Chapter 2 - General (full duty) licences
This chapter details the requirements for general (full duty) licences including how to apply and use your licence.
Products which require a general (full duty) licence can be found in Annex I, Part A (imports) and Part B (exports).
Your import or export licence will be issued electronically within 5 working days of receiving your valid application and we will send you an email with details of your licence. Customs will also be notified and your licence will be automatically attributed when the goods have been imported or exported. Customs will forward the attribution details to us and this will act as proof of import or export.
When you get confirmation that your licence has been issued, you should check that the details on it are correct.
If we have made a mistake, let us know straightaway.
If we receive your licence application by midday, that will be regarded as the date of application for your licence. Applications received after midday will be deemed to have been made on the next working day.
We can only cancel or amend licence applications if the request to do so is received before midday on the original day of application.
When you apply for a licence you may also need to provide a security which can be one of the following:
- a guarantee from a bank or insurance company
- bank transfer
This security is to guarantee that you will comply with the obligations on the licence and you should provide the security with your licence application.
We will release your security when both of the following have been completed:
- your goods have been imported or exported
- we have received details from Customs that the licence has been fully used.
Where the security is £500 or less, you may not need to deposit a security. To be eligible for this provision you will need to submit an undertaking that you will pay any invoices that are issued by us when the conditions of a licence are not met.
Please complete the declaration below on company letter headed paper and send to RPA at the following address:
Guarantees Section
Rural Payments Agency
PO Box 69
Reading
RG1 3YD
I / We wish to apply for the waiver of all securities less than £500 where this facility is offered by the Rural Payments Agency (RPA)
I / we understand that RPA may withdraw this facility at any time. In consideration of this facility being granted
I / we undertake to pay on demand all sums arising from failure to meet obligations (sums equal to those which would have been forfeit if a security had been taken).
I / we also understand that payment on demand means payment by the due date shown on the invoice, but that this does not affect the company’s right to query any sum which has been invoiced and to withhold payment until the query has been investigated by RPA and a decision given.
I / we have the authority to give this undertaking.
RPA Registered Number
Signed
Date
Position in company
If a partnership all partners are to sign as above and indicate their status in the partnership.
You will not need to lodge a security where the amount of the security comes to £100 or less.
All securities must be in £ sterling.
The amount of security required for general (full duty) licences can be found in Annex I.
Your licence is considered fully used when you have imported or exported 95% of the quantity specified within the validity period of the licence.
You can use your licence to import or export 105% of the quantity specified.
If you do not comply with any of the obligations on the licence, we will keep all or part of the security you deposited with us.
You may be able to transfer the rights of all or part of your licence to another trader. However, the responsibility and obligations of the licence remains with the original licence holder.
The transferee may not further transfer the rights but may transfer them back to the original licence holder.
If you cannot comply with the details on your licence because something happened that was outside your control, you can ask us to consider a plea of force majeure.
Force majeure does not apply if:
- you make a mistake or someone acting for you makes a mistake
- you do not know the rules which apply to the goods you are trading
- goods are lost in transit
- you encounter a problem which we consider a ‘normal trading risk’.
If you think ‘force majeure’ applies, you should write to us and:
- give us full details of what has happened
- send any supporting documentation which can help to show what happened.
The legislation which provides for general import and export licences in the UK is detailed in Statutory Instrument 2019 No. 1409. The Import and Export Licences (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019