HMAG80500 - Exporting excise goods: Exports followed by transit

When excise duty suspended goods are being dispatched for export to or via a common transit country, the following must be completed:

  • an eAD on EMCS (or a FAD if EMCS is unavailable) unless the goods are being exported under a CSE authorisation
  • a customs export declaration on CDS
  • a transit declaration on the New Computerised Transit System (NCTS)

Unless the goods are being exported under a CSE authorisation, the dispatching warehousekeeper (or registered consignor) must submit an eAD on EMCS to cover the excise duty suspended movement from the warehouse premises (or place of import) to the place where the goods will leave the territory of the UK (at the customs office of exit). Once the departure message has been submitted on CDS, this should automatically generate a report of export on EMCS.

If EMCS is not available at the time of dispatch, the fallback procedure must be followed until EMCS becomes available, at which point the excise duty suspended movement should be retrospectively entered on EMCS.

The customs export declaration must be lodged at the customs office of export (this will either be at a port, airport or the dispatching warehouse premises). The customs export procedure is discharged once the excise goods enter the transit procedure.

The transit declaration must either be submitted on NCTS by an authorised consignor or be lodged at a customs transit office of departure. The transit declaration is discharged once the goods arrive at the customs transit office of destination.

Due to the way these IT systems interact with each other, the excise duty suspended movement could be closed on EMCS before the goods leave the territory of the UK. This may mean that the goods are moving outside an excise duty suspension arrangement whilst still in the UK. If the correct procedures have been followed, this may be deemed acceptable for the purpose of the excise duty suspended movement. However, the excise duty liability is only discharged once the goods leave the UK.