Making an entry summary declaration

The other territories where the entry summary declaration waiver applies to are:

• Andorra
• MonacoCeuta and Melilla
• NorwayHeligoland
• Liechtenstein
• SwitzerlandMonaco
• Ceuta and MelillaNorway
• Heligoland
• San Marino
• the Vatican City StateSwitzerland
• the municipalities of Livigno Campione d’Italia
• the Italian national waters of Lake Lugano, which are between the bank and the political frontier of the area between Ponte Tresa and Porto Ceresio
• the Vatican City State

Who should submit

The governmentlegal requirement to submit a declaration lies with the carrier. This is the operator of the active means of transport on, or in, which the goods are brought into the customs territory.

It is the carrier’s responsibility to make sure that the declaration is submitted within the legal time limits, and it must only be done by a representative or third party with the carrier’s knowledge and consent.

Goods travelling by rail

If your goods are travelling by rail, the carrier will be the rail freight operator who is authorised to traction the train through the Channel Tunnel into Great Britain.

Goods travelling by air or sea

If your goods are travelling by air or sea, the legal requirement is with the party that has publishedcontracted and issued the bill of lading or an air waybill, for the carriage of the goods into Great Britain or Northern Ireland.

For sea, this means the shipping company is responsible, and for air, the airline.

Goods travelling by roll-on roll-off (RoRo)

If your goods are travelling by roll-on roll-off:

• the haulage company is responsible for lodging the declaration for accompanied goods
• the ferry operator is responsible for lodging the declaration for unaccompanied goods

Goods travelling by combined transport

In the case of combined transport (such as a truck carried on a ferry), the obligation to file an entry summary declaration lies with the operator of the active means of transport (the carrier) on arrival in the UK.

If a truck is carried on a ferry, and will drive off the ferry on arrival in the UK, the obligation lies with the trucking company.

If a ferry is transporting an unaccompanied trailer or container, the active means of transport is the ferry, even when the trailer or container could be attached to a truck when it arrives at its destination.

Who else can submit a declaration

The entry summary declaration can be submitted by a third party on the carrier’s behalf. A third party cannot file without the knowledge and consent of the carrier. The carrier remains responsible for ensuring the declaration is submitted on time.

Commercial terms and conditions can be used when arranging for a third party to file on the carrier’s behalf. This may involve amending an existing contract or creating a new draftone. borderThe targetcontract operatingshould modelstate that a third party has consent to file on the carrier’s behalf and how this will be evidenced. The contract will also show which conditions and terms apply (such as the time for submission of controlsthe settingdeclaration, the shipments involved and the duration of the filing arrangement).

Without evidence suggesting otherwise, the customs authorities may assume that:

• the carrier has given consent under contractual arrangements
• a third party lodging a declaration has done so with the carrier’s knowledge and consent

If responsibility for filing is passed to a third party, the legal liability to make sure that an entry summary declaration has been submitted still remains with the carrier. However, the responsibility that the information provided is accurate lies with whoever is submitting the entry summary declaration.

Find out futuremore requirementsabout getting someone to deal with customs for safetyyou.

Goods that do not need an entry summary declaration

You do not need to make an entry summary declaration for goods if you are:

• bringing or receiving them into Northern Ireland from an EU country
• moving qualifying Northern Ireland goods from Northern Ireland to Great Britain
• importing goods to Great Britain from the EU (or other countries when this was not previously required)

Some goods also do not need a declaration, including those that are:

• electrical energy
• entering by pipeline
• letters, postcards and securityprinted declarations.material, including those on electronic media
• in a travellers’ personal luggage
• declared to customs orally

You can find a more detailed list in Article 104 of the retained Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446.

When to submit

Depending on the type of transport or shipping service you have used, there are different time limits for submitting your declaration.

How you’re shipping goods	When to submit (minimum timing requirement)
Maritime containerised cargo	at least 24 hours before loading at the port of departure
Maritime bulk or break bulk cargo	at least 4 hours before arrival
Short sea journeys	at least 2 hours before arrival
Short-haul flights — less than 4 hours’ duration	at least at the time of actual take-off
Long-haul flights	at least 4 hours before arrival
Rail and inland waterways	at least 2 hours before arrival
Road traffic	at least 1 hour before arrival

If you’re using the Goods Vehicle Movement Service

The inclusion of any safety and security declaration reference numbers in the Goods Vehicle Movement Service is an optional step. There will be no impact on any vehicles moving without this.

If you choose to include safety and security declaration reference numbers in the Goods Vehicle Movement Service, theyou’ll entryneed summaryto declarationsubmit willyour needentry tosummary bedeclaration submitted at the earliest of either:

• the minimum timing requirement
• before check-in closes

This is to allow for the movement reference number from the entry summary declaration to be recorded in the goods movement reference, which will be validated by the carrier at check in.

Find out more about the Goods Vehicle Movement Service.

Short sea journeys

For short sea journeys, you’ll need to submit your safety and security import declarations need to be submitted at least 2 hours pre-arrival,before arrival, for both containerised and non-containerised imports.

Short sea journeys into Great Britain refers to journeys from:

• the English Channel, or the Atlantic coast of Europe from the point where it meets the English Channel up to and including the port of Algeciras
• Norway
• Ireland
• the Faroe Islands
• Iceland
• ports on the Baltic Sea and the North Sea

Short sea journeys into Northern Ireland refers to journeys from:

• Greenland
• the Faroe Islands
• Norway
• Iceland
• ports on the Baltic Sea, the North Sea, the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea
• all ports of Morocco

How to submit

To submit your declaration, use the:

• S&S GB service for bringing goods into Great Britain
• ICS NI for bringing goods into Northern Ireland

You will need to provide documents and licences for your import.

You will also need information about the:

• goods description or commodity code
• consignor and consignee
• type, amount and packaging of your goods
• mode of transport at the border
• onward journey details

To submit an entry summary declaration of imports into Great Britain, you will also need to know the S&S GB location code for the port of entry.

After you submit

Once your entry summary declaration is accepted, you will be issued with a movement reference number.

If you are moving goods through a port which does not have an inventory linked system, you must generate a goods movement reference using the Goods Vehicle Movement Service. You can choose to submit any safety and security declaration movement reference numbers in the goods movement reference, although this step is optional.

Read more about how to move goods through ports that use the Goods Vehicle Movement Service.

What happens next

The declaration will be risk assessed and the results will be used by the UK Border Force to identify either:

• shipments they wish to prevent being loaded onto the vessel entering Great Britain and Northern Ireland (for deep sea containerised maritime cargo only)
• imports that they may wish to control on entering Great Britain and Northern Ireland

If you get a ‘Do Not Load’ message, the UK Border Force will tell you what to do.

For goods moving into Northern Ireland, if a vessel or aircraft diverts to a different Office of First Entry, you’ll need to submit a diversion request as soon as you know about the diversion. Once your goods arrive in Northern Ireland, you must submit an arrival notification.

Find out more about customs declarations when bringing your goods to the UK.

Making an amendment

Your declaration must be accurate and complete (to the best of your knowledge) when submitted. You can make an amendment if something changes, for example, the amount of goods or the time of the sea crossing.

The time limits for the lodging of the declaration do not start again after the amendment since, legally, it is the initial declaration that sets them. Amendments can only be made up until the point of arrival in the UK.

There is no cancellation message for either the S&S GB service or ICS NI. Submitted declarations can be amended, but not cancelled.

An amendment contains all the data of the original declaration and is linked to the first entry. When goods will no longer be shipped, it is not necessary to inform the S&S GB service or ICS NI.