How your customs authorisations may change from 1 January 2021
Find out what changes may affect your existing authorisation to use customs procedures or other facilitations.
You’ll need to check whether your current authorisations to use special and simplified procedures (known as customs facilitations) will still apply. usin Some decisions about the arrangements for 1 January 2021 have yet to be made and this guidance may be subject to change.
Your business must be established in the UK to use most customs facilitations (with the exception of temporary admission).
You’re established in the UK if:
- you’re a sole trader resident in the UK
- your company or partnership has a registered office in the UK
- your company or partnership has a permanent place of business in the UK where you carry out its business activities
If you trade goods with non-EU countries, you may be already authorised to use customs procedures.
Depending on the type of facilitation, and whether HMRC or an EU customs authority gave you that authorisation, you should check that you can carry on using it and whether it will be more limited.
Customs special procedures
The customs special procedures covered in this guidance are:
- inward processing
- outward processing
- temporary admission
- authorised use (also known as end use)
- customs warehousing
Authorisations issued in the UK
If HMRC have authorised you to place goods into a customs special procedure in the UK, your authorisation will still be valid in the UK from 1 January 2021. You can carry on both:
- importing goods into the UK
- suspending customs duties and import VAT or in certain circumstances, relieving some or all of the customs duty
You’ll also be able to use your authorisation to import goods from the EU along with any you already import from non-EU countries.
You should write to your HMRC authorisation team to ask for an amendment to your authorisation if there are changes to:
- the range of commodity codes
- quantities
- values
- any other details specified in your current authorisation
Single authorisations issued in the UK to use in the EU
If HMRC have authorised you to place goods into a customs special procedure, including moving those goods into the EU, your authorisation will still be valid but in the UK only.
This means that you can carry on importing goods into the UK under the authorised procedure from 1 January 2021.
You should write to your HMRC authorisation team to ask for an amendment to your authorisation if there are changes to:
- the range of commodity codes
- quantities
- values
- any other details specified in your current authorisation
If you want to cancel your authorisation, you must tell the relevant HMRC authorisation team. We’ll send you a letter cancelling your authorisation and telling you what to do to discharge any goods that you have in stock.
Current guidance issued by the EU is that authorisations for customs simplifications or procedures, such as customs warehousing, issued by the UK will no longer be valid in the EU from 1 January 2021.
Authorisations given by an EU customs authority
If you’re named on an authorisation issued by an EU customs authority to place goods into a customs special procedure in the UK, you will not be able to receive goods in the UK under that authorisation from 1 January 2021. For example, to import goods for processing from the EU whilst duty is suspended or relieved, you’ll need a separate authorisation from HMRC.
Find out how you can become authorised to use special procedures in the UK.
Where you’ve had goods under an authorisation from an EU customs authority, you’ll have 12 months from 1 January 2021 to discharge those goods from any customs special procedure.
You can do this by either:
- exporting the goods
- making a declaration into a UK customs special procedure
- putting goods into free circulation in the UK
Guarantees and special procedures
From 1 January 2021, in most cases you will not need a guarantee to cover your customs duty and import VAT to get full authorisation for:
- inward processing
- outward processing
- temporary admission
- authorised use (or end use)
- customs warehousing
HMRC will give 12 months’ notice before reintroducing guarantees.
In some cases, we’ll ask you to give a guarantee when you apply or reapply for a special procedure. For example, where our records show that in the past you’ve:
- had overdue tax returns
- not paid tax or duties
If you’ve breached the terms of your special procedure authorisation, HMRC may ask you to give a guarantee.
Transit simplifications
You can carry on using HMRC-issued authorisations for transit simplifications, including authorised consignor and consignee status, from 1 January 2021.
If you act as an authorised consignor or consignee for your own business or on behalf of other businesses, you may wish to expand your capacity in order to deal with possible increase in demand.
Contact the National Simplifications team in the Central Community Transit to find out the type of approval process you’ll need for:
- expanding your existing consignor or consignee facilities
- opening new facilities
You may need temporary storage authorisation to expand your transit facilities or open new facilities.
You may also need to increase the value of your guarantee.
Customs freight simplified procedures
If you’re already authorised by HMRC to use customs freight simplified procedures, from 1 January 2021 you’ll be able to use your authorisation to make simplified declarations for goods imported from the EU as well as from non-EU countries.
You should write to your HMRC authorisation team to ask for an amendment to your authorisation if there are changes to:
- the range of commodity codes
- quantities
- values
- any other details specified in your current authorisation
If you need to increase the limit on your duty deferment account from 1 January 2021, you should tell your deferment office.
You must give a full guarantee to cover that increase when you receive a notice from HMRC.
Using customs freight simplified procedures on behalf of others
If you’re authorised to use customs freight simplified procedures, from 1 January 2021, you can use the procedure on behalf of other businesses that are not authorised. If you do, you must make the declarations in your name and on behalf of the business you’re acting directly for.
You’ll be jointly and severally liable for any customs duty, excise duty or import VAT due.
A deferment account will be required as security and means of payment for actual debts. As an indirect representative you may use your own deferment account or the deferment account of your customer if they have given you permission to use it.
You can find out more about the amendments to simplified procedure liability rules.
Duty deferment
To guarantee your duty deferment account, you’ll be able to choose either a:
- customs comprehensive guarantee
- financial guarantee from a bank or insurer
If you want to use a customs comprehensive guarantee, you should tell your customs comprehensive guarantee authorisation team that you need to increase the limit on your duty deferment account.
If you want to use a financial guarantee, you should tell your deferment office of any increase.
You must give a guarantee to cover that increase when you receive a notice from HMRC.
Authorised economic operator
If you’re established in the UK and you already hold authorised economic operator status (issued by HMRC), your authorisation will be transferred automatically to the UK scheme.
This will be a new UK status and will replace your existing EU status for your UK customs operations. You’ll be issued with a new certificate and logo which you should use in place of any existing certificate and logo.
Guidance issued by the EU is that economic operator status authorisations issued by the UK will no longer be valid in the EU.
The new UK status will not apply to branches or permanent business establishments in EU member states. You may need to contact the member states directly to discuss making a separate application on behalf of these branches.
If you currently hold authorised economic operator status issued by an EU customs authority, which covers your customs operations in the UK, the UK will not recognise this and it will not secure the benefits of the status in the UK.
Find out how you can apply for UK authorised economic operator status.
Last updated 9 April 2020 + show all updates
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From 1 January 2021 if you use customs freight simplified procedure on behalf of another business that's not authorised you must make the declarations in your name and on behalf of the business you're acting indirectly for.
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This page has been updated with information about amendments to the Customs Freight Simplified Procedure (CFSP) Liability rules.
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First published.