Customs, Duties & International

HM Revenue & Custom’s team “Customs and International”  has responsibility for the administration in the UK of the European Community’s Preferential Origin, First Come first Served Tariff Quota and Anti-Dumping Duty regimes; responsibility for the issue of Binding Origin Information and the transmission of surveillance data to the European Commission.

Preferential Origin – Import
‘Preference’ means you pay a lower rate of import customs duty and or levy charge, or none at all on your goods. To qualify for preference you must show that the goods have met certain origin rules, and to do this you must be able to produce to Customs a valid preference document. Your goods must also satisfy rules regarding transportation.

Preferential Origin – Export
‘Preference’ means that your customer abroad may pay a lower or ‘nil’ rate of import customs duty on your goods.

Tariff Quotas – (TQ’s)
Tariff Quotas are a European Union (EU) system to allow the importation of limited amounts of specific goods, sometimes from specific countries, at a lower rate of duty than would otherwise apply. The amount, which may be imported, can be expressed in units of quantity, value, volume or weight and the period during which the TQ is available can be limited.

The Central Tariff Quota Unit (CTQU) compiles claims against each quota and advises the European Commission of the totals on a daily basis. The Commission in turn processes claims for the whole of the EU and advises member states whether claims can be fully met, partly met or not allowed.

N.B. TQ’s must not be confused with Import Licence Quotas. Both types of quota cover specific goods and can relate to specific countries of origin. The difference being TQ’s allow reduced rates of duty to be claimed, whilst Import Licence quotas are a means of monitoring and limiting the actual amount of goods imported, regardless of the rate of duty claimed.

Anti Dumping Duty (ADD)
This is an import duty charged in addition to normal customs duty. It provides protection against both the dumping of goods in the EC at prices substantially lower than the normal value, and the injury to EC industry which would otherwise result. Each anti dumping duty regulation covers specific goods, originating or exported from named countries or exporters. It is charged in addition to and independent of, any other duty to which the imported goods are liable.

Countervailing duty (CD) is similar to ADD, but is imposed on goods which have received government subsides in the originating or exporting country. It is possible to have both anti dumping duty and countervailing duty on the same product.

Binding Origin Information (BOI)
Binding Origin Information (BOI) is a written origin decision for preferential and non-preferential goods which is legally binding throughout the European Community (EC). A BOI remains valid for three years from the date of issue. In exceptional circumstances, a BOI may be changed.

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