Discharging goods from Temporary Admission

Provides information on the methods of discharge, waste and scrap from destroyed goods, and alternative use of goods.

Goods remain under the procedure and customs supervision from the time of acceptance of the customs declaration. The TA procedure is discharged by:

  • re-exporting goods 
  • destroying goods 
  • alternative use of goods 
  • transfer of Temporary Admission goods into another procedure   
  • transferring goods to another TA holder 
  • discharging goods which are sold at an event or exhibition from TA

If goods are not properly discharged from the Temporary Admission procedure using an approved method, customs duties and taxes may become due.

Re-exporting goods

Goods are primarily discharged from the Temporary Admission procedure by re-exportation. Information on exporting goods from the UK can be found at export goods from the UK: step by step and making a full export declaration.

Destroying goods

You may destroy goods held under the TA procedure which are found (on or after entry) to be defective, contaminated, obsolete, or otherwise unusable.  

You must contact HMRC for prior approval to destroy goods as failure to do so may make you liable for Customs Duty and VAT.

If you wish to destroy your goods, you must make this request at least 5 days in advance. 

Your request must contain the following information (where applicable):

  • your authorisation number
  • your EORI number
  • movement reference number (MRN), date of import, value at import, commodity code  
  • description and quantity of goods to be destroyed  
  • stock rotation or reference number
  • reason for destruction
  • method and process used to destroy goods
  • date, time, and address of intended destruction and  
  • residual value.
  • name of the company undertaking the destruction (if not the authorisation holder) 
  • signature of an authorised signatory

The destruction must comply with all national or local environmental, health and waste disposal regulations and requirements.  

A certificate of destruction is required from the disposal company used or in the event of destruction on site, a self-certificate signed by a director of the company in order to discharge the procedure. Copies of destruction requests and destruction certificates (where applicable) should be kept in your records and must be made available and presented to HMRC upon request. A copy of the destruction certificate should be sent to HMRC via email or post. Destructions must be recorded in stock records.  

If the destruction (of the originally imported goods) is achieved by undertaking a recycling process to create a residual product, this process must be carried out after a declaration has been made to another customs procedure such as inward processing. The goods should be declared to the procedure using the tariff heading appropriate to the originally imported goods.

Waste and scrap from destroyed goods

Waste or scrap resulting from the destruction of goods with a commercial value, will be liable for duty and import VAT. This is chargeable on the value and the rate applicable to the waste and scrap. A declaration to free circulation will need to be made for these goods.

Alternative use of goods

Prior approval from HMRC must be obtained by the authorisation holder before granting any alternative use for goods imported under Temporary Admission. The alternative use may result in a customs debt being incurred, more information can be found in the customs debt section of this handbook.

Transfer of Temporary Admission goods into another procedure

TA can be discharged by declaring goods into one of the following customs special procedures:

  • inward processing 
  • customs warehousing 
  • authorised (end) use

Transferring goods to another TA holder

Goods can be transferred from one TA authorisation holder to another. 

When goods are transferred to another TA authorisation holder, the new holder of the goods is responsible for any liabilities. 

Usually, goods can be transferred to another TA authorisation holder within the UK by completing an electronic declaration on CDS. More information on completing an electronic declaration can be found at the Customs Declaration Service section of this handbook.

Goods which are sold at an event or exhibition

If goods are sold and will be exported outside GB, your export declaration should be presented within 90 days of payment for the goods.

If exportation will be delayed you must contact HMRC to request an extension, you will need to explain the reasons for the delay and give the date by which the goods will be exported.  

The goods may not be released to the buyer except where they will be re-exporting the goods as accompanying baggage within 90 days of the payment for the goods. If export will be as accompanying baggage, you should pre-lodge a customs declaration export entry using procedure code 3153.  

If the goods are sold at exhibition, event or auction indicated in box 9 of the SP5 or are sold to the consignee after approval and will be released to free circulation, the goods may not be released to the buyer until an entry to release the goods to free circulation has been made and accepted.

The diversion entry using procedure code 4053 with an appropriate APC must be presented together with a copy of the sales invoice within 90 days of your receipt of payment for the goods from the buyer.

Evidence of discharge

The evidence which may be sufficient for the purposes of showing that your goods were discharged from TA using one of the above methods is set out below. This list is not exhaustive and applies only to the extent that the items listed are relevant to the discharge of the procedure.

  • customs declaration to a customs procedure 
  • export declaration 
  • evidence of the destruction of the goods 
  • goods departed message (GDM) 
  • commercial documentation including:  
    • customers’ orders 
    • contracts 
    • correspondence 
    • copy invoices 
    • advice notes 
    • consignment notes 
    • packing lists 
    • insurance and freight charges 
    • evidence of payment 
    • credit transfer documents 
    • receipts customs declaration to a customs procedure 
    • export declaration 
    • evidence of the destruction of the goods 
    • goods Departed Message (GDM) 
    • commercial documentation including:  
    • customers’ orders 
    • contracts 
    • correspondence 
    • copy invoices 
    • advice notes 
    • consignment notes 
    • packing lists 
    • insurance and freight charges 
    • evidence of payment 
    • credit transfer documents 
    • receipts