Important Notice for Customs Clearance Agents, Freight Forwarders, Carriers, Exporters Exporting goods from Ireland to a non-eu country via a Port or Airport in Other EU Member States June 2012
1. Introduction The purpose of this Notice is to advise all Customs Clearance Agents, Freight Forwarders, Carriers, Exporters and any others involved in the export of goods from Ireland to any non-eu country, via a port or airport in Other Member States (OMS), of the correct manner in which to complete an Export Single Administrative Document (SAD). It also outlines the procedure to be followed in Ireland and in OMS where the electronic Export Control System is used to transmit information from the Customs Office of Export in Ireland to the Customs Office of Exit in OMS. In addition there is a specific section relating to the process to be followed for goods being exported from Ireland and exiting the EU via the UK. It is important that the information contained in this Notice is used by all parties involved in the export of the goods to ensure that: Exporters do not encounter any difficulty in exporting goods via the OMS; and Exporters can demonstrate to Revenue at a later stage that the goods were in fact exported from the European Union. 2. Export Categories Goods being exported from Ireland to a non-eu country via a port or airport in OMS fall into two categories. These are: a) Indirect exports - An indirect export is an export where goods are exported from an Irish port or airport and travel to a non-eu country via a port or airport in OMS e.g. goods being exported from Dublin Port (Office of Export) via Rotterdam in the Netherlands (Office of Exit) to a port in the United States of America. b) Exports under a Single Transport Contract Goods being exported under a Single Transport Contract, even though they may exit the Community via a port or airport in OMS, may be regarded as direct exports at the request of the person lodging the export SAD. It is important that, prior to completion of the export SAD, declarants are aware of the correct export category of their goods, as the accurate completion of the SAD is dependent on the export category of the goods. 3. Completion of the Export SAD a) Indirect Exports Where the export of the goods from Ireland to the final non-eu destination is via a port or airport in OMS, and where the transport of the goods is not covered by a Single Transport Contract, Box 29 of the SAD should be completed with the details of the Office of Exit in OMS i.e. the details of the
Customs Office in the port/airport from which the goods will exit the Community e.g. Heathrow, Frankfurt etc. The list of relevant Office codes are available on the Europa link: http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/dds2/col/col_search_home.jsp?lang=en The Export Control System is then used to transmit information from the Customs Office of Export in Ireland to the Customs Office of Exit in OMS. (See Section 4 for more details). b) Exports under a Single Transport Contract Where the export of the goods from Ireland to the final non-eu destination is via a port or airport in OMS, where the transport of the goods is covered by a Single Transport Contract and where the declarant wishes that the Irish Customs Office be regarded as the Office of Export and the Office of Exit, Box 29 of the SAD should be completed with the details of the Office of Export in Ireland i.e. Dublin Airport, Shannon Airport, etc. (See Section 5 for more details). c) Export and Transit Certain exports are required to be placed under the Transit regime (e.g. if going to/through EFTA countries). In this situation the export should be declared as a direct export, i.e. Box29 should be completed with the same details as BoxA. Transit declarations lodged in NCTS covers goods from Ireland to destination and the Export MRN should be quoted in the transit declaration. 4. Export Control System ECS is an electronic system that enables Customs Administrations in all Member States of the EU to communicate with each other in relation to indirect exports. All indirect exports, i.e. where goods exit the Community via another Member State and where they are not moving under a Single Transport Contract, are processed under ECS. Where export SADs are submitted to AEP in which Box 29 shows the Office of Exit to be in an OMS, the movement is automatically processed though ECS. On receipt of clearance from AEP, the declarant should print the Export Accompanying Document (EAD) and the EAD should accompany the goods on their movement to the Office of Exit. An automatic message is also generated from the Customs Office of Export to the Office of Exit to inform that Office that the goods are on their way. The EAD must travel with the goods and be passed to the person who is responsible for the exit of the goods from the Community. On arrival of the goods at the Office of Exit, the EAD should be presented to Customs by the declarant or agent working at the point of exit. The Customs authorities in some Member States may require notification of arrival of the goods at the customs Office of Exit to be communicated to them electronically. This will
allow Customs in the Office of Exit to supervise the physical exit of the goods from the EU and also to inform the Office of Export in Ireland that exit has taken place. Subsequently, the declarant in Ireland will receive a further message from AEP confirming exit of the goods from the EU. 5. Single Transport Contract A Single Transport Contract (STC) is a through contract for the carriage of goods from their place of departure (Ireland) to their place of final destination outside of the Community and is usually indicated in the Bill of Lading or the Airway Bill. When goods are covered by an STC the declarant can request Customs in the Office of Export to also carry out the exit formalities. In order to so, the Office of Export code (Box A) and the Office of Exit code (Box 29) must be the same. In these cases the goods are deemed to have exited the Community from Ireland. It is not possible to use STC where final exit from the EU is to be by road. 6. Exports via the UK (Specific Procedures) Where export SADs are submitted to AEP in which Box 29 shows the Office of Exit to be in the UK (e.g. GB000084 Heathrow), the movement is automatically processed though ECS. On receipt of clearance from AEP, the declarant should print the Export Accompanying Document (EAD) and the EAD should accompany the goods on their movement to the UK. An automatic message is also generated from the Customs Office of Export to the Office of Exit to inform that Office that the goods are on their way. The EAD must travel with the goods and be passed to the person who is responsible for the exit of the goods from the UK. Goods being exported from Ireland, which are exiting the Community via a UK port or airport, must be processed in the UK Customs systems by the creation of a C21 export clearance request using CPC 1000043. The C21 must be input to CHIEF (Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight) prior to export loading. Once the C21 for any indirect export consignment shows on CHIEF as 'departed', the original EAD, and a copy of the relevant CHIEF S8 (Departure) or X2 (Acceptance) output, should be forwarded to the National Clearance Hub (NCH) at Harwich. A freepost service is available for use by the trade in the UK to assist in meeting this requirement (Note: Freepost address not applicable from outside UK). Envelopes must be addressed as follows:
FREEPOST RSGB-SXRC-YBYR HM Revenue & Customs ECS Helpdesk Central Community Transit Office Custom House Main Road Dovercourt Harwich Essex CO12 3PG The person in the UK responsible for the exit of the goods and the inputting of the relevant information outlined above to the HMRC systems, should send the relevant documents to the above address on a daily basis. After satisfactory scrutiny of the documentation provided, the NCH will scan the EAD into the UK s ECS application and this will update the ECS system in Ireland. Furthermore when the goods are moving under a Single Transport Contract via the UK, there is no requirement to complete a C21 export clearance request nor should any documentation be forwarded to the NCH in Harwich. Please note that no documentation will be returned by the NCH. Failure to follow the prescribed procedures may result in delays and potential problems for the Irish exporter. 7. Assistance required/queries It is important that agents, exporters and others involved in the export of goods from Ireland to non-eu countries via an OMS port or airport, are aware of the data that should be input on the Export SAD and the procedure to be followed where the Export Control System is used. Please note the above processes and inform your agents and traders at exit in the Member States, so they are aware of these processes also. Compliance with these exit procedures are vital to ensure that the Export Control System (ECS) operates correctly. Any queries, comments and/or questions on the contents of this Notice can be emailed to ecs@revenue.ie or (067) 63340 / 63222 / 63449.