Declarations
Information about Full Customs Declarations and Simplified Customs Declaration Process.
All goods imported and exported to or from the UK must be declared to customs. For goods moving between Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) and the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS), this declaration can be made:
- by submitting a full customs declaration
- using Simplified Customs Declaration Processes (Simplified Declarations Procedure or Entry in Declarants Records)
- using a UKCS declaration by conduct
Goods that are not eligible to use the processes set out in Regulation 26G of the Import Duty Regulations or Regulation 24D of the Export Regulations or are moving between the UKCS and Northern Ireland must be declared using the Customs Declaration Service (CDS).
Goods held in a Customs Special Procedure directly before export (except Authorised Use), or goods intended to be entered into a Customs Special Procedure on import must use either a full customs declaration or Simplified Customs Declaration Processes.
Goods moving between the UKCS and the UK may be declared using a full customs declaration submitted to CDS.
If a temporary storage declaration has been made for the goods, the full import declaration must be made within 90 days of your goods being presented to customs.
If your goods are arriving at a location without temporary storage facilities, the import declaration must be made at the time the goods are presented, which must be within:
- 3 hours from the time of arrival of the goods at a place specified in a public notice
- one hour after of that place next opening if that place is closed at the time of arrival
When completing CDS declarations, you must follow the completion instructions provided in the CDS Declaration Completion Instructions for Imports or CDS Declaration Completion Instructions for Exports. This includes providing an accurate classification for the goods and customs value.
Businesses eligible for authorisation may choose to use the simplified declarations for imports or simplified declarations for exports to declare goods moving between the UKCS and the UK.
Simplified declarations allow authorised businesses to submit a simplified declaration or make an entry in their records at the time of import or export, followed by a supplementary declaration due within 14 days of the date of export; or for import, by the tenth day of the month following import. The processes allow flexibility in the time of when information must be submitted to HMRC. For some businesses, this authorisation may provide a simpler way to declare UKCS goods and can be used for all non-controlled goods (controlled goods cannot be declared using entry in declarants records).