SCHEDULE 1
Regulation 2
The common transit procedure
PART 1
Common transit procedures that start outside the United Kingdom
1. Common transit procedure: preliminary
(1) The goods need not be presented to Customs on import7when goods subject to a common transit procedure that starts outside the United Kingdom are brought into the United Kingdom.
If they are chargeable goods8, they are deemed to be declared for a transit procedure within TCTA (see paragraph 58(1)(f)), section 3(4)(b), and no additional declaration for the purposes of that importation is necessary either before or on import.
(2) For the purposes of this Part, the “common transit procedure” is one covered by the Convention of 20th May 1987 on a common transit procedure in regulation 2 and applicable to the carriage of goods into the United Kingdom9, and “Convention” refers to this one.
(3) Where that common transit procedure does not end in the United Kingdom, the continuation of the procedure outside the United Kingdom discharges the procedure for the purposes of TCTA, Schedule 2, paragraph 19(2).
(4) Where goods transported by a fixed transport installation enter the United Kingdom through that installation, those goods are deemed to be subject to the common transit procedure.
(5) In this Part—
(a)
(a) a “common transit state” is a member State10or is any other country that is a Contracting Party to the Convention or that has acceded to it;
(b)
(b) a “fixed transport installation” is a technical means used for the continuous transport of goods such as electricity, gas or oil.
(6) Chargeable goods may be moved within the United Kingdom without being subject to import duty if the movement takes place in accordance with the common transit procedure.
2. Presentation of goods moved subject to the common transit procedure to the HMRC customs office of transit
(1) The goods in paragraph 1(1) together with the MRN of the declaration (see sub-paragraph (3)) must, once brought into the United Kingdom, be presented to the HMRC office constituting the customs office of transit (see paragraph 58(1)(d) and sub-paragraph (2)).
(2) In this Part, an “HMRC customs office of transit” is—
(a)
(a) the HMRC office competent for the point of entry into the United Kingdom when the goods are entering the United Kingdom in the course of a common transit procedure; or
(b)
(b) the HMRC office competent for the point of exit from the United Kingdom when the goods are leaving the United Kingdom, in the course of a common transit procedure, via a frontier with another territory that is not a common transit state.
(3) In this Part, the “MRN” is the master reference number allocated by the competent customs authority outside the United Kingdom to the declaration made there for the common transit procedure.
(4) The MRN presented under sub-paragraph (1) must be accompanied by any corresponding transit accompanying document under sub-paragraph (5).
(5) A transit accompanying document is one provided by the customs office of departure (see sub-paragraph (7)) and corresponding to the document in paragraph 25(5).
(6) HMRC must record the border passage of the goods on the basis of the particulars of the common transit procedure received from the customs office of departure pursuant to the Convention. That passage must be notified by HMRC to the customs office of departure.
(7) In this Part, the “customs office of departure” is the customs office outside the United Kingdom where the declaration was accepted for the goods subject to the common transit procedure.
(8) Where goods are carried via an HMRC customs office of transit that is not the one declared, HMRC must request the particulars of the common transit procedure from the customs office of departure (but only if they do not already have these particulars) and notify the border passage of the goods to the customs office of departure.
(9) Any inspection of the goods at an HMRC customs office of transit must be carried out mainly on the basis of the particulars of the common transit procedure received from the customs office of departure.
(10) Sub-paragraphs (1), (6) and (8) do not apply to the transport of goods by rail provided that HMRC can verify the border passage of the goods by other means. Such verification must take place only in the case of need, and may take place retrospectively.
3. Incidents in the United Kingdom during movements of goods subject to the common transit procedure
(1) A carrier (see sub-paragraph (2)) must present the goods together with the MRN of the declaration to HMRC if, within the United Kingdom—
(a)
(a) the carrier is obliged to deviate from a route prescribed by the customs office of departure due to circumstances beyond the carrier’s control;
(b)
(b) the seals are broken or tampered with in the course of the transport operation for reasons beyond the carrier’s control;
(c)
(c) goods are transferred from one means of transport to another means of transport;
(d)
(d) imminent danger necessitates partial or total unloading of the sealed means of transport;
(e)
(e) there is an incident which may affect the ability of the holder of the procedure (see sub-paragraph (5)) or the carrier to comply with their respective obligations; or
(f)
(f) any of the elements constituting a single means of transport is changed, namely—
(i) a road vehicle accompanied by each of its trailers or semi-trailers;
(ii) a set of coupled railway carriages or wagons;
(iii) boats constituting a single chain.
(2) In this Part (except for the purposes of paragraph 4(5)(a)), in the context of entry, the “carrier” is the person who brings the goods, or who assumes responsibility for the carriage of the goods, into the United Kingdom.
And in the context of exit, the “carrier” is the person who takes the goods, or who assumes responsibility for the carriage of the goods, out of the United Kingdom.
(3) Where HMRC consider that the common transit procedure concerned may continue, they may take any steps that they consider necessary.
(4) In the case of an incident referred to in sub-paragraph (1)(c), presentation of the goods together with the MRN of the declaration is not required if the following conditions are fulfilled—
(a)
(a) the goods are transferred from a means of transport that is not sealed; and
(b)
(b) the holder of the procedure (see sub-paragraph (5)) or the carrier on behalf of the holder of the procedure provides relevant information concerning the transfer to the satisfaction of HMRC.
(5) In this Part (except for the purposes of paragraph 4(5)(b)), the “holder” of the procedure is the person who lodges the declaration for the common transit procedure, or on whose behalf that declaration is lodged.
(6) In the case of an incident referred to in sub-paragraph (1)(f), the carrier may continue the common transit procedure when one or more carriages or wagons are withdrawn from a set of coupled railway carriages or wagons due to technical problems.
(7) In the case referred to in sub-paragraph (6), the carrier is waived from the presentation of the goods and of the MRN of the declaration to HMRC.
(8) In the case of an incident referred to in sub-paragraph (1)(f), where the tractor unit of a road vehicle is...
