HMRC has recently published guidance for safety and security declaration requirements, due to come into place early next year.
Background
With effect from 31 January 2025, goods imported from the EU into Great Britain, must be covered by a safety and security declaration, or Entry Summary Declaration (ENS).
The amount of safety and security data required on an ENS will be reduced to include 20 mandatory fields, which must be completed for all declarations, plus eight conditional fields, only required to be completed in certain circumstances. The remaining nine fields will be optional.
If an ENS is already being submitted for imports from territories outside the EU, or already voluntarily submitted for EU imports, there will be no required changes to existing systems or procedures. However, it is possible to benefit from the reduced dataset, by only completing the mandatory and any relevant conditional fields, from 31 January 2025.
Preparation
If a business is ready to start submitting an ENS before 31 January 2025, it is encouraged to do so. Businesses are now advised to review supply chains, to agree which party is responsible for completing declarations for EU to Great Britain imports from 31 January 2025 and the most suitable method for doing so.
Please note that businesses exporting from Great Britain to the EU, or importing from territories outside the EU, are already required to submit an ENS. Carriers and hauliers are legally responsible for submission of the ENS, however, a third party, such as the importer, or an intermediary, can lodge the declaration on the carrier’s behalf. The carrier is still responsible for ensuring the declaration is submitted.
Submission
The ENS is submitted to an IT platform called S&SGB. There are different options for submitting, such as purchasing specialist software, or using a customs broker.
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