Consider Commercial Arrangements

Individual commercial contracts and arrangements may alter the default legal responsibilities and requirements. Contractual obligations for international commercial transactions are outlined in the INCOTERMS rules, which are administered by the International Chamber of Commerce. These are an important consideration for traders when moving goods internationally, and should be considered and understood alongside the information in this document.

Apply for a GB EORI number and an EU one too if you are responsible for submitting declarations to EU customs authorities under your commercial terms

This is required for all businesses moving goods into or out of GB, including those deferring their import declarations. Further information, including a link to apply for an EORI number, is available here. It can take up to a week to get one, and around 5-10 minutes to apply. VAT registered businesses with EU trade were previously enrolled with an EORI number, so should check whether they already have a number before applying. Please note that an EU EORI number is required for UK businesses who are responsible for submitting customs declarations to EU Member State customs authorities e.g. a UK exporter who is Delivering Duty Paid to a company in France under their INCOTERMS.

Get a Customs Intermediary 

Intermediaries can help traders find the information needed to complete formalities and submit the required declarations. This simplifies the declaration processes for traders. Further information can be found here. The UK Government has announced a grant scheme to support intermediaries and those businesses who want to make declarations themselves.

If business decide not to use an intermediary, they will need to make declarations themselves. To do this they will need to get access to HMRC systems and to purchase software.

Apply for a Duty Deferment Account 

This is recommended in order to make the temporary declaration deferment system work smoothly, though in some cases intermediaries will allow traders to make use of the intermediaries’ deferment account. Traders who import goods regularly may benefit from having a duty deferment account (DDA). This enables customs charges including customs duty, excise duty, and import VAT to be paid once a month through Direct Debit instead of being paid on individual consignments. VAT registered traders can instead account for import VAT on their VAT return using postponed VAT accounting, as detailed below.

To set up a DDA, traders, or their representatives, apply for a deferment account number (DAN) and will need to be authorised by HMRC. New rules are being introduced which will allow most traders to use duty deferment without a Customs Comprehensive Guarantee (CCG).

Prepare to Pay or Account for VAT on Imported Goods

VAT registered traders will be able to account for import VAT on their VAT return by using postponed VAT accounting from 1 January 2021. Unless they are eligible to defer their supplementary declarations, they will not be compelled to use postponed VAT accounting.

Non-VAT registered traders (and any VAT registered traders not using postponed VAT accounting) will need to report and pay import VAT through the customs processes. Within this context, VAT payments can be deferred using a DDA as outlined above. VAT on imports of goods in consignments not exceeding £135 in value will be treated differently to those goods in consignments exceeding £135. 

Check codes, tariff rates and rules for your goods

Find the right commodity code for your goods. Familiarise yourself with how to how to value your imports for customs duty.

Businesses importing goods into GB should ensure they are familiar with using the ‘Trade with the UK’ tool which provides detailed information on tariffs, taxes and rules. The tariffs shown are those currently being applied but will be updated on 1 January. Use the UK Global Tariff tool to check the tariffs that will apply to goods imported from 1 January 2021.

Exporters of goods from GB should ensure they are familiar with using the ‘Check How to Export Goods’ tool which provides detailed information on duties and customs procedures for over 160 countries. For exporting to the EU, you can also use the EU’s TARIC tool which shows tariff rates and other requirements.