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Import: Basic Process

As of January 31, 2020, the United Kingdom (UK) officially withdrew from the European Union (EU), and Brexit (a combination of the words Britain and exit) is the term used to refer to the UK's withdrawal. The UK is no longer part of the EU Customs Union or European Single Market. After Brexit, a free trade agreement (FTA) between the UK and EU entered into force on May 1, 2021. Known as the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement, it provides for free trade in goods and limited mutual market access in services, as well as cooperation in a range of policy areas, transitional provisions about EU access to UK fisheries, and UK participation in some EU programs. The complete FTA is available at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/982648/TS_8.2021_UK_EU_EAEC_Trade_and_Cooperation_Agreement.pdf. Due to Brexit, the information contained in this article may not be accurate. As more information becomes available, this content will be updated.

Customs Entry

The customs authority in the United Kingdom is known as Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs or HMRC (www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-revenue-customs/services-information).

Documentation Package

There are two main documents necessary to import articles into the UK: Entry Summary Declaration (ENS) and Single Administrative Document or SAD (Form C88 in the UK). The SAD must be submitted together with other required documentation, as specified below in the Import Documentation section.

Entry Summary Declaration (ENS)
The carrier is responsible for submitting an ENS to the customs office of first entry (OoFE) of a shipment into the UK. It must be filed electronically using the Safety and Security Great Britain (S&S GB) software system (www.gov.uk/guidance/register-to-make-an-entry-summary-declaration-in-great-britain). In Northern Ireland, the Import Control System (www.gov.uk/guidance/register-to-make-an-entry-summary-declaration-in-northern-ireland) is used. A third party (such as the importer or freight forwarder) may file the ENS with the knowledge and contractual consent of the carrier, but must include the carrier’s Great Britain Economic Operators Registration and Identification (GB EORI) number in the submission as well as its own. Ultimately the carrier is held responsible for submission.

To register to make an ENS, a Government Gateway user ID and password are required. Those who do not have a user ID, can create one when registering at www.access.service.gov.uk/login/signin/creds. Before registering, the following information is needed:

EORI number starting with GB
Business date of establishment
Email address
Business or trading name
Business Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) if you are registered in the UK for tax purposes
Business address

After registering, an ENS can be submitted by either purchasing the necessary compatible software or employing the services of a Community Systems Provider (CSP), which is a commercial entity that directly interfaces with HMRC's web-based systems. A list of CSP is available at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/800274/Trade_commercial_contacts.pdf.

Upon filing and validation of an ENS, a unique 18-digit alpha-numeric reference number, called a Movement Reference Number (MRN), is automatically assigned to the entity that lodged the ENS and, if different, to the carrier. No ENS is needed for goods entering the UK from Northern Ireland. Additionally, an ENS is not required for qualifying Northern Ireland goods that arrive in Great Britain having moved through Ireland.

An ENS is not required for:

Electrical energy
Articles entering by pipeline
Articles covered by ATA (Admission Temporaire) or CPD (Carnet de Passage en Douane) carnet
Articles for which an oral customs declaration is permitted

Single Administrative Document or SAD (Form C88 in the UK)
The importer or its representative is responsible for declaring all articles being imported into the UK on a SAD, which can be submitted electronically. (See Electronic Filing below.) The SAD and all accompanying documents are submitted to the relevant HMRC office when the OoFE is located in the UK. The SAD must be drafted in one of the official languages of the UK that is acceptable to the HMRC.

Safety and Security Declarations
Due to Brexit, Great Britain (England, Scotland, and Wales) is no longer part of the EU's safety and security zone; therefore, as of July 1, 2022, the UK requires safety and security declarations for goods arriving in the territory of Great Britain.

There are exceptions for qualifying Northern Ireland goods moving from either:

Northern Ireland to Great Britain
Northern Ireland to Ireland, and then to Great Britain

The customs regulations pertaining to safety and security procedures is available online at www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2021/1011/contents/made. For additional information, visit www.gov.uk/government/publications/safety-and-security-requirements-on-imports-and-exports/safety-and-security-requirements-on-imports-and-exports.

