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Customs duties

Practical guidance, commentary and support on UK customs duties, including information on the new freeports.

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HMRC announces phased approach to CDS export migration

Most businesses will now have until 30 March 2024 to migrate from the customs handling of import and export freight (CHIEF) system.
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EU unveils landmark customs reform proposals

Unwieldy sprawl of administrations and IT links to be replaced with single authority in charge of unified data hub, under measures tabled as friendlier to traders.
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UK Internal Market Scheme replaces UK Trader Scheme from September

The Internal Market Scheme will replace the UK Trader Scheme on 30 September 2023. It will allow traders moving goods to Northern Ireland from Great Britain to demonstrate that the goods are not at risk of moving to the EU.
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Articles and features

Exports: when do you need additional customs paperwork?
  • Article
  • 21 Mar 2024
Depending on the sector and the goods being shipped, additional documentation commitments may also exist, so it’s important to understand your business’s specific obligations and, if using a customs agent, whether they can support these needs.
Exporting goods: how to nail the paperwork
  • Article
  • 21 Mar 2024
Greater international trade will have huge economic benefits for the UK, but red tape is putting many companies off the process. Here’s what you need to know.
UK exporters must switch to CDS by June
  • Article
  • 04 Mar 2024
The deadline to transition from using CHIEF to CDS for export declarations has been extended to 4 June 2024. Businesses are advised to switch early to avoid potential disruption.
Tax news in brief 28 February 2024
  • Article
  • 27 Feb 2024
Highlights from the broader tax news for the week ending 28 February 2024, including: a new income tax exemption for the Champions League final, tips from HMRC on paying PAYE and filing an ATED return; and the EU’s new digital system for union goods.
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Useful links

Some resources that we link to may pre-date the latest amendments to the relevant tax regulations. While these links contain useful information, please treat them with appropriate caution.

Check how to import or export goods
  • Website
  • 03 Oct 2023
  • HMRC

Use this service to check how to import and export goods if you’re a business, self-employed or an agent acting on behalf of a business.

Get an EORI number
  • Website
  • 28 Sep 2023
  • HMRC
Guidance on getting a Economic Operators Registration and Identification number.
Check if you can claim National Insurance relief in UK Freeport tax sites
  • Website
  • 28 Feb 2022
  • HMRC
Guidance on claiming relief from employer Class 1 National Insurance contributions when you employ someone in a UK Freeport tax site.
Trading and moving goods in and out of Northern Ireland
  • Website
  • 07 Dec 2020
  • HMRC

How to prepare if you trade and move goods in and out of Northern Ireland.

Get someone to deal with customs for you
  • Website
  • 12 Jan 2019
  • HMRC

Find out how you can hire a person or business to deal with customs for you.

Apply to use the Freeport customs special procedure
  • Website
  • 20 Sep 2021
  • HMRC
Guidance for businesses that want to move goods into or out of a Freeport customs site. It covers who should apply, what you'll need, and what happens after applying, with links to forms.

ICAEW accepts no responsibility for the content on any site to which a hypertext link from this site exists. The links are provided ‘as is’ with no warranty, express or implied, for the information provided within them. Please see the full copyright and disclaimer notice.

Bloomsbury Accounting and Tax Service

Eligible firms have free access to Bloomsbury Professional's comprehensive online library, comprising around 80 titles from some of the country's leading tax and accounting subject matter experts. Find out who is eligible and how you can access the Accounting and Tax Service.

Exclusive Freeports
  • eBook chapter
  • 2023
  • Robert W.Maas
  • Property Taxes
A section on taxation of freeports in the UK, written for tax practitioners.
Exclusive Simplified Customs Declaration Process (SCDP)
  • eBook
  • 2021
  • HMRC
HMRC's Simplified Customs Declaration Processes (SCDP) manual (previously known as Customs Freight Simplified Procedures (CFSP)). Following the UK’s exit from the EU, this manual is now under review. Content will be revised where necessary on a section by section basis.
Exclusive Customs Authorisation and Approval
  • eBook
  • 2020
  • HMRC
This guidance is for the use of businesses, HMRC and Border Force staff concerned with the authorisation and approval of economic operators and their premises for customs regimes and procedures.
Terms of use

You are permitted to access, download, copy, or print out content from eBooks for your own research or study only, subject to the Acceptable usage terms.

