Amendment of the Customs (Import Duty) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018 U.K.

2.—(1) The Customs (Import Duty) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018 M1 are amended as follows.

(2) In regulation 2 (interpretation) after the definition of “the UCC”, insert—

““universal service provider” means either—

(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 M2 , but limited to the circumstances where those designated operators are acting—

(i) within the member country that designated them as such; and

(ii) in accordance with the UP Convention; or

(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 M3 .

“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 M4 .”.

(3) In regulation 4 (notification of importation)—

(a) in paragraph (1), in the words before sub-paragraph (a)

(i) omit the first “and”;

(ii) after “(3AA)” insert “ and (3AB) ”;

(b) after paragraph (3AA) M5 insert—

“(3AB) Where—

(a) regulation 131C (unaccompanied goods: making of declarations) applies; and

(b) a Customs declaration has been made in respect of the goods in accordance with that regulation,

the person who made the Customs declaration in respect of the goods is deemed to have notified HMRC in accordance with paragraphs (1) and (3) at the time the goods are treated as being imported into the United Kingdom under article 5(2)(c) of the Channel Tunnel (Customs and Excise) Order 1990 M6 .”;

(c) in paragraph (3B) M7 for “(3A) or (3AA)”, in both places it occurs, substitute “ (3A), (3AA) or (3AB) ”;

(d) in paragraph (3C)(a) M8 for “(3A) or (3AA)” substitute “ (3A), (3AA) or (3AB) ”.

(4) After regulation 6 (no requirement to present on import: temporary unloading) insert—

“No requirement to present goods on import: goods that are not unloaded

6A.   There is no requirement to present goods to Customs on import where the goods are not unloaded from the vessel [F1 , train] or aircraft on which they are imported.”

(5) In regulation 16(c) (goods excluded from sections 2 to 4) after “22(4)” insert “ or 22(4A) ”.

(6) In regulation 22 (Customs declarations made in paper form)—

(a) in paragraph (4)—

(i) in the opening words omit “or a temporary admission procedure”;

(ii) in sub-paragraph (a) before “carnet” insert “ TIR ”;

(b) after paragraph (4) insert –

“(4A) Subject to paragraph (4B), a person may make a Customs declaration for a free-circulation procedure, a transit procedure or a temporary admission procedure by means of—

(a) an ATA Carnet; or

(b) a CPD carnet.

(4B) An ATA carnet must not be used to declare goods submitted to a universal service provider.”;

(c) for paragraph (5) substitute–

“(5) In this regulation—

(a) “ATA carnet” means a document so described in—

(i) the ATA Convention; or

(ii) the Istanbul Convention,

where the form of the carnet corresponds to that provided by the version of the relevant convention which is current at the time the declaration is made;

(b) “consignment note” means a document as so described in Appendix B (Uniform Rules concerning the Contract of International Carriage of Goods by Rail) to the Convention concerning International Carriage by Rail of 9 May 1980 in the versions of the Modification Protocol of 3 June 1999 M9 ;

(c) “CPD carnet” means a document so described in the Istanbul Convention where the form of the carnet corresponds to that provided by the version of the relevant convention which is current at the time the declaration is made;

(d) “manifest” has the meaning in paragraph 42 of Schedule 1 to the Customs Transit Procedures (EU Exit) Regulations 2018;

(e) “TIR Carnet” means a document so described in the TIR Convention where the form of the carnet conforms to the model provided by the version of the relevant convention which is current at the time the declaration is made.”.

(7) In regulation 26 (free-circulation procedure: posted goods)—

(a) in paragraph (1) for “the postal system” substitute “ a universal service provider ”;

(b) in paragraph (2) for “the postal system” substitute “ the universal service provider ”;

(c) in paragraph (3) for “the postal system” substitute “ the universal service provider ”.

(8) In regulation 29 (Customs declarations made by conduct: notification, acceptance and discharge) in paragraph (3)—

(a) for “the postal system” substitute “ a universal service provider ”;

(b) omit sub-paragraph (a).

(9) In regulation 36 (EIDR procedure) for paragraph (2)(c) M10 substitute—

“(c) a declaration for the free-circulation procedure or an authorised use procedure where, were the declaration made and accepted, the goods would be subject to the suspension of excise duty; or”.

