The Belgian General Administration of Customs and Excise (Belgian Customs)[1] published a General No Deal Brexit Note, dated 1 August 2019 (“General No Deal Brexit Note”).[2] This note, which provides practical guidance on customs formalities in the event of a No Deal, should be consulted by all companies that trade with the UK. Please note that the General No Deal Brexit note may be updated over time.
The General No Deal Brexit note is the result of consultations between the Belgian Customs and private partners within the framework of the National Forum. The Brexit subgroup, which PwC Legal attends, is a working group that aims at preparing Belgian Customs, Belgian ports and private companies for the effect of Brexit so that existing flows of goods will experience the least disruption possible and so that Belgian Customs will be able to operate at the same level.
An overview, which is based on the General No Deal Brexit Note, can be found here. Some references and clarifications have been added, given the technical nature of some of the terms.
As a result of Brexit, trade in goods with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK) will be subject to the provisions of the Union Customs Code (UCC)[3] and the relevant customs formalities at the point of entry into the EU27’s Customs Territory.
1. Use of Single Administrative Document (SAD) for import and export declarations involving the UK
Upon a No Deal Brexit, the UK becomes a third country: trade in goods to and from the UK will no longer benefit from the free movement of goods within the EU Customs Territory. The UK acceded to the Convention of 28 May 1987 on simplifications of formalities in trade in goods (“Convention on Simplifications of Formalities”).[4] The accession of the UK will become effective as of the date that Brexit takes effect or of the date that any transitional arrangements cease to apply.
Under the Convention on Simplifications of Formalities, the UK will use the Single Administrative Document (SAD), both for import and export declarations. When trading with the UK, declarations will require the “EU” code in the first subdivision of box 1 of the Single Administrative Document. See generally on SAD: https://financien.belgium.be/nl/douane_accijnzen/ondernemingen/douane/enig-document
2. Entry Summary Declaration upon import in the EU27
After Brexit, an Entry Summary Declaration (ENS) must be submitted to the customs office of first entry into the EU27 within the time limits laid down in the UCC. Risk analyses will be carried out for security and safety purposes.
The ENS remains the responsibility of the (main) carrier, but may also be submitted by others, as provided for in art. 127 UCC. If a (ferry) vessel has both unaccompanied and accompanied means of transport (de facto tractor-trailer combinations) on board, the ferry company is responsible for filing the ENS for the full shipload.
A recent amendment to the Code,[5] which will enter into force when Brexit occurs, determines that the time limit for lodging the ENS declaration for carriage at sea from the UK not later than two hours before the vessel arrives at the first port of call of entry into the EU customs territory.
The ENS obligation shall also apply to transit declarations. In Belgium, it is not yet possible to send in the ENS via NCTS, although customs legislation provides for joint filing.
3. Temporary Storage Declaration (TSD)
The Temporary Storage Declaration (TSD) must be submitted by the person who has placed the goods in the warehouse, or in general the person who is presenting the goods (Art. 139(1)(a) UCC). This declaration contains information on the goods to be unloaded.[6] The EDIFACT[7] message “CUSCAR”[8] must be used for this purpose. This message is sent in the goods accounting of PLDA.[9] As CUSCAR reference number for trailers, without bill of lading, the booking number must be used (cf. bill of lading number for containers).
4. Declaration of a customs procedure
The port authority notifies the arrival of the seagoing vessel to customs, by means of the port system. From that moment on, declarations of customs procedures can be submitted, for the purposes of automatic discharge of the goods concerned in the goods accounting of PLDA.
5. Transit shipments
After Brexit, the UK will benefit from the Convention of 28 May 1987 on the common transit procedure in goods as the UK has acceded to this Convention of 28 May 1987 (“Common Transit Convention”).[10] The accession of the UK will become effective as of the date that Brexit takes effect or of the date that any transitional arrangements cease to apply.
This enables common transit from, to and through the UK, and implies that the UK uses the Single Administrative Document or SAD.
- Movement UK-BE
For administrative simplicity’s sake, for all consignments covered by a T-document, the Customs office in the relevant port in Belgium will be deemed to be the Customs office of transit. The Belgian customs authorities will register all shipments as presented at the Customs office of transit.
If the Customs office in the port is also the office of destination, the goods in question should also be presented to Customs at the level of the office of destination. For the port of Zeebrugge, this will be at the Border Inspection Post (BIP).[11] For the port of Antwerp, this will be the customs post competent for the place of discharge.
If the goods are destined for a holder of an authorization approved place, including loading and unloading area (LUA), the goods will, after the notification of transit by the Customs office of transit and after leaving the terminal, make their way to the LUA, so that the arrival of the goods can be registered in NCTS.[12]
On the freight list (CUSCAR), T-shipments must be marked with code “TT”, so that they can be cleared automatically.
- Movement BE-UK
The procedure for exit does not change in the event that a Belgian port is the Customs office of destination.
At the moment, there are few cases where consignments leave Belgium and where the Customs office of destination is located in another Common Transit Convention-member state. Due to their small number, T-documents are often replaced.
