The Customs (Import Duty) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018

These Regulations may be cited as the Customs (Import Duty) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018.

Subject to paragraphs (3) and (4), these Regulations come into force on such day as the Treasury may by regulations under section 52 of the Taxation (Cross-border Trade) Act 2018 appoint.

This regulation comes into force on 2nd January 2019.

In these Regulations—

• “the Act” means the Taxation (Cross-border Trade) Act 2018;

• “accompanied baggage” means baggage which—

  1. a

     accompanies an individual when arriving in the United Kingdom; or

  2. b

     would have so accompanied an individual had the baggage not been delayed in transit to the United Kingdom;

• “the ATA Convention” means the Customs Convention on the “A.T.A. Carnet” for the Temporary Admission of Goods, (Brussels, December 6, 1961) M2;

• F81“Customs obligation” means any obligation or requirement imposed by or under—

  1. a

     the Act in relation to a duty of customs;

  2. b

     CEMA 1979 M3;

  3. c

     the EU Customs Code as it had effect in the United Kingdom before IP completion day; or

  4. d

     after IP completion day—

     1. i

        the EU Customs Code as it has effect in Northern Ireland;

     2. ii

        the EU Customs Code as it has effect in Great Britain, except the EUCL;

     3. iii

        the EUCL insofar as it continues to have effect as provided for by Part 15 of these Regulations or the Customs (Transitional) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020; or

     4. iv

        the EU Customs Code to the extent that is has effect in the United Kingdom as a result of the EU withdrawal agreement;

• F311“customs warehouse” means premises owned, occupied or otherwise used by a person who is approved by HMRC under the special procedures regulations to operate the premises as a place to keep goods declared for a storage procedure;

• “the Delegated Regulation” means the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446 of 28 July 2015 supplementing Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards detailed rules concerning provisions of the Union Customs Code;

• F75“EIDR procedure” has the meaning given by regulation 36(1);

• “entry summary declaration” has the same meaning as it has in Article 5(9) of the UCC;

• “EUCL” means the direct EU legislation referred to in paragraph 1(1) of Schedule 7 to the Act;

• “EU Customs Code” means—

  1. a

     the UCC;

  2. b

     the Delegated Regulation; F82...

  3. c

     Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2447 of 24 November 2015 laying down detailed rules for implementing certain provisions of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down the Union Customs Code; F83and

  4. d

     F84 Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/341 of 17 December 2015 supplementing Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards transitional rules for certain provisions of the Union Customs Code where the relevant electronic systems are not yet operational and amending Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446;

• F76“EU customs procedure” has the meaning given to “customs procedure” by Article 5(16) of the UCC;

• F311“free zone” means an area in the United Kingdom designated as a special area for customs purposes under section 100A of CEMA 1979;

• F311“free zone activity” means an activity falling within the description in regulation 3(2)(c) of the special procedures regulations (authorisation requirement);

• F311“free zone business” means a person authorised to declare goods for a free zone procedure or to carry out a free zone activity and an authorisation as a free zone business is an authorisation to carry out one or both of those activities;

• F79"guaranteeing association” has the same meaning as in the Article 1 of the ATA Convention, Article 1 of Annex A to the Istanbul Convention or Article 1(q) of the TIR Convention, as the case may be;

• “the Istanbul Convention” means the Convention on Temporary Admission (Istanbul, 26 June 1990) M4;

• “MRN” means a master reference number issued by HMRC in respect of goods further to any of the following being provided to HMRC—

  1. a

     an entry summary declaration;

  2. b

     a temporary storage declaration; or

  3. c

     a Customs declaration;

• “non-commercial goods” means goods—

  1. a

     which are provided by one individual to another;

  2. b

     where no payment is made, directly or indirectly, for the goods by the recipient;

  3. c

     which are for the personal use of the recipient; and

  4. d

     which do not form part of a series of consignments of goods made between the individuals;

• F77“non-Union goods” has the same meaning as it has in article 5(24) of the UCC;

• “personal gifts” means goods contained within accompanied baggage of a qualifying traveller which—

  1. a

     are intended for an individual's personal use;

  2. b

     are not imported for commercial purposes; and

  3. c

     do not form part of a series of consignments of goods imported by the qualifying traveller;

• “qualifying traveller” means an individual who—

  1. a

     is not resident in the United Kingdom and is arriving in the United Kingdom for a temporary stay; or

  2. b

     is resident in the United Kingdom and is returning after a temporary stay outside the United Kingdom;

• F311“responsible authority” means a person appointed as a responsible authority for a free zone under section 100A(3)(c) of CEMA 1979, and references to a responsible authority for a free zone are to a responsible authority so appointed in relation to that free zone;

