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Transit operations under the Union transit procedure (T1/T2)

For companies in the import/export/transit business and corresponding border controls by customs across now far more than a customs border, the transit procedure of the Union is no longer imaginable without.

In order to be able to decide for oneself when importing goods into the EU where and whether to clear goods consignments through customs and when to pay the import duties, or whether to transport goods “duty unpaid” through the EU or perhaps only to store them temporarily, the transport of customs goods in transit has been established for many years.

Not least due to many new EU member states and the shifting of third country borders, it is necessary to transport goods quickly and flexibly to their final destination, even without many formalities of import customs clearance.

With the transit system, a procedure has been created which enables the final customs clearance to be carried out at a specific destination and not directly at the point of entry into the EU (port/airport/EU border).

The goods are transported from the customs office of departure to the customs office of destination under the so-called customs supervision, and within the procedure the goods always have the status of customs goods as non-Union goods T1, and in case of transport of Union goods to EFTA countries the status T2.

All EU member states, EFTA countries (Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Switzerland), Turkey, the Republic of Northern Macedonia, Serbia and the United Kingdom are connected to the common transit procedure.

With an experienced and reliable customs service provider like Gerlach, customs clearance is as easy as can be. We will show you how in this article.

T1/T2 Customs clearance electronically via NCTS

Schematic representation of the Union transit procedure in the European Union
Source: German Customs

The T-transit procedure is opened by customs at the point of departure. For the required electronic declaration in NCTS, data and information on the route, means of transport, identification, consignor and consignee, number of packages, total weight and the customs tariff number are required. The customs office of departure sets a presentation period within which the goods must arrive at the customs office of destination in order for the T procedure to be considered duly completed. Likewise, at the customs office of departure and also at the customs office of destination, an identity check of the goods is carried out; this is done by means of customs seals (seals/package seals) or identification features such as description noted in the transit declaration and physically attached to the means of transport/packages. In order to open a transit procedure, a security deposit must be lodged with customs in the country of opening to cover the duties likely to be incurred during customs clearance. The security can be cash, securities or a guarantee.

At the customs clearance at the place of receipt, the transit procedure is closed. After the goods have been presented and checked for identity, the conforming or possibly non-conforming completion of the transit document takes place, the security is released again and the goods are assigned to a new customs-approved destination. (Customs clearance, storage in bonded warehouse, new transit procedure, temporary storage, etc.).

Your advantages with Gerlach Customs Services and the “authorized consignor” permit

For most companies, both the creation in NCTS, the provision of security at customs and the presentation of the goods is a problem, which you can easily solve with Gerlach Zolldienste.

Gerlach Customs Services provides you with the necessary customs system NCTS as well as the best customs know-how to quickly and easily assist in the preparation of shipping documents.

A great advantage is also that Gerlach has the customs authorization “authorized consignor”, which allows to open the transit documents in many locations without the involvement of customs authorities. This makes the whole process much easier for you.

Gerlach offers:

  • Issuing of transit declarations in the NCTS electronic procedure with and without authorization
  • No communication with customs authorities in opening of transit declaration as “Authorized Consignor”.
  • Using the Gerlach customs permit “Authorized Consignor” you can transport the goods without any action by the customs office, so in many places it is not necessary to present the goods at the customs office.
  • This enables you to save costs and flexibility in the transport chain, also in case of multimodal transports, and you save waiting times at border or inland customs offices.
  • Gerlach has sufficient guarantees and securities for the opening of transit procedures, which makes it possible to carry out the procedure even in the case of very high values of goods or sensitive goods.

Contact us today to speed up your customs clearance processes.

Whether in transit or any other customs service, Gerlach is always ready to assist you with advice and support. Feel free to contact us!

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