After Brexit, this traffic seems to be more viable in order to prevent congestion at Customs offices in the ports.
These shipments can leave the EU via a Belgian border point. The transit document must be mentioned on the manifest to avoid constituting an export without document. The registration of transit shall take place at the Customs office of transit in the country of destination, or, in this case the, UK.
A digital solution through community systems is permitted by the Belgian Customs authorities but has not been put into practice up until now.
6. Working method for empty trailers and containers
Since PLDA18.1 it is possible to include both empty containers and empty trailers in CUSCAR, with corresponding indication “E”. This indication shall be considered by Customs as an oral declaration and automatically clears the container or trailer of CUSCAR.
Trailers with a container number (format of 4 letters and 7 numbers) can be linked analogously to containers listed under this number on CUSCAR. Regarding empty trailers without container number, the booking-ID or the number plate may be used as identification number
- Manual procedure
If empty containers or trailers are not (or cannot be) listed on the CUSCAR, the declaration will be made on the basis of art. 139 UCC by mail to the competent Mobile Team. See Note TCV-SCC00.011.848 (Antwerp Region) and the equivalent notes at other border points.
If there is no notification of an inspection by Customs within four (4) hours after sending the list, then the empty containers or trailers may be considered officially released.
7. Arrival at exit for staggered consignments
For one export shipment (one Master Reference Number or MRN),[13] goods can be delivered in several partial shipments, causing for an arrival at exit message to be drawn up each time. As long as no exit confirmation has been issued, it is possible to send arrival notifications for the same MRN number. After submitting the exit confirmation, the Customs authorities will check whether all declared goods have left the customs territory. Afterwards, the status of “outgoing” will be assigned to the MRN number.
If the MRN is fully cleared before exit, no further arrival at exit messages can be generated.
For each part of the consignment that arrives, an arrival notification must be issued. When sending in a first part of the shipment, the charge report is assigned the status “arrived at exit”. Afterwards, the following consignments can be sent in. Each subsequent arrival notification will be registered for this MRN but the status of the MRN will no longer change.
Please note that as long as not all goods have arrived, it is important to have a pending arrival notification. Once all goods that have arrived are actually exported (i.e. exit for MRN is confirmed), then the arrival notification will be closed.
8. Working method returned goods
In principle, EU goods located in the UK after Brexit will not be able to use the working method for Returning Goods under the UCC since they would not have been able to be placed under an outgoing regime: before Brexit goods going to the UK would not be leaving the EU customs territory or would not be exported out of the EU. Art. 203 UCC on Returned Goods requires, in order to benefit from this relief of customs duties rule, that goods would originally be “exported as Union goods from the customs territory of the Union.”[14] Since Art. 253 of the Implementing Regulation of the UCC (UCC IA)[15] allows for other methods of evidence than just the export declaration, the following options are possible to avoid a double taxation of Union goods:
- Shipments can be submitted to a Belgian sub-office or to a Belgian Customs audit service prior to delivery to the UK. This service may issue a T2L certificate, which at the time of the subsequent introduction established that the goods have already been released for free circulation.
Art. 123 of the Delegated Regulation of the UCC (UCC-DA)[16] provides for a period of validity for a T2L certificate of 90 days, but allows for an extension by Belgian Customs. Brexit can be regarded as a legitimate reason for a possible extension.
- Goods located in the UK after Brexit, but for which there is no evidence of Union status, will have to be placed under a (customs) procedure in order to be used as non-Union goods (from third countries), to return to the EU customs territory.
- Operators who are licensed to demonstrate Union status of goods (art. 128 UCC-DA), can, in light of Brexit, make use of this opportunity.
9. Diversion of verification
In order to minimize the risk of capacity shortages at border points, the UCC and Belgian Customs offer several facilitating measures. The use of loading and unloading bays is an option, as is the diversion of verification by AEO[17] authorization holders on the basis of art. 24 of the UCC-DA.
In order to make use of the diversion of verification, the Single Administrative Document (SAD) should be filed as follows:
- The office of validation (Box A) is the office where the goods will be placed under the requested customs procedure;
- Box 30 (location of the goods) shall contain the location code of the location where the verification is to occur;
- Box 44 shall contain code 3069, followed by the number of the AEO-authorisation.
The most important conditions to be met are that the operator has AEO licensing, and disposes of a Customs approved or designated area. The necessary practical arrangements must be made with the Chambre de Régie / regiekamer for all practical modalities of verification.
The internal note for Belgian Customs has the reference 2019/OPS/CC/D00020 from 1 July 2019.
10. Application of the emergency procedure
In the run-up to Brexit and the expected increase in the number of tax returns, Belgian Customs has performed a number of stress tests on PLDA and NCTS. These have had a positive result so far. For various reasons, the application of the emergency procedure can never be ruled out.
More information on the practicalities of the emergency procedure can be found here: https://financien.belgium.be/nl/douane_accijnzen/ondernemingen/noodproceduresda/omzendbrief-nps-ed
Please note that the circular regarding the emergency procedure does not refer to the recent obligation to send in the arrival at exit yet. If, after the application of the emergency procedure, the system becomes available again, it is necessary to take the following sequence into account: First, the arrival at exit must be sent in by the handling agent and, subsequently, the export declaration must be sent in by the ship’s agent. No arrival report may be submitted before there is an MRN. Thus, mutual coordination between the two parties is required. If not, evidence will need to be presented in case of post-clearance checks.
