The Customs and Excise (Miscellaneous Provisions and Amendments) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

The Regulations are made by HMRC Commissioners under the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 (c. 2) and the Treasury further to Part 1 of the Taxation (Cross-border Trade) Act 2018 (c. 22) (“the Act”) and the Finance Act 2003. This is an EU Exit statutory instrument.

Part 1 provides for citation and commencement. The Regulations will largely be brought into force by way of a separate statutory instrument made under section 52 of the Act, but certain provisions will be brought into force 21 days after the Regulations are laid.

Part 2 makes provision requiring that, subject to certain exceptions, any Customs declaration for the free-circulation procedure made in respect of fresh bananas must be accompanied by a Banana Weight Certificate. This Part also makes provision for authorisation of persons for the purposes of issuing such certificates.

Part 3 makes provision to maintain the current legislative position that appeal and review arrangements set out in the Finance Act 1994 (c. 9) are to apply in relation to non-customs duty and customs duty matters.

Part 4 amends the Pleasure Craft (Arrival and Report) Regulations 1996 (S.I. 1996/1406) to provide that those Regulations apply to a pleasure craft which arrives in the United Kingdom from a place outside the United Kingdom other than the Isle of Man rather than the customs territory of the European Union.

Part 5 makes amendments to a number of customs EU Exit instruments and consequential amendments to excise regulations. This includes amendments to a number of instruments to modify guarantees provisions so that, where goods on which excise duty may be due are held in temporary storage facilities or declared to certain special customs procedures which relieve or suspend import and excise duty on importation, any guarantee required by HMRC in relation to the goods should be calculated with reference to both the potential import duty and potential excise duty liabilities for the goods. Other amendments relate to the change to exit day.

Regulation 10 amends the Customs (Temporary Storage Facilities Approval Conditions and Miscellaneous Amendments) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018 (S.I. 2018/1247) to make minor corrections and to give effect to the guarantee changes described above.

Regulation 11 makes miscellaneous amendments to the Customs (Import Duty) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018 (S.I. 2018/1248) (“Import Duty Regulations”) relating to a range of issues including deemed notification of importation in certain cases, use of the simplified Customs declaration process by transitional authorised declarants, commercial goods contained in a traveller's accompanied baggage and requirements relating to advance declarations.

Regulation 12 amends the Customs (Special Procedures and Outward Processing) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018 (S.I. 2018/1249). The Regulations are amended to allow for Customs guarantees to include amounts of excise of excise duty. The Regulations are further amended to correct a number of errors.

Regulation 13 amends the Customs Transit Procedures (EU Exit) Regulations 2018 (S.I. 2018/1258) to allow for Customs guarantees to include amounts of excise duty and to provide that a guarantee will be required by HMRC for goods carried by rail.

Regulation 14 makes miscellaneous amendments to the Customs (Export) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/108) relating to a range of issues including commercial goods contained in a traveller's accompanied baggage, declarations by conduct, amendment of declarations and correction of minor errors.

Regulation 16 amends Chapter 2 of Part 4 of the Excise Duties (Miscellaneous Amendments) (EU Exit) (No. 3) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/474) in consequence of the amendments made to the Import Duty Regulations 2018 by regulation 11 of these Regulations.

Regulations 15 and 17 make minor, miscellaneous and consequential amendments to the Customs (Import Duty, Transit and Miscellaneous Amendments) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/326) and the Taxation (Cross-border Trade) (Miscellaneous Provisions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/486).

Part 6 makes amendments to penalties in consequence of the amendments in Part 5.

The Regulations will be covered by an overarching HMRC impact assessment (third edition) which will be published and available on the website at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/customs-vat-and-excise-regulations-leaving-the-eu-with-no-deal.