Guarantee categories and related requirements

Guarantee category Equity ratio Sufficient funds Payment behaviour
BA Negative No -
BB 0 % - 4,9 % Yes No serious or recurring payment disruptions
BC 5 % - 9,9 % Yes No serious or recurring payment disruptions
BD ≥ 10 % Yes No serious or recurring payment disruptions

When the comprehensive guarantee amount for transit, warehousing and special procedures is determined, companies are placed into guarantee categories based on their solidity and payment behaviour. Furthermore, the companies must meet requirements specific to the different guarantee categories, for example relating to sufficient resources, accounts and in-house control.

Solidity is assessed based on the customer’s financial statement. If the company is the parent company in a group of companies, the financial statement of the parent company is used in the assessment.

In order for the company to get a guarantee reduction, it must not have a history of serious payment or credit disruptions. Serious payment disruptions comprise for example bankruptcy, reorganisation or distraint, as well as delays in payments that are significant or frequent in relation to the size of the customer or the guarantee/reference amount.

The guarantee requirement is determined according to the reference amounts and the guarantee category.

Sufficient funds

In guarantee categories BD, BC and BB, companies must also have sufficient funds in relation to the reference amount.

When the sufficiency of funds is determined, the reference amount for all of the customer’s procedures is summed up (import, transit, warehousing and special procedures), that is, the amount of customs debt, customs duty liability and tax liability.

The guarantees that the customer provides to Customs are deducted from the reference amount, and the reference amount not covered by the guarantee is compared with the customer’s total balance sum according to the chart below.

Funds are considered sufficient when the total balance sum is at least 50 % of the non-guarantee reference amount:

  • (Total reference amount – guarantees) / total balance amount ≤ 2.

In guarantee category BD, the requirement for sufficient funds is scaled according to equity ratio so that when the ratio increases, the requirement for sufficient funds is based on a lower total balance sum.

Requirements for sufficient funds in guarantee categories:

Guarantee category Equity ratio required for the guarantee category Maximum reference amount without guarantee in relation to the balance *)
BA Negative -
BB ≥ 0 % 2
BC ≥ 5 % 2
BD ≥ 10 % 2
BD ≥ 15 % 3
BD ≥ 20 % 4
BD ≥ 25 % 5
BD ≥ 30 % 6
BD ≥ 35 % 7
BD ≥ 40 % 8
BD ≥ 45 % 9
BD ≥ 50 % 10

*) Total reference amount – guarantees) / total balance amount

Points to consider

The guarantee category for customs liability is determined when the customer uses transit, warehousing or other special import procedures. In order to qualify for a reduction of the guarantee for customs liability, the customer must have sufficient funds in relation to the reference amount.

When determining if the funds are sufficient, all the different procedures used by the operator are added up (import, transit, warehousing and special procedures); the reference amount, i.e. the amount of customs debt as well as the amount of liability regarding customs duty and taxes.

The guarantees that the customer provides to Customs are deducted from the total reference amount, and the reference amount not covered by the guarantee is compared with the customer’s balance sheet total.

The requirement for sufficient funds is met, when the balance sheet total is at least half of the reference amount with no guarantee:

(Total reference amount – guarantees) / balance sheet total ≤ 2.

In guarantee category BD, the requirement for sufficient funds is additionally scaled according to the equity ratio so that when the ratio increases, the requirement for sufficient funds is based on a lower balance sheet total.

Example:

  • The customer’s total reference amount is 200,000 euros (the import reference amount is 50,000 and the reference amount for inward processing is 150,000 euros).
  • The balance sheet total is 60,000 euros and the equity ratio is 10 %.
  • The customer has no payment delays or payment disruptions.

When it comes to customs debt, the customer belongs in guarantee category AA (100 %).

Regarding the customs liability, the customer belongs in category BD (0 %) based on their equity ratio and payment behaviour. The customer also meets the requirements regarding e.g. their record keeping and internal audit, which are specific to the guarantee category.

In order to qualify for guarantee reductions, the customer must also have sufficient funds in relation to the reference amount.

Let’s check the sufficient funds in guarantee category BD (0 %):

The amount of guarantee required is 50,000 euros in total. The import guarantee is 100 % of the reference amount and the guarantee for inward processing is 0 %.

 (200,000–50,000 euros) / 60,000 euros = 2,5, i.e. the requirements regarding sufficient funds and guarantee category BD are not fulfilled.

Let’s check the sufficient funds in guarantee category BC (30 %):

The guarantee requirement is 95,000 euros in total (50,000 euros + 45,000 euro). The import guarantee is 100 % of the reference amount and the guarantee for inward processing is 30 %.

 (200,000–95,000 euros) / 60,000 euros = 1,75 i.e. < 2.

The requirement regarding sufficient funds is fulfilled when the customer delivers a guarantee in accordance with guarantee category BC for the customs liability, and a guarantee in accordance with guarantee category AA for the customs debt.