Choosing a guarantor
Information on arranging a guarantor.
You may need to get a guarantor for your customs guarantee if you do not qualify for a full reduction of the guarantee amount. Your guarantor will be liable for any duties or charges you do not pay so they must have sufficient resources and stability.
Most major banks and insurance companies have approval to act as a guarantor. HMRC will accept any firm regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority of the Bank of England or the corresponding EU Member State National Register, links to which can be found on the European Banking Authority website. The guarantor must also be established in the area the guarantee will cover.
For transit or where a guarantee is required for special procedures, duty deferment or other declarations in GB, the guarantor must be established in the UK and be regulated by the UK Prudential Regulation Authority
For special procedures, duty deferment or other declarations in Northern Ireland, the guarantor must either:
- be established in Northern Ireland or have a branch in Northern Ireland and be regulated by the UK Prudential Regulation Authority
- the EU and be regulated by the appropriate national banking authority for that country (lists can be found on the European Banking Authority website)
A company is established in the UK if it is incorporated or registered at Companies House or if it has a permanent place in the UK where it carries out business activities. Establishment in the EU follows similar rules.
While the guarantee is a promise from the Guarantor to HMRC to cover any shortfall in payment, the arrangement of that guarantee is a matter between you and your chosen financial organisation. All financial organisations are responsible for setting their own terms and conditions, for setting their own rate of charges for that service and for deciding whether to offer customs guarantees at all. HMRC are not involved in these commercial decisions and will not recommend any specific financial institution.
You may be able to give a JCL as security for your potential debts. This allows legal entities other than regulated financial institutions to guarantee debts in some circumstances, a JCL:
- can only guarantee potential debts
- cannot be used for multi-member state authorisations and approvals such as transit
- guarantor must be a separate legal entity from the business being guaranteed
- guarantor must be established in the UK
- guarantor will have to satisfy HMRC that they have the resources and stability to act as a guarantor and have a history of compliance with HMRC