Full customs declarations & controls are due to be introduced as planned on 1 January 2022.
Although we try to keep things simple here at ACT for our customers by doing full declarations on all of our imports, it does mean that that the option to delay your customs declarations without prior authorisation from HMRC is coming to an end. Importantly, this means that you cannot complete retrospective entries without having prior authorisation.
This means that if you have moved goods, or intend to move goods from the EU to GB during 2021, you must make full customs declarations for these goods.
Although you can complete custom entries yourself, most businesses use an agent like ACT to deal with custom processes including completing customs declarations and dealing with HMRC for any queries due to level of expertise required in accurately completing customs documentation.
From 1st of January 2022
From the 1st of January 2022, when the full customs controls are introduced, the option to delay declarations without an authorisation from HMRC will no longer apply. The important thing to note here is that your goods may not be allowed to travel to the UK if you have not made a customs declaration in advance.
ACT will always advise our customers to try and have all paperwork completed 72 hours before the shipment is due to take place as this will prevent any issues with drivers not being able to board a ferry for example. It will also thankfully provide plenty of time to resolve any issues should there be missing information before that situation becomes a reality.
HMRC have published their own guidance on how to best prepare for these changes which is outlined in the link above, or alternatively you can contact us today to find out how we can help you for the rest of 2021 and beyond.