Members have recently raised concerns regarding the procedures followed by some customs agents when dealing with shipments moved under Common Transit.
At a recent Member Meeting, compliant Members highlighted that they were aware that in many cases, presumably either to gain time and thus a competitive advantage or because of lack of knowledge, that both the TAD MRN and also the Customs Declaration MRN for the same consignment were declared on the Goods Movement Reference.
The attached guidance specifically relates to movements including a pre-lodged customs declaration.
All Members should be aware of and follow these procedures for transit movements. In communication to BIFA, HMRC has clearly stated that if something were to go wrong, such as a driver not reporting to an IBF, to discharge the transit movement; –
“A transit irregularity might be issued despite an earlier Free Circulation declaration being made and it be for the trader to confirm that the goods on the two declarations were the same. This could result in two amounts of duty being at stake not to mention civil penalties for either transit failures, improper free circulation declarations or both”.
