What's New
Customs Related
- Customs Warehouses of Type D or Type E using Type D arrangements
- AEO criterion on practical standards of competence or professional qualifications:
- New Tariff Schedule for 2012
- UK penalties for non-compliance with Export Procedures
- Tariff classification decisions
- Customs Duty Guarantees
- The Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing
- IPR - Incorrect CPC Court Case - update
- New HMRC Penalties for VAT and Excise
- Customs guarantees to be introduced
- EC Sales List - ESL
- Improvement of the EU VAT Refund System
- IPR Tribunal Decision
- Customs Procedure Updates Session
- Update on AEO applications
- Modernised Customs Code
Customs Warehouses of Type D or Type E using Type D arrangements
Date added: 30/08/2010With the implementation of the modernised customs code scheduled for June 2013 type D customs warehouses and those operating type E warehouses with type D arrangements will cease to exist. A type D Customs warehouse is a private warehouse appropriate to traders who primarily import goods to free circulation. Removals to free circulation are made using Local Clearance Procedure using the rules of assessment established when the goods are declared to the warehousing procedure. The rules of assessment cover the nature, value and quantity of the goods. There is no provision in the modernised customs code for type D customs warehouses. If you are currently authorised as a type D customs warehouse or a type E customs warehouse using type D arrangements you will need to consider your options after June 2013. If you wish to continue using the customs warehousing procedure you will need to apply for an amendment to your existing authorisation. Please contact your HMRC supervising office to discuss the options available and any changes to your systems/ record keeping etc that will be required.
^ TopAEO criterion on practical standards of competence or professional qualifications:
Date added: 30/08/2010New criterion has been announced relating to the practical standards of competence or professional qualifications relating to companies seeking AEO accreditation which includes the Customs Simplification requirements. Staff directly related to this activity will either have to show that they hold a professional qualifications granted by a body approved by HMRC or that they have a practical standard of competence which is said to be a minimum of 3 years practical experience on customs matters. This addition of the new AEO criterion will be implemented when the Modernised Customs Code (MCC) is in place in 2013. It will not apply to companies seeking safety and security AEO status only. Businesses seeking customs simplification or full AEO accreditation after the MCC is implemented in June 2013 will need to meet the new criterion. Businesses that currently hold these AEO certificates under the existing legislation will need to show, within a transitional period of 24 months, they meet the new criterion.
^ TopNew Tariff Schedule for 2012
Date added: 30/08/2010The World Customs Organisation has published the agreed amendments to the Harmonized System nomenclature, it will come into force on 1 January 2012. About the amendments: environmental and social issues of global concern are the major feature of the HS 2012 amendments, particularly the use of the HS as the standard for classifying and coding goods of specific importance to food security and the early warning data system of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. New subheadings have been created for the separate identification of certain edible vegetables, roots and tubers, fruit and nuts, as well as cereals. HS 2012 also features new subheadings for specific chemicals controlled under the Rotterdam Convention and ozone-depleting substances controlled under the Montreal Protocol. As this will be a significant change with major impact on some businesses, we are hoping that a correlation table will be available next year to give time for businesses to up-date systems.
^ TopUK penalties for non-compliance with Export Procedures
Date added: 30/08/2010On 14 July 2010, HM Revenue & Customs - HMRC re-issued Customs Information Paper (10)33 on Non Compliance with the Export Procedure warning companies that it has identified significant non-compliance with UK export procedures and that urgent action is required by traders to remedy these deficiencies in order to avoid penalties. HMRC warns traders that it intends to implement penalties for non-compliance ranging from civil penalties to criminal proceedings in the most serious cases, especially where unauthorised removals of: military, dual-use and other controlled goods, are concerned. A trader's AEO application or approval may be at risk if it receives a penalty. This increased focus on export requirements mirrors the US experience where US customs agencies are using the Automatic Export System - AES, often referred to by customs agencies as the Automatic Targeting System - through which exporters are required to file export information online, as a way to target potentially risky or non-compliant exports leading to more enforcement in this area. HMRC will be targeting Non-Arrived exports Unauthorised removals
^ TopTariff classification decisions
Date added: 23/03/2010A net of lights to go over a Christmas tree has had a tariff classification review. Under new instructions the items are to coded as Christmas decorations under 9405 30 00. The reason given to this change in UK practice (used to be plastic netting) is because although the article may be used for other purposes its main objective is very clear. It is intended to be used as a Christmas lights on the tree.
^ TopCustoms Duty Guarantees
Date added: 23/03/2010The rules and regulations for international trade procedures in the European Union, as you are aware, are being re-written (full implementation 2013). One of the things within the Modernised Customs Code (MCC) is the introduction of guarantees for any businesses wishing to operation duty relief procedures, eg IPR, OPR, warehousing, temporary admission procedures. UK Customs have been hoping that the Commission would allow the UK to continue with their current scheme of guarantee waivers for business but the Commission has stated that they want a consistent approach to customs procedures in all 27 member states so guarantees will have to be introduced. This is a blow to both UK Customs and businesses and poses questions about how it will be administered, what will the guarantees have to cover and how much, do HMRC have sufficient staff and who will manage the guarantee scheme? The MCC does give a way for businesses to operate customs duty relief procedures in the future without a bond or guarantee - they can become an Authorised Economic Operator (AEO). AEOs will receive an automatic guarantee waiver. Though applying for AEO is free it is time consuming to both the businesses and customs. It would be quite an administrative burden on HMRC all businesses currently operating IPR, etc were to apply for AEO but unless something changes in Brussels this seems the only way to avoid setting up financial guarantees to continue to use duty relief procedures in the future.
