Safety and security import requirements: entry summary declarations
Guidelines on requirements and responsibilities for entry summary declarations.
Entry summary declarations for imports into Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Entry summary declarations are an important part of UK customs frontier risk assessment processes. They support our fight against illicit goods such as illegal drugs and weapons and help to ensure that interventions at the border are based on risk.
Entry summary declarations must be submitted before goods arrive into Great Britain and the Crown Dependencies, unless they are otherwise covered by a waiver. More information can be found in the ‘Goods that do not need an entry summary declaration’ section of the Safety and security import requirements: entry summary declarations area of this manual.
The entry summary declaration contains information which allows the goods to be risk assessed before their arrival. The declaration must be complete, accurate, and submitted within the specified time limits set out below. Declarations can be amended at any time before arrival, if required.
The government has legislated to guarantee unfettered access for Northern Ireland businesses to the whole of the UK internal market. For safety and security, that means there’s no requirement to submit entry or exit summary declarations for qualifying Northern Ireland goods entering the rest of the UK from Northern Ireland, if they’ve arrived:
- directly from Northern Ireland to Great Britain
- indirectly from Northern Ireland to Great Britain, passing through Ireland
Read more about moving qualifying goods from Northern Ireland to the rest of the UK.
If you’re a trader moving non-qualifying Northern Ireland goods you must submit an export declaration before the goods depart Northern Ireland. This must include safety and security data. You’ll also need to submit an entry summary declaration before the goods arrive in the rest of the UK.
We’ll assess all the information you submit. This will enable the UK to continue securing its borders effectively.
Entry summary declarations are not required for movements of qualifying Northern Ireland goods from Northern Ireland to Great Britain.
Some goods do not need a declaration, including:
- electrical energy
- entering by pipeline
- letters, postcards and printed material, including those on electronic media
- in a travellers’ personal luggage
- goods declared to customs orally
- postal consignments being transported under UPU convention rules
The above list is not exhaustive. A detailed list is available at article 104 of the retained Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446.
The legal requirement to submit entry summary declarations, within the specified time limits, lies with the carrier. The carrier is the operator of the active means of transport on, or in, which the goods are brought into the customs territory.
For goods travelling by:
- rail, the carrier will be the rail freight operator who is authorised to traction the train through the Channel Tunnel into Great Britain
- air, the party that has contracted and issued the bill of lading or an air waybill, for the carriage of the goods into Great Britain — for air this means the airline
- sea, the party that has contracted and issued the bill of lading or an air waybill, for the carriage of the goods into Great Britain — for sea this means the shipping company is responsible
- roll-on roll-off (RoRo) accompanied, the haulage company is responsible for lodging the declaration for accompanied goods
- roll-on roll-off (RoRo) unaccompanied, the ferry operator is responsible for lodging the declaration for unaccompanied goods
- road (via Eurotunnel service), arriving at the Eurotunnel terminal by road), the haulage company is responsible for submitting the declaration
Entry summary declarations can be submitted by a third party on the carrier’s behalf, but this must only be done by a representative or third party with the carrier’s knowledge and consent.
Commercial terms and conditions can be used when arranging for a third party to file on the carrier’s behalf. This may involve amending an existing contract or creating a new one.
Without evidence suggesting otherwise, the customs authorities may assume that:
- the carrier has given consent under contractual arrangements
- a third party lodging a declaration has done so with the carrier’s knowledge and consent
In circumstances where a carrier has instructed another party (such as the importer) to submit the declaration, that party may wish to use the services of an intermediary. The intermediary would still need to ensure they have the carrier’s agreement to submit the declaration on their behalf — particularly as the carrier will most likely want to confirm the declaration has been submitted, accurately and on time.
Find out more about getting someone to deal with customs for you.
Where it has been agreed that a third party will submit the entry summary declaration, the legal liability to make sure that an entry summary declaration has been submitted still remains with the carrier. However, the responsibility for ensuring that the information provided is accurate generally lies with whoever is submitting the entry summary declaration. Customs authorities and economic operators must be able to identify who is responsible for compliance with the requirement to provide complete and accurate information.
The declarant must provide the information known to them at the time of lodgement of the entry summary declaration. They are entitled to base their declaration filing on data provided by the trading or contracting parties. If the information provided in the entry summary declaration changes or is found to be incorrect an amendment must be submitted.
Depending on the type of transport or shipping service used, there are different time limits for submitting declarations.
| Shipping service | Minimum timing requirement (at least) |
|---|---|
| Maritime containerised cargo | 24 hours before loading at the port of departure |
| Maritime bulk or break bulk cargo | 4 hours before arrival |
| RoRo — accompanied freight | 2 hours before arrival |
| RoRo — unaccompanied freight | 2 hours before arrival |
| Short sea journeys | 2 hours before arrival |
| Short-haul flights — less than 4 hours’ duration | at the time of actual take-off |
| Long-haul flights – 4 hours or more | 4 hours before arrival |
| Short rail journey (less than 2 hours duration) | 1 hour before arrival |
| Long rail journey (more than 2 hours duration) | 2 hours before arrival |
| Road traffic (Channel Tunnel) | 1 hr before arrival at the Eurotunnel terminal (at Coquelles, France) |
Maritime containerised cargo
For any new bookings made less than 24 hours before cargo is due to be loaded onto the vessel at the port of departure, the carrier must look to load onto a later vessel to ensure the minimum timing requirement is met.
