
Customs Declarations
In the case of goods imported from Irish ports that are not controlled, there is no change at the moment, and you can continue to delay making your customs declarations for up to 175 days, as long as you make an entry in the declarant’s records at the point of import.
You will not be able to defer the submission of your import customs declarations for goods that are entering Great Britain from other EU countries under the staged customs control rules that have applied since 2021.
At the point of importation, most customers will have to make declarations and pay tariffs. Consider how you will submit your customs declarations before 1 January 2022. You can either have an intermediary, such as a customs agent, deal with your declarations on your behalf, or you can do it yourself. A number of businesses have already been granted a “Simplified Declarations” authorisation, enabling them to go directly to specified customs procedures without providing a complete customs declaration in advance.
Simplified Declarations require authorisation before they can be used. It can take up to 60 calendar days to complete the necessary checks, so a new application made now may not be approved before 1 January 2022. In your customs declaration, you must identify the country of origin and the country of dispatch correctly.
In the EU, each member state’s country code should be used. There should be no EU country code used in systems, and it will be removed soon.
Border Controls
Goods will be controlled at ports and other border locations. If your goods do not have a valid declaration and do not have customs clearance, they will not be released into circulation and will not be able to leave the port, except in Ireland.
Documentary or physical checks on your goods may be conducted at an Inland Border Facility if these cannot be completed at the border.
It is important that those responsible for transporting your goods are prepared and understand how you plan to operate as of January 2022.
A full customs check will be conducted for goods exported through all border locations. Depending on which port your goods are moving through, either you or your agent will need to fill out a pre-lodged export declaration or an arrived export declaration.
You can also find here a list of locations where pre-lodged declarations will be required from 1 January 2022.
The new systems will not allow your goods to leave the country if they have not been cleared for export starting 1 January 2022.
Using services such as couriers or freight forwarders for moving goods may require you to check their terms and conditions about who will make the declarations and what other information, they need from you in order to do so.
Rules of Origin
As a result of the UK’s agreement with the EU, the goods you import, or export may be subject to a reduced rate of Customs Duty.
In order to use this, you need to provide proof that the goods you:
- import from the EU originate there
- export to the EU originate in the UK.
‘Originate’ refers to where goods (or the materials, parts, or ingredients that go into their production or manufacture) come from. This does not mean where the goods have been shipped from or purchased. There are product-specific requirements for rules of origin outlined in the TCA.
Importers from the UK and EU can claim tariff preference if they have one of the following proofs of origin:
A statement on origin
This must be provided by the exporter to confirm that the product originates in the UK or EU.
The importer’s knowledge
This option allows the importer to claim tariff preference based on their knowledge of where the goods they are importing are sourced from.
You may also need a supplier declaration if you export goods to the EU and provide a statement of origin. In cases when the manufacture alone is not enough to meet the product’s origin requirements, these documents are needed to prove the goods’ origin.
From 1 January 2022, rather than exporting goods using tariff preferences and getting supplier declarations afterwards, you will be required to provide supplier declarations (if necessary) at the time that you export your goods.
It is your responsibility to inform your customer if you are unable to provide a supplier declaration to prove that the goods you exported to the EU between 1 January and 31 December 2021 come from the UK.
If EU customs authorities request verification and you cannot provide this supporting evidence, your EU customer will be liable to pay the full (non-preferential) rate of Customs Duty and we will be able to charge you a penalty.
Find out more about rules of origin and when they are required.
You will still be subject to normal VAT rules even if goods you import from the EU are eligible for tariff preference.
Postponed VAT Accounting (PVA)
As a VAT-registered importer, you can continue to use Postponed VAT Accounting (PVA) on all customs declarations that require you to account for import VAT. This includes supplementary declarations, unless you have been instructed otherwise by HMRC. Thousands of our customers have taken advantage of PVA, and most will use it too.
Find out more about Postponed VAT accounting.
Commodity Codes
There are up to six digits of commodity codes used worldwide to classify imported and exported goods. They are reviewed every five years by the World Customs Organisation. On 1 January 2022, the UK codes are scheduled to change following the conclusion of the last review. You should check the Trade Tariff Tool when you are importing your goods to find out the correct commodity codes. You can also visit the Trade Tariff news page. at www.trade-tariff.service.gov.uk/news.
Further changes from 1 July 2022
From July 2022, further changes may be introduced.
These will include:
- requirements for full safety and security declarations for all imports
- new requirements for Export Health Certificates
- requirements for Phytosanitary Certificates
- physical checks on sanitary and phytosanitary goods at Border Control Posts.
If you have a question about importing, exporting or customs reliefs you can call our helpline.
Further information
We understand the challenge of adapting to these changes, and we appreciate how much you have done already. We are here to support you and help you prepare.