^ TopThe Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing
Date added: 23/03/2010This publication has been written to be universally applicable and presents a composite picture of standards for anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist finance regimes around the world. Designed to help readers understand the basic problems, threats, and regulatory framework common to all countries and how to respond appropriately, it is essential reading for companies involved in international transactions and particularly in the regulated sector. Order a copy GBP20.00 plus postage via our book link
^ TopIPR - Incorrect CPC Court Case - update
Date added: 05/02/2010A judgement has been made by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) on the cases relating to incorrect export Customs Procedure Codes (10-00 not 31-51) used on Inward Processing Relief (IPR) items exported from the UK. As you may remember the amount of duty claimed by HMRC ran into millions of pounds. The legality of this was challenged by 3 main companies, though may others reserved the right to claim duty back once the courts had ruled. Though the ECJ upheld the fact that an incorrect export declaration was a serious offence but exporters should have been given the option to amend the declarations if they had adequate supporting evidence of export and there was no negligence involved. UK HMRC are now reviewing all cases were a protective claim letter was submitted by the company charged with customs duty and any company who had similar claims issued by HMRC after the 15th January 2007 can ask for their case to be reviewed as well. Could mean a bit of money going back from Customs to the trade.
^ TopNew HMRC Penalties for VAT and Excise
Date added: 05/02/2010HMRC are introducing new penalties to help prevent abuse in the VAT and Excise tax systems. From 1 April 2010 HMRC will apply new wrongdoing penalties where a person:
- issues an invoice that includes VAT which the person is not entitled to charge
- handles goods on which Excise Duty has not been paid or deferred
- uses a product in a way that means more Excise Duty should have been paid
- supplies a product at a lower rate of Excise Duty knowing that it will be used in a way that means a higher rate of Excise Duty should be paid.
Customs guarantees to be introduced
Date added: 05/02/2010HMRC have stated that mandatory Guarantees under the Modernised Customs Code Implementing Provisions are being introduced in 2013 for certain Customs Procedures - Special Procedures (Inward Processing Relief (IPR), Outward Processing Relief (OPR), Customs Warehousing, Temporary Admissions and End Use), Temporary Storage and Transit. The expansion of Guarantee requirements for both debts incurred and debts which maybe incurred poses HMRC with a significant new challenge. The intention is that there will be a guarantee waiver for AEO approved companies. We will update you as this progresses.
^ TopEC Sales List - ESL
Date added: 05/02/2010From 1 January 2010 most businesses have to submit ESL on a monthly, not quarterly basis. Also the time available in which to submit ESL reports has been cut from 42 days to 14 days for paper submissions and 21 days if you do it online. As an anti-graud measure, all companies trading with the EC must submit EC Sales Lists, you can continue to submit quarterly where the value of intra-EC supplies of goods is less than GBP70,000 but in 2012 this limit will drop to GBP35,000
^ TopImprovement of the EU VAT Refund System
Date added: 05/02/2010If a UK business incurs VAT in another member state then, subject to fairly monor restrictions, it is possible to make a claim against the other member state. The hassle involved in making such claims has in the past put most SME's off using the system. From 1 January 2010, each member state ought to have a portal open to accept claims on line (the UK is one of the few countries ready.) For UK claimants, the process now involves electronic application via the HMRC portal and submission of data, including documents, electronically. The claim process includes a host of identification codes unfamiliar to UK businesses. The claim will then be sent on from the UK portal to the portals in other member states and, provided the claim is not selected for further verification, you are guaranteed repayment within four months. . And if they break the guarantee, you will get paid interest by the member state against which the claim is made (the claim is not paid by the UK Government, HMRC merely act as an electronic post box). Fuller details of the process are contained in Public Notice 723A, which is available in the library section of the HMRC website
^ TopIPR Tribunal Decision
Date added: 03/02/2010^ Top
Customs Procedure Updates Session
Date added: 29/06/2009Changes to import and export procedures are happening all the time and it can be very difficult to know you are up-to-date. This one-day course is a summary of key changes that have affected international trade procedures in the last 12 months as well as a look ahead to things we are expecting to change.
Dates: 2nd September 2009 or 7th December 2009 Price: GBP 245.00 - discounts available if you book more than one place The agenda is fully revised prior each course to ensure it is current and valid but 2009 topics include: Export control System (ECS) with the new EAD Form, supply chain security issues, the Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) procedures, EORI replace TURNs, changes to customs regimes including End-use, Pre-Arrival/Pre-Departure Messaging, new origin/preference rules, the re-write of the Customs Code. It will include a review of the new Incoterms set for 2010. Delegates should have a good knowledge of customs procedure before attending this course.
^ TopUpdate on AEO applications
Date added: 26/06/2009In June 2009 UK HMRC reported that 254 AEO - Authorised Economic Operator - applications have been received, mainly from freight internediaries and customs brokers. 79 AEO Certificates have been issued in the UK. Approximately 1200 applications have been received by authorities across the EU. There is very little activity in Portugal, Spain and Greece with the take-up being mainly in Germany, UK, Sweden and the Netherlands with Italy and France coming along. No real further progress has been made with regard to the mutual recognistion of EU AEO status with the USA, mainly due to the fact that the USA security system is in-bound freight biased and gives little security for countries receiving goods from the USA.
^ TopModernised Customs Code
Date added: 20/10/2008The European Commission have now released a first preliminary draft of the Implementing Provisions to this Modernised Customs Code (MCCIP) The following areas might be of particular interest: a) Centralised clearance b) Self Assessment c) AEO - requirement to meet the criteria (rather than hold a certificate) is covered in various articles d) temporary storage rules e) customs debt and guarantees. Contact Peter Starling at HMRC for further details. emailL peter.starling@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk
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