• “single guarantee” has the meaning given by regulation 97(1);

• F311“special procedures regulations” means the Customs (Special Procedures and Outward Processing) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018;

• “temporary storage declaration”, except in Part 15, has the meaning given by regulation 8(2);

• “temporary storage facility”, except in Part 15, has the same meaning as it has under section 25 of CEMA 1979 M5;

• “the TIR Convention” means the Customs Convention on the International Transport of Goods under cover of TIR Carnets (Geneva, 14 November 1975) M6;

• F80“transitional EIDR procedure” has the meaning given by regulation 29D(1);

• “the UCC” means Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 October 2013 laying down the Union Customs Code;

• F371“the UK sector of the continental shelf” means the areas designated by Order in Council under section 1(7) of the Continental Shelf Act 1964;

• F78“universal service provider” means either—

  1. a

     a “designated operator” within the meaning given in the Constitution of the Universal Postal Union done at Vienna on 10 July 1964, as amended by the Additional Protocols, but limited to the circumstances where those designated operators are acting—

     1. i

        within the member country that designated them as such; and

     2. ii

        in accordance with the UP Convention; or

  2. b

     an operator designated by HMRC in a public notice made under paragraph 1(1) of Schedule 5 to the Customs Transit Procedures (EU Exit) Regulations 2018.

• F78“UP Convention” means the Universal Postal Convention, as most recently done at Istanbul on 6 October 2016 and in Addis Ababa on 7 September 2018, and any Regulations made under it.

• “working day” means any day except—

  1. a

     a Saturday or Sunday;

  2. b

     Good Friday or Christmas day; or

  3. c

     a bank holiday within the meaning of section 1 of the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971 M7, including those bank holidays in part only of the United Kingdom.

In these Regulations, a notice or notification means one made in writing and a requirement to notify is to be read accordingly.

A notice published by HMRC under these Regulations may make different provision for different cases or different purposes.

Where regulation 131 (chargeable goods carried by RoRo vehicles destined for RoRo listed locations: making of declarations) applies, F87and the goods are of a type specified in a notice published by HMRC, notification must be given by the person who makes a Customs declaration in respect of the goods.

Where paragraph F96(3A), F102(3AB) or (3AC) applies, the person who made the declaration is to be treated as having been notified under paragraph 11 of Schedule 1 to the Act immediately after the person is deemed to have notified HMRC under paragraph F96(3A),F102(3AB) or (3AC).

Where a declaration for the goods was made prior to importation and a notification of importation has not been provided or deemed to have been provided under this regulation, the person who made a customs declaration in respect of the goods must provide a notification to HMRC that the goods have arrived in the United Kingdom.

HMRC Commissioners must publish a notice specifying the matters referred to in paragraph (3F).

Where a notification is provided in accordance with paragraphs (3E) and (3F), the person who made the customs declaration is deemed to have provided a notification of importation in accordance with paragraphs (1) and (3), at the time the goods are imported into the United Kingdom for the purposes of CEMA 1979.

Where a person has submitted information to a specified electronic system as required by regulation 26G(2)(a) (UK Continental Shelf simplified import procedure) that person is deemed to have notified HMRC in accordance with paragraphs (1) and (3) at the time the information is submitted.

There is no requirement for a person to present goods M12 to Customs on import if in the opinion of an HMRC officer M13 the importation was not intended and was caused by abnormal and unforeseeable circumstances beyond that person's control.

This regulation applies to goods which are subject to paragraph 1(2) of Schedule 1 to the Act M14.

Except where paragraph (7) applies, a declaration (“a temporary storage declaration”) must be made in accordance with paragraphs (3) and (5) in respect of the goods.

A person who makes a temporary storage declaration is a “TS declarant”.

No temporary storage declaration is required in respect of goods if a Customs declaration is made in respect of the goods by no later than the time that the goods are presented to Customs.

Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), a TS declarant may amend a temporary storage declaration made by the TS declarant.

Paragraph (3) does not apply in relation to an amendment required under regulation 83(2) (Customs agents: disclosure of withdrawal of an appointment).

A person who holds the approval to operate a temporary storage facility (“the approved person”) may only carry out, in relation to goods that are in temporary storage, the type of activity described in paragraph (2).

In this regulation—

• F355goods are in temporary storage if they have not been released to a Customs procedure and—

  1. a

     they are, or have been, subject to the requirement in regulation 8(2); or

  2. b

     a temporary storage declaration is deemed to have been made in respect of them in accordance with paragraph 14(3) or 39(3) of Schedule 1 to the Customs Transit Procedures (EU Exit) Regulations 2018;

• “approved wharf” has the meaning given by section 20A CEMA 1979;

• “examination station” has the meaning given by section 22A CEMA 1979.