CHIEF closed for import declarations, kept for discharging goods

Traders discharging inward processing goods face a split route that turns on where the original full import declaration was madeGOV. The Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight (CHIEF) system is no longer available for completing full import declarationsGOV, but outstanding goods can still be discharged through CHIEF where the full import declaration went through CHIEFGOV. The rule appears in both discharge sections of HMRC's inward processing guidance: full authorisation and authorisation by declarationGOV.

For a full authorisation where the declaration went through CHIEF, discharge runs online or by postGOV. The online route is the CHIEF bill-of-discharge formGOV, which requires sign-in, with sign-in details creatable on first application. The postal route requires gathering all information before starting, since the form is filled in online and progress cannot be saved; filling in the CHIEF postal form for inward processing with full authorisationGOV; and printing and posting it to HMRC at the postal address shown on the formGOV. Where the declaration went through the Customs Declaration Service instead, the postal route uses the Customs Declaration Service form for inward processing with full authorisationGOV, with the same gather-everything-first warning.

For authorisation by declaration, the same split appliesGOV. The CHIEF postal route uses the same CHIEF postal form for inward processing with full authorisationGOV, presented as three numbered steps: gather the information, fill in the form, print and post it. The Customs Declaration Service route uses the form for inward processing using an authorisation by declarationGOV, submitted through the Claim back an import security deposit or guarantee online service, by email to niru@hmrc.gov.uk, or by print and post to the address shown on the form.

Both CHIEF routes carry the same accessibility terms: the form file may not suit assistive technology such as screen readers, with an accessible format available by emailing different.format@hmrc.gov.uk stating the format needed and the assistive technology used, and a Welsh-language form available on request by email.

The surrounding duties are unchanged. A bill of discharge must reach the supervising office no later than 30 days after the end of the discharge period, whose length the authorisation letter states, based on the estimate on the application form or six months for authorisation by declaration. Full-authorisation filers need the authorisation number, EORI number, holder details, due date and bank details, plus goods details including the declaration reference, economic and commodity codes, description, customs value and suspended charges, with disposal and carry-forward particulars where relevant. Authorisation-by-declaration filers need the EORI number, entry processing unit, import entry number and date, rate of yield, disposal details with reference numbers and dates, and Bacs details, with cheques no longer issued. Releasing goods to free circulation still requires duty payment on the elected basis, changeable only through the supervising office; moving goods to another authorisation holder still requires a CPC 51 51 000 or 51 51 A04 declaration for VAT-only entries with a copy of the customs acceptance, liability staying with the transferor until customs accepts the movement declaration; and records must be kept four years for inward processing and five years for Freeport authorisations.

Legal basis: HMRC guidance on moving processed or repaired goods into free circulation or re-exporting them, full-authorisation and authorisation-by-declaration discharge sections.