SPE16110 - Aircraft and their parts: goods imported with airworthiness certificates

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As an alternative to Authorised Use, importers of aircraft parts may use the airworthiness certificate scheme.

The UK-EU trade deal, announced on 24 December 2020, includes agreements on air transport and aviation safety which came into effect at 23.00 GMT on 31 December 2020 when the UK ceases to take part in the EU Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and other EU institutions. The agreements involve some elements of continuity and so it is possible for parts, components and other goods used for the manufacture, repair, maintenance, rebuilding or modification of aircraft to be imported free of duty provided they are imported with a certificate of airworthiness issued by a civil aviation authority. The airworthiness scheme may be used as an alternative to Authorised Use relief for such goods.

Goods held under Authorised Use relief cannot be transferred to the certificate scheme as they are already in free circulation and transfer to the scheme will not complete Authorised Use. Therefore, traders should be advised to retain any goods already entered to Authorised Use relief under that regime.

Note: Northern Ireland (NI) customs authorisations will continue to fall within the provisions of the Union Customs Code (UCC), as retained by the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 and CEMA 1979.