Documentation Review

The HMRC reviews the documentation to check for:

Authority of the entity to import
Consistency of information across documents
Legality of the proposed import
Proper product classification and valuation

The HMRC also:

Establishes whether to order an inspection of the shipment
Computes duties, taxes, and other fees
Refers documentation to other governmental agencies for imports of controlled products
Establishes any special requirements for final clearance of the shipment

Common Customs Entries

The following are the most common customs entries:

Consumption Entry
Articles are released from customs custody for immediate sale or use within the country.
Transit Entry
The consignee is granted permission to transport a shipment through the country solely for the purpose of export to another country.
Temporary Entry
The consignee is granted permission to import articles on a temporary basis without the payment of duties and taxes. Examples include sales samples, race cars for temporary use in a specific event, motion picture cameras for temporary use in the making of a specific film, etc. A bond is usually required to ensure that articles are either exported or that duties and taxes are paid.
Warehouse Entry
The consignee is granted permission to transfer a shipment to a customs bonded warehouse where it is stored without payment of import duties and taxes until it is formally imported for consumption or re-exported.
Foreign Trade Zone Entry
The consignee is granted permission to transfer a shipment into a foreign trade zone without payment of duties or taxes where it is either stored or processed and then imported for consumption or re-exported.

Many importers engage the services of a CSP, logistics firm, or customs broker to handle import documentation and procedures.

Time to File

Entry Summary Declaration (ENS)
The ENS must be submitted within the following timeframes:

Containerized maritime cargo: At least 24 hours before commencement of loading in each foreign load port
Bulk/break bulk maritime cargo: At least four hours before arrival
Short sea shipping: At least two hours before arrival
Short-haul flights (less than four hours in duration): At least by the time of takeoff of the aircraft
Long-haul flights (four hours or more in duration): At least four hours before arrival
Rail and inland waterways: At least two hours before arrival
Road traffic: At least one hour before arrival

Single Administrative Document or SAD (Form C88)
An importer may submit the SAD prior to the shipment’s arrival and presentation to the HMRC but is not required to do so.

Electronic Filing

Entry Summary Declaration (ENS)
The ENS must be submitted electronically using the S&S GB system or a CSP. The S&S GB system is used for:

The lodging, handling, and processing of an ENS in advance of the arrival of a shipment
Safety and security risk analysis
The handling of international diversions
The issuance of a MRN to the carrier/importer

Single Administrative Document (SAD) (Form C88)
The SAD may be submitted manually in paper form to the HMRC National Clearance Hub or electronically through the HMRC’s Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight (CHIEF) system (www.gov.uk/guidance/apply-to-access-customs-handling-of-import-and-export-freight-c1800), the UK’s nationwide computer system that electronically controls and records the country’s international cargo movements. As of March 31, 2023, the CHIEF system will be replaced by the Customs Declaration Service (CDS), the government's new electronic system for handling customs declaration processes. HMRC is implementing the system transition from CHIEF to CDS in several stages, with final deadlines for import declarations in September 2022 and export declarations in March 2023.

Import License, Clearance, Permit

As a general rule, all kinds of imported articles are allowed into the UK. Some restricted articles, however, require an import license, clearance, or permit. Any required license, permit, etc. should be submitted together with the SAD. To determine what, if any, import license(s), clearance(s), and/or permit(s) are required for a shipment’s import into the UK. (See the Restricted and Prohibited page for more information.)

Tariff Regimes

The United Kingdom Global Tariff (UKGT) is based on the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (Harmonized System or HS). Used by more than 180 countries, the HS is an internationally standardized system of names and numbers for classifying traded products, setting and collecting trade tariffs, guiding tax policy, establishing rules of origin, and collecting data on virtually every aspect of global trade, including quotas, pricing, and transport statistics. The HS is maintained by the World Customs Organization or WCO (www.wcoomd.org), which updates it every five years with the most recent version taking effect in 2022. Companies that engage in international trade are responsible for making necessary updates and using the correct HS code to label their products for shipping. WCO Trade Tools (www.wcotradetools.org) provides an up-to-date HS database.