(10) In regulation 37A (persons authorised to use the simplified Customs declaration process and EIDR procedure – transitional authorisations)—

(a) in paragraph (5)(b) for “is approved to defer payment of any such liability to import duty in accordance with regulation 43” substitute “ has a satisfactory payment arrangement in place ”;

(b) after paragraph (5)(b) insert—

“(ba) the transitional authorised declarant may only use the simplified Customs declaration process to declare goods which are subject to excise duty if the transitional authorised declarant has an excise duty payment arrangement in place that is specified in a notice published by HMRC Commissioners;”;

(c) for paragraph (10) substitute—

“(10) In this regulation a “satisfactory payment arrangement” is in place if the transitional authorised declarant has—

(a) an approved guarantee for the payment of import duty in relation to the goods; or

(b) a payment arrangement that is specified in a public notice published under paragraph 17 of Schedule 1 to the Act.

(11) In this regulation—

“excise duty” has the same meaning as in section 49 of the Act;

“transit procedure” has the same meaning as it does for the purposes of the UCC.”.

(11) In regulation 61(3)(b) (inspection of goods) after “inward processing” insert “ , transit ”.

(12) In regulation 62(6)(c) (determination to grant applications) after “inward processing” insert “ , transit ”.

(13) In regulation 65(3) (where rejection or refusal is required) after “inward processing” insert “ , transit ”.

(14) In regulation 67(2)(a)(iii) (defective and non-compliant chargeable goods: required conditions)—

(a) for “placed under” substitute “ declared for ”;

(b) after “inward processing” insert “ , transit ”.

(15) After regulation 67 (defective and non-compliant chargeable goods: required conditions) insert—

“Goods which cease to be chargeable goods

67A.— (1) Subject to paragraph (3), goods are to be regarded as chargeable goods from the date of the determination to grant an application (in whole or in part) where—

(a) it is a condition of the determination that the goods be declared for an inward processing, transit or storage procedure; and

(b) the goods stated in the application have ceased to be chargeable goods.

(2) Subject to paragraph (4), goods are to be regarded as chargeable goods from the date any consent is given by HMRC under regulation 62(6)(c) where—

(a) a request has been made under regulation 62(6)(c); and

(b) the goods stated in the application have ceased to be chargeable goods.

(3) Paragraph (1) does not apply where—

(a) a notification under regulation 64(4)(a) is issued; or

(b) the determination is treated as null and void in accordance with regulation 69(2).

(4) Paragraph (2) does not apply where—

(a) HMRC rejects the application under regulation 63;

(b) HMRC determines to refuse the application under regulation 64; or

(c) the determination is treated as null and void in accordance with regulation 69(2).”.

(16) In regulation 85 (application for approval)—

(a) at the beginning of paragraph (1) for “Any” substitute “ Subject to paragraph (3), any ”;

(b) after paragraph (2) insert—

“(3) Paragraph (1) does not apply in relation to any case of a type specified in a notice published by HMRC.

(4) In a case of a type specified in a notice under paragraph (3) a person may make an application for approval in accordance with this Part unless prohibited by regulation 86.”.

(17) In regulation 89 (grant or refusal of an application for approval)—

(a) after paragraph (3) insert—

“(3A) Where—

(a) an application is not required by virtue of regulation 85(3); and

(b) HMRC has granted an approval in relation to a person who has not made an application,

HMRC must notify the person of the approval.”;

(b) in paragraph (4), in the words before sub-paragraph (a), omit “application for”.

(18) In regulation 90 (notification of HMRC of change of circumstances relating to an approval)—

(a) at the end of paragraph (b) omit “or”;

(b) after paragraph (b) insert—

“(ba) in a case where HMRC has granted an approval in relation to a person who has not made an application, there are any material changes since the approval was granted concerning any matter specified in a notice published by HMRC Commissioners; or”;

(c) at the beginning of paragraph (c) insert “ in any other case, ”.

(19) In regulation 101(2) (cases where no guarantee is required) omit the definition of “universal service provider”.

(20) In regulation 102(1), for sub-paragraph (b) substitute—

“(b) are itemised in a travel document issued in the United Kingdom which specifies the destination of the goods, and”.

(21) In regulation 131(1)(b)(ii) (chargeable goods carried by RoRo vehicles destined for RoRo listed locations: making of declarations) omit the words “an entity designated as” and “under section 35(1) of the Postal Services Act 2011”.