Short sea journeys
For short sea journeys, entry summary declarations must be submitted at least 2 hours before arrival for both containerised and non-containerised imports. Short sea journeys into Great Britain refers to journeys from:
- the English Channel, or the Atlantic coast of Europe from the point where it meets the English Channel up to and including the port of Algeciras
- Norway
- Ireland
- the Faroe Islands
- Iceland
- ports on the Baltic Sea and the North Sea
For short-sea journeys, declarants should submit their entry summary declaration within the legal timeframes with the intended crossing route and details. If the route changes, they can amend their declaration with the actual route, as amendments can be done up to the point of arrival at the GB border.
For imports into Great Britain, entry summary declarations are submitted into the safety and security Great Britain (S&S GB) service.
Further guidance on how to submit entry summary declarations for imports into Great Britain can be found at: Making an entry summary declaration.
For all goods brought into Northern Ireland from Great Britain and countries outside the EU, the entry summary declaration will be submitted into either:
- the Import Control System 2 (ICS2)
- the Import Control System Northern Ireland (ICS NI) — this is gradually being replaced by the new system ICS2
Further guidance on how to submit entry summary declarations for imports into Northern Ireland can be found at: Make an entry summary declaration using the Import Control System 2.
Information submitted in the entry summary declaration will be subjected to various levels of validation (on the structure and content of the information). Once the declaration has passed all levels of validation, a movement reference number will be issued to the person who submitted it.
Once the entry summary declaration has accepted and a movement reference number issued, it will be risk assessed. The results of the risk assessment will be used by UK customs to identify either:
- shipments they wish to prevent being loaded onto the vessel entering Great Britain (for deep sea containerised maritime cargo only)
- imports they may wish to control on entering Great Britain
The provision of timely, complete and accurate data will help Border Force select consignments for examination more precisely.
If goods are being moved into Great Britain through a port where the Goods Vehicle Movement Service is being used, the entry summary declaration movement reference numbers should be included in the goods movement reference, although this step is optional.
If goods are being moved into Northern Ireland through a port where the Goods Vehicle Movement Service is being used, the entry summary declaration movement reference numbers should be included in the goods movement reference.
More information can be found at:
The legal requirement is that entry summary declarations must be complete and accurate and declarants must provide the information known to them at the time of lodgement of the entry summary declaration. Declarations can be amended at any time until goods arrive at the border, if any information changes, such as the amount of goods or the time of arrival. This means that amendments can be submitted after the specified time limits, however the original declaration must still be submitted on time.
When agreeing for a third party to submit declarations on their behalf, carriers particularly within roll-on roll-off and road modes, should consider whether the third party offers the specific services they require for example, whether they offer an out of hours service should any amendments need to be made after the initial declaration has been submitted (such as time of crossing).
An amendment will overwrite the first declaration, so should contain all the data of the original, plus any amendment made. There are no restrictions around what can be amended, but if the particulars concerning the person lodging the declaration or their representatives change then a new declaration should be submitted rather than making an amendment.
Within roll-on roll-off and road modes, it is recognised that periodic disruption due to weather or industrial action can affect ferry and rail services. If a routing suffers delays in excess of 2 hours of the normal scheduled arrivals, an amendment would not be required as long as the vehicle moves:
- on the same routing as declared in the entry summary declaration
- with the same carrier as declared in the declaration
- after the original declared sailing or scheduled departure time
- from the declared port of departure no longer than 12 hours after its original declared sailing or scheduled departure time
Diversions in S&S GB
In the event of diversions, for goods that have not already been declared into S&S GB, entry summary declarations will be required. Declarations should be submitted as soon as the decision to divert is made, but no later than 2 hours pre-arrival.
If declarations have already been submitted in S&S GB, amendments will be needed if the diversion results in a significant change to information, such as port of arrival or date of arrival. The customs office of first entry may be amended only if the new office of first entry is also in Great Britain.
When to submit an arrival notification for ICS Northern Ireland
Upon arrival at the Northern Ireland port or airport, regardless of if it is an office of first entry or office of subsequent entry, the operator of the active means of transport (the carrier) must submit an ‘arrival notification’. This allows customs to identify all the entry summary declarations that were previously submitted for the cargo carried on the vessel (or aircraft).
The ‘arrival notification’ must cover all entry summary declarations on the vessel, even if the goods are remaining on board or destined for discharge at either subsequent EU ports or airports, or ports or airports outside of the EU.
What to do if there is a diversion for ICS Northern Ireland
Diversions for cargo that has not already been declared into ICS Northern Ireland will require entry summary declarations for that cargo. Declarations should be submitted as soon as the decision to divert is made, but no later than 2 hours pre-arrival.
If declarations have already been submitted in ICS Northern Ireland, amendments will be needed if the diversion results in a significant change to information, such as port of arrival or date of arrival.
In exceptional circumstances (‘force majeure’), contact HMRC Import Control System helpdesk immediately for advice on next steps by email: ics.helpdesk@hmrc.gov.uk.
Cancellations in S&S GB and ICS Northern Ireland
If the goods will no longer be moved, you do not need to take any action to cancel the entry summary declaration.
The government will continue to engage with carriers, hauliers and traders to make sure that their obligations to meet safety and security requirements are fully understood. We will seek to support those who make genuine errors to get it right, including education and intervention.
Enforcement action in respect of non-compliance will be evidence-based and proportionate. This action could involve goods being delayed at the border for further checks and penalties, as set out in The Customs Safety and Security (Penalty) Regulations 2019.