Additionally, the UK is a signatory to a number of trade agreements that provide for reduced-duty or duty-free import of certain articles from certain countries. Some of the major trade agreements include:

Information on the UK's trade agreements is available online at www.gov.uk/government/collections/the-uks-trade-agreements. For a complete list of trade agreements to which the UK is a party, see the Trade Agreements page.

UK Integrated Online Tariff

The UK Integrated Online Tariff is available at www.trade-tariff.service.gov.uk/find_commodity. It helps traders find:

Commodity codes for imports into or exports out of the UK
Taxes and duties that apply to those imports
Certificates and licenses that apply to the import of goods

Import Documentation

All imports of physical articles require the following basic documentation:

Entry Summary Declaration (ENS)
Single Administrative Document or SAD (Form C88)
Certificate of Origin (CoO)
Commercial Invoice (CI)
Freight Document: Bill of Lading (B/L), Airway Bill (AWB), Rail Waybill, Road Waybill
Packing List (P/L)

Some imports may require specialized documentation:

Customs Value Declaration (Form D.V. 1) (required for articles valued over 6,500 GBP)
Insurance Document
Health Certificate
Phytosanitary Certificate
Import Licenses, Permits, Certifications
Documents as may be required by the terms of a bank letter of credit (L/C) or documents against payment (D/P) provision

Restricted and Prohibited Articles

The import of restricted and prohibited articles may require an import license or clearance from one of the UK’s governmental agencies. Restricted articles include certain arms and armaments, certain technology products, plants, animals, food products, natural resource products, currency, and radioactive materials.

A certificate of exemption may be obtained for certain prohibited, banned, or controlled articles. Prohibited articles include certain plants and animals, especially those of endangered species. (See the Restricted and Prohibited page for further information.)

Inspection

Upon submission of the ENS, the S&S GB system automatically identifies articles that require documentary and/or physical inspection. If the customs OoFE identifies any risks, it transmits the risk information via the S&S GB system to all subsequent customs offices in the UK that are declared on the ENS. This transmission of the risk information allows for customs control to take place upon arrival at the first point of entry (risk type B) or upon scheduled discharge (risk type C) of the articles deemed to create a risk. For containerized maritime cargo a “do not load” message (risk type A) may be issued until the security risk is resolved.

Imported articles may be subject to inspection when:

The seal on the shipping container has been tampered with
The container is leaking
The shipment’s details in the shipping documents differ from that in the manifest
An alert or a hold order has been put on the shipment

The HMRC may also perform random spot inspections.

Payment of Duties and Taxes

Most customs duties and value-added tax (VAT) are expressed on an ad valorem basis (i.e., as a percentage of the value of the articles being imported). Customs authorities define the value of merchandise for customs purposes based on its commercial value at the point of entry into the UK: the purchase price plus delivery costs up to the point where the articles enter the UK customs territory. This value does not always equal the price stated on the sales contract and may be subject to specific adjustments. Traders importing into the UK can use the Integrated Online Tariff available at www.trade-tariff.service.gov.uk/find_commodity to classify imported articles and determine the applicable duty charges and VAT. All assessed duties, taxes, and fees must be paid or secured to be paid before a shipment will be released to the importer. (See the Duties and Taxes page for detailed information.)

Clearance and Release of Shipment

Once any necessary inspection is completed, all duties, taxes, and other fees are paid, and no discrepancies or problems arise with the ENS, SAD, or the imported shipment, the HMRC releases the shipment to the importer.

Import Support

Step-by-step instructions for importing goods into the UK are provided by HMRC at www.gov.uk/import-goods-into-uk. For additional information, contact HMRC using the electronic form available at www.tax.service.gov.uk/shortforms/form/CITEX_CGEF?dept-name=&sub-dept-name=&location=43&origin=http://www.hmrc.gov.uk.

Note: The above information is subject to change. Importers are advised to obtain the most current information from a customs broker, freight forwarder, logistics professional, or the local customs authorities.

Sources: Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs or HMRC (www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-revenue-customs/services-information)