Using your general guarantee account
How to use your account to cover duty and import VAT, check your balance, pay HMRC, give an Individual Bank Guarantee and what to do if your guarantee will not cover the amount due.
If you’ve already got a general guarantee account, you can use it to cover import duties and import VAT on:
- goods where the amount due is disputed or cannot be determined at the time the goods enter the UK
- temporary admissions
- amounts due under the UK Agricultural Policy
- anti-dumping or countervailing duties
- quotas
Covering amounts due
If you want to use your general guarantee account to cover any import entries, you must enter the ‘method of payment’ code Data Element (D/E) 4/8 in your Customs Declaration Service declaration.
The codes are:
- T – for a security by declarant’s guarantee account
- U – for a security from consignee’s guarantee account (standing authority)
- V – for a security from consignee’s guarantee account (specific authority)
- S – for an individual bank guarantee
Undisputed amounts of duty or import VAT due should be paid as normal.
Checking your balance
You can use the ‘view your customs financial accounts’ service to check the balance and activity on your account for declarations you have made previously.
After amounts due are agreed
If entries are finalised as having no amount due (known as ‘correct as entered’) we’ll credit your general guarantee account with the amount originally secured.
If entries are finalised and you owe us money, we’ll send you a post-clearance demand note (C18) asking you to pay the amount due.
Payments
You can pay by cash, cheque or use a deferment account. Once we get your payment, we’ll credit your general guarantee account.
Contact the Customs Comprehensive Guarantee Team for details of where to send cheque and cash payments or to set up BACS or CHAPS payments.
Removing an entry from your general guarantee account
You must contact your supervising office according to the Customs Procedure Code that was used for the entry. You must provide either:
- evidence of export documents
- home use diversion to the supervising office
The supervising office will make the removal request to the general guarantee account.
If your guarantee will not cover the amount due
You cannot exceed your guarantee limit, if you’ve underestimated the amount needed you can either apply to:
- replace your guarantee with another for a larger amount
- get a supplementary guarantee for an additional amount
If you do not think there should be any outstanding entries on your guarantee account, or that some credit should be available then you must contact HMRC immediately.
Authorise someone to use your account number
You can give someone such as a customs agent or freight forwarder authority to use your general guarantee account number when making an import declaration for you.
You must use the ‘view your customs financial accounts’ in the Customs Declaration Service if you want to:
- add an authority for someone to use your general guarantee account number
- amend a standing authority
Last updated 1 October 2022 + show all updates
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Information about Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight (CHIEF) has been removed. You can no longer use CHIEF for import declarations unless you have permission from HMRC.
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You can also amend a standing authority if you use the Customs Declaration Service.
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First published.