11. Operating hours of the Belgian Customs
Operators can submit declarations during customs working hours. If a company wishes to make use of the more extended working hours, it must hold an AEO-C certificate.
12. Cross-border customs authorizations
In the event of a no-Deal Brexit, cross-border authorizations issued by the UK are invalid as from the day of Brexit. In case of a cross-border authorization, the license holder is by definition established in the UK. The main administration of the licensee must be located in the UK.
“EU27 authorizations” (including Belgian ones) with the UK as participating member do not invalidate an authorization. The provisions concerning the UK will be without purpose, which makes the license invalid for elements that concern the UK (warehouse or location of processing in the UK). The license will have to be modified which will also have consequences for goods that, at the time of Brexit, are still under a procedure in the UK 7/7. The special procedures shall be terminated for all goods which are subject to a subsequent procedure in application of a cross-border customs authorization in the UK. For example, in case of inward processing, the procedure shall end immediately and not according to the normal time limit for processing.
13. Export of dual-use goods
Exports of dual-use goods to the UK will be subject to the provisions of the Dual-Use Regulation (428/2009).[18] However, the system of Union authorization will apply, so that operators do not have to apply for and submit an individual export license.
In order to use the system, exporters must register with the competent regional authorization authority. If the conditions are violated, Belgian Customs will identify the violation. The Union authorization is in no way an exemption from the licensing requirement.
[1] Algemene Administratie Douane & Accijnzen (AAD&A) / Administration Générale des Douanes et Accises (AGD&A) : https://financien.belgium.be/nl/douane_accijnzen/over-de-aada; https://finances.belgium.be/fr/douanes_accises/propos-de-lagda
[2] See, in Dutch and French: https://financien.belgium.be/nl/Actueel/algemene-nota-no-deal-brexit; https://finances.belgium.be/fr/Actualites/note-g%C3%A9n%C3%A9rale-no-deal-brexit
[3] Regulation EU 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 October 2013 laying down the Union Customs Code, OJ L 269, 10 October 2013
[4] OJ L 134, 22 May 1987; EU Commission, TAXUD, Note for the attention of the Trade Contact Group, ARES(2019)686599, 4 February 2019, https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/sites/taxation/files/04-02-2019-convention-common-transit-procedure_en.pdf
[5] Commission Delegated Regulation of the UCC (EU) 2018/334 of the Commission of 19 December 2018; see https://ec.europa.eu/transparency/regdoc/rep/3/2018/EN/C-2018-9094-F1-EN-MAIN-PART-1.PDF: Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446 is amended as follows: “(1) in Article 105(c), the following point is added: ‘(vi) all ports of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man;’; (2) in Article 244(1)(a), point (ii) is replaced by the following: ‘(ii) for containerised cargo movements between the customs territory of the Union and Greenland, the Faeroe Islands, Iceland or ports on the Baltic Sea, the North Sea, the Black Sea or the Mediterranean, all ports of Morocco and all ports of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, at the latest two hours before departure from a port in the customs territory of the Union;”
[6] Article 145 UCC
[7] EDIFACT is an international standard for electronic data interchange (EDI)
[8] Customs cargo message
[9] PLDA or PaperLess Douane en Accijnzen
[10] OJ L 134, 22 May 1987; EU Commission, TAXUD, Note for the attention of the Trade Contact Group, ARES(2019)686599, 4 February 2019, https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/sites/taxation/files/04-02-2019-convention-common-transit-procedure_en.pdf
[11] Grensinspectiepost – GIP / Poste d’inspection frontalier - PIF
[12] New Computerised Transit System
[13] The MRN is a unique number in the EU that is automatically allocated by the Customs office that receives or validates and accepts an electronic customs declaration, a re-export declaration, exit summary declaration (EXS) or a re-export notification. See, “EXPORT AND EXIT OUT OF THE EUROPEAN UNION – Title VIII UCC” "Guidance document for MSs and Trade" (revised), Ares(2019)4272826, 4 July 2019, p. 8, https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/sites/taxation/files/resources/documents/customs/customs_code/guidance_export_en.pdf
[14] Art. 204, 1 UCC: “Non-Union goods which, having originally been exported as Union goods from the customs territory of the Union, are returned to that territory within a period of three years and declared for release for free circulation shall, upon application by the person concerned, be granted relief from import duty.”
[15] Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2447 of 24 November 2015 laying down detailed rules for implementing certain provisions of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down the Union Customs Code, OJ L 343, 29 December 2015.
[16] Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446 of 28 July 2015 supplementing Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards detailed rules concerning certain provisions of the Union Customs Code, OJ L 343, 29 December 2015
[17] Authorized Economic Operator
[18] Regulation (EC) No 428/2009 setting up a Community regime for the control of exports, transfer, brokering and transit of dual- use items, OJ L 134, 29 May 2009
