For transport companies and warehouse keepers  – Customs declarations for goods at the turn of the year

Entry of goods into the customs territory of the EU – entry summary declaration

When goods arrive in the customs territory of the EU, an entry summary declaration shall be lodged for them at the customs office of first entry. An entry summary declaration shall also be lodged when an entry summary declaration has been lodged in the UK before the end of 2020 for goods that arrive in the customs territory of the EU after the turn of the year. 

No entry summary declaration is required, however, when the goods leave the UK directly for the Union before the end of 2020 for goods and arrive in the customs territory of the Union after the turn of the year. In that case, however, a summary declaration for temporary storage shall be lodged, where appropriate, in accordance with Customs’ instructions for goods to be unloaded in a Finnish port or airport. 

Ongoing movements of goods and customs status of goods

Union goods which are moving as intra-Union movement from the UK to the Union or vice versa in late 2020 may still be treated as an intra-Union movement if the goods are Union goods and if their movement has started before the end of 2020 and ended in 2021. This will equally apply to Union goods moving between two points in the customs territory of the Union via the UK.

In such cases, the customs status of the goods is to be proved (provided for in Article 199 UCC IA) by a transport document or any other document showing that the movement, which covers the border-crossing part, has started before the end of 2020. As a rule, the date when the movement started is the date the carrier took over the goods for the transport. The proof is to be provided in the same way also if the goods are taken over by a freight  forwarder who takes over the responsibility of the goods and who then later subcontracts a carrier.

Where, when arriving at the border between the Union and UK after the turn of the year, the economic operator cannot provide proof of Union status, those goods will be treated as third country goods.

Goods carried by air under a single transport document (STD)

Goods carried by air will keep their Union status and no proof of the customs status of Union goods will be required when

• the goods are carried under a single transport document (STD)
• the flight leaves before the end of 2020 and 
• the flight arrives in 2021.

This will be practically relevant only for aircrafts leaving in the late hours before 00:00 CET on 31 December 2020 on a direct flight to the respective other airport and arriving there after 00:00 CET on the day following the end of the transition period.

Goods carried by sea

Where a Regular Shipping Service (RSS) vessel has during an ongoing voyage called UK  port(s) before the end of 2020, the customs status of Union goods transported on the RSS vessel will not be altered.  The same applies to Union goods loaded before the end of 2020 and unloaded in any ports thereafter, even where the vessel has during an ongoing voyage called at any UK port(s) after the end of 2020. 

Where an RSS vessel has during an ongoing voyage called at UK port(s) from 1 January 2021, a proof of the Union status of goods already loaded onto the vessel will be required. The customs status is to be proved upon unloading for any Union goods loaded in any UK or Union ports the vessel has called at during an ongoing voyage from 1 January 2021. This means that if a vessel calls at a UK port after the turn of the year, the RSS authorisation cannot be invoked any longer for the remaining part of the ongoing voyage.  

Ongoing transit operations

Transit operations ongoing in the territory of the UK or the EU at the moment of Brexit will continue normally to their destinations in the transit system. At the office of transit, Customs will request a transit advice note for them from the customs office of departure with a message used for that purpose.

If a TIR transport has left an EU country and arrived in the UK before the turn of the year, and it is presented in the UK at the customs office of destination (or at the customs office of exit) after the turn of the year, it may no longer be possible to discharge the TIR operation in the UK transit system. The use of the electronic TIR declaration is not part of the Common Transit Convention, and therefore it can only be used electronically in the territory of the EU.