(22) After regulation 131A (chargeable goods subject to an EU customs procedure: making of declarations) M11 insert—

“PART 13B U.K. Unaccompanied goods

Unaccompanied goods

131B.— (1) Regulation 131C applies to goods which are—

(a) unaccompanied goods;

(b) chargeable goods to be imported;

(c) not intended to be offered for sale on board the train; and

(d) to be imported on a through train which has St Pancras International train station as its ultimate destination.

(2) In this Part—

“through train” has the meaning given in Schedule 1 to the Channel Tunnel (International Arrangements) Order 1993 M12 ; and

“unaccompanied goods” means goods which will not accompany an individual when arriving in the United Kingdom, but does not include goods—

(a)

which will be carried on the same train as the individual; and

(b)

of which the operator of the train will have possession or control.

Unaccompanied goods: making of declarations

131C.— (1) A Customs declaration or a temporary storage declaration must be made in respect of the goods by the time the goods are loaded on to the through train.

(2) The Customs declaration or temporary storage declaration must not be amended or withdrawn by the declarant after that time without the consent of an HMRC officer.

(3) Paragraph (4) applies to a person who is responsible for providing the service of operating a through train onto which the goods are loaded.

(4) When required to do so by an HMRC officer, the person must produce to the officer evidence that the person took reasonable steps to ensure that paragraph (1) had been, or would be, complied with in respect of the goods.

(5) A requirement referred to in paragraph (4) to produce evidence may be made, and evidence may be required to be provided, before the goods are treated as being imported into the United Kingdom under article 5(2)(c) of the Channel Tunnel (Customs and Excise) Order 1990.

(6) The evidence provided must be of a type, and in a form, as specified in a notice published by HMRC.”.

Textual Amendments

F1 Word in reg. 2(4) inserted (1.10.2020) by The Customs (Bulk Customs Declaration and Miscellaneous Amendments) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/967), regs. 1(3), 11(2)

Commencement Information

I1 Reg. 2(1)(16)-(18) in force at 16.10.2019, see reg. 1(4)

I2 Reg. 2(2)-(8)(10)-(15)(19)-(22) not in force at made date, see reg. 1(2)

I3 Reg. 2(2)-(8)(10)-(15)(19)-(22) in force at 31.12.2020 by S.I. 2020/1643, reg. 2, Sch.

I4 Reg. 2(9) in force at 31.10.2019, see reg. 1(3)(a)

Marginal Citations

M1 S.I. 2018/1248. Relevant amending instruments are S.I. 2019/108, 2019/326, 2019/486 and 2019/1215.

M2 Available from: http://www.upu.int/en/the-upu/acts-of-the-union-and-other-decisions/permanent-acts.html. A hard copy is available for inspection free of charge by arrangement at the offices of HMRC at 100 Parliament Street, London, SW1A 2BQ. The definition of “designated operator” was inserted by Article II of the Ninth Additional Protocol done at Istanbul on 6 October 2016.

M3 S.I. 2018/1258, relevant amending instruments are S.I. 2019/326, 2019/486 and 2019/1215. Schedule 5 is inserted by regulation 5(5) of these regulations.

M4 Available from: http://www.upu.int/en/the-upu/acts-of-the-union-and-other-decisions/acts-of-current-cycle.html. A hard copy is available for inspection free of charge by arrangement at the offices of HMRC at 100 Parliament Street, London, SW1A 2BQ.

M5 Paragraph (3AA) will be inserted by regulation 11(3)(c) of S.I. 2019/1215.

M6 S.I. 1990/2167. Relevant amending instruments are S.I. 1993/1813 and 1994/1405.

M7 Paragraph (3B) will be inserted by regulation 8(c) of S.I. 2019/326 and amended by regulation 11(3)(d) of S.I. 2019/1215.

M8 Paragraph (3C) will be inserted by regulation 8(c) of S.I. 2019/326 and amended by regulation 11(3)(e) of S.I. 2019/1215.

M9 Available electronically from https://otif.org/fileadmin/user_upload/otif_verlinkte_files/07_veroeff/01_COTIF_80/cotif-cim-1980-e.PDF. A hard copy is available for inspection by arrangement at the offices of HMRC at 100 Parliament Street, London, SW1A 2BQ.

M10 The relevant amendment in S.I. 2019/486 will be omitted by regulation 9(2)(b) of these Regulations.

M11 Regulation 131A was inserted by regulation 11(23) of S.I. 2019/1215.

M12 S.I. 1993/1813, to which there are amending instruments, but none is relevant.