Transit Customs Clearance

There are two types of transit documents:

• T1 Document: a transport document is needed if you want to transport goods coming from outside the European Union that haven’t been brought into free circulation (import cleared) yet.
• T2 Document: a transport document is needed if you want to transport goods that are in free circulation in the EU through or to countries that are not member states, like Iceland, Liechtenstein, Macedonia, Norway, Switzerland, and Turkey.

The T1 transit procedure is started by the exporting customs broker, who is also liable for the payment of duty and VAT on the goods. Because of this taxes can be levied on your goods by any transit country(ies) if the procedure is not completed at the destination country, preventing the use of T1 forms to bypass paying duty and VAT to customs.

To obtain a T1 customs form, your transit broker will need to complete the declaration electronically on NCTS, before the haulier can book in to present your goods to the border agency and make the T1 form live. Once the T1 form is live, a copy of this must travel with your goods so that any inspecting border agents can identify the goods are travelling under a T1 transit procedure.

T1 customs forms are closed off at the destination by presenting your goods to a border agency. The import clearance agent will also need to declare your T1 forms on their declaration to customs so that there is a record that the duty and VAT have been paid.

After sending us an instruction to create the transit document, there are several pieces of information and documents that we need from you to create the transit document. T1 forms are created using the same documentation required for an export customs clearance (commercial invoice, packing list, and a transport document as a minimum).

Your customs broker will be able to complete both declarations simultaneously, provided your broker has a transit guarantee that allows them to raise T1s.

For a customs broker to have the authorisation to begin the T1 transit procedure, they need to have a guarantee that they can allocate the duty and VAT of a shipment. If your T1 customs form is not closed off at the destination, the customs broker has guaranteed they will pay the taxes.

Your transit broker is only allowed a finite amount of duty and VAT to be allocated against their guarantee at any time so that there is always enough capital to pay any outstanding taxes. At Customs Support, we have links to all ports and have the authorisation to complete T1 transit procedures.

How long your transit document will take depends on the complexity and quantity of data submitted. Once your T1 customs form has gone live, it is expected to be closed off within 2-3 weeks. After this, customs will begin the process of reclaiming the duty and VAT from your customs broker.

During stage 1 of the reclaim, the Central Community Transit Office (CCTO) will send a notice to your customs broker that they need evidence of the T1 transit procedure being completed so that they can close the T1 customs form on the NCTS.

One month after the stage 1 notice, the CCTO will issue a “Right to be heard” notice, which gives another month to produce evidence that the T1 form has been closed off.

After this months’ notice ends, your customs broker will be issued with a C18 payment demand for the duty and VAT that is owed on the shipment.

Customs Support completes the T1 transit procedure for many exporters and we have expanded our guarantees since Brexit so that we can accommodate your shipments. If you need a customs broker that can raise T1 forms, or require any other customs services, please contact us today.

A transit zone is an area set aside for the transit of goods or passengers through a country. Goods in the transit zone are subject to customs and cannot be processed or used. The transit zone aims to facilitate and speed up the movement of goods and people by avoiding unnecessary delays and bureaucracy.

Goods in transit are goods which are transported from a country of origin to a country of destination or receipt, but which must cross the territory of a third country to reach their destination. These goods are transported through the third country for a limited period of time and cannot be used or sold during this journey. Instead, they remain under the control of the customs authorities and can only be legally transported to the third country after undergoing certain procedures.