Recordings

Freeports
  • Webinar
  • 19 Oct 2022
This webinar from the Tax Faculty will provide details of the potential VAT and duty benefits of operating within a Freeport area.
VAT changes in Europe
  • Webinar
  • 10 Dec 2020
This webinar runs through post-Brexit VAT changes for overseas sellers exporting to Europe.

eBooks

The Library & Information Service provides a collection of eBooks as a benefit of membership. Please log in to access these titles. If you are unable to access an eBook, please see our Help and support or contact library@icaew.com.

Exclusive Best practice and planning
  • eBook chapter
  • 2016
  • Andrew Rimmer
  • Trading Places - VAT and Customs
A chapter to assist companies in planning their tax liability when trading with and within the EU. The information can help you identify the important questions to determine your role in a transaction and your obligations under the EU customs code.
Exclusive Valuation – valuing the goods for customs ad valorem duty
  • eBook chapter
  • 2016
  • Andrew Rimmer
  • Trading Places - VAT and Customs
This chapter covers the six methods that can be applied to value goods for EU customs duty.
Exclusive Intra-EU transactions
  • eBook chapter
  • 2016
  • Andrew Rimmer
  • Trading Places - VAT and Customs
Dispatches and arrivals within the EU are treated very differently from exports; they are not subject to the same customs barriers. This chapter looks at the usual procedures but features sections on the special situations where different customs rules apply.
Exclusive Remission of import duty and import VAT
  • eBook chapter
  • 2016
  • Andrew Rimmer
  • Trading Places - VAT and Customs
This chapter sets out circumstances where import duty and import VAT may be remitted under EU customs legislation. It covers goods not in accordance with contract, or goods imported in special situations, and also touches on Customs Civil Penalties (CCP) and Customs Civil Evasion Penalties (CCEP).
Exclusive Import duty and import VAT reliefs
  • eBook chapter
  • 2016
  • Andrew Rimmer
  • Trading Places - VAT and Customs
A summary of the reliefs on import duty and import VAT available under EU customs legislation, including zero-rated items.
Exclusive Exports
  • eBook chapter
  • 2016
  • Andrew Rimmer
  • Trading Places - VAT and Customs
An overview of exporting from the UK. The chapter covers VAT treatment of direct and indirect exports, customs and excise, and the different types of export declaration.
Exclusive Accounting for import duty and import VAT
  • eBook chapter
  • 2016
  • Andrew Rimmer
  • Trading Places - VAT and Customs
The customs debt is collected by HMRC on behalf of the European Commission. This chapter shows how to calculate the import VAT amount due under EU customs legislation.
Exclusive Reliefs from import duty
  • eBook chapter
  • 2016
  • Andrew Rimmer
  • Trading Places - VAT and Customs
This chapter covers the schemes which offer goods relief from EU customs duty.
Terms of use

You are permitted to access, download, copy, or print out content from eBooks for your own research or study only, subject to the terms of use set by our suppliers and any restrictions imposed by individual publishers. Please see individual supplier pages for full terms of use.

Articles and books in the ICAEW Library collection

The collection of the ICAEW Library & Information Service includes a range of articles, books and reports on customs duties. A selection of books covering this topic is set out below.
Brexit: VAT and customs in practice
  • Library book
  • 2021
  • R. Tierney
  • LexisNexis
A brief guide to the implications of Brexit for the VAT and customs treatment of goods moved between the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and Great Britain.
Tax implications of Brexit
  • Library book
  • 2021
  • N. Saccardo (ed.)
  • Bloomsbury Professional
This book provides an in-depth analysis of the tax ramifications of Brexit in both the United Kingdom and EU member states. Contributing authors identify immediate and future issues that may be faced post-Brexit, and put forward suggestions as to how associated risks might be mitigated.
International trade: the post-Brexit landscape
  • Library book
  • 2021
  • H. Baig
  • LexisNexis
A brief digest summarising post-Brexit issues around customs duty and customs unions. Aimed at those considering trading with the EU and the rest of the world, and their advisers.

To find out how you can borrow books from the Library please see our guide to borrowing books.

You can obtain copies of articles or extracts of books and reports through our document supply service.

Freeports and investment zones

Information on the UK government's policy and plans to create freeports and investment zones, which are areas that will benefit from a range of tax and other incentives including enhanced capital allowances., Freeports also benefit from a suspension from customs duties for imported goods and less burdensome customs procedures.

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