Transit inland clearance simplification

With effect from 1 July, a new simplified arrangement for Authorised Consignees will be established allowing the receipt of goods at the end of a transit movement without the need for an External Temporary Storage Facility (ETSF).

Authorised Consignees are approved by HMRC to receive goods imported under transit at an authorised place, in order to end the transit procedure.

An Authorised Consignee previously had to make sure that their premises were authorised as an ETSF, where imported goods could be stored for up to 90 days after the transit procedure had ended. Also, since 1 January 2022, HMRC had required all ETSFs to be inventory linked, i.e. that they were integrated with HMRC’s systems to control and monitor goods moving through temporary storage facilities.

HMRC announced on 25 November 2021 that Authorised Consignees would be permitted to temporarily store goods at an authorised premises for up to 6 days after a transit procedure had ended, without the need for that premises to be subject to the full range of ETSF conditions and requirements, providing those goods are placed under a customs procedure or exported before the end of this 6 day period. This proposal is to be implemented by The Customs (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2022, which will take effect on 1 July.

An Authorised Consignee will, from 1 January 2023, eventually require a form of temporary storage facility approval, without satisfying the full range of conditions and requirements that currently apply for ETSFs. This approval will permit only the storage of goods at the end of a transit, without the need for an inventory link.