Uk customs how long

Trading Standards are a government service dedicated to protecting and supporting consumers and small businesses; it is their job to ensure that goods entering our market are of a certain quality and that they are being distributed in a certain way. They are a local service, which means each area has their own Trading Standards unit.

Trading Standards have a wide range of responsibilities that include, but are not limited to:. Needless to say, the Trading Standards are there for a reason. They are essential to safety and quality control. If an importer were to bring in a flux of faulty phone chargers and the goods went unchecked, there could be electrical fires breaking out all over the country.

Customs are in place to avoid this. All goods are subject to Trading Standards; however, there are certain items they pay more attention to and subsequently you will need to be more careful whilst importing. These are a few of the items that trading standards are most likely to detain.

Although the reasons for goods being detained is on a case-by-case basis, there are a few common reasons that your goods may be monitored by Trading Standards and what they may be looking for. Long story short, to ensure that your products clearly meet trading standards, you have to make sure that they are of a certain quality. You have to make sure that your manufacturer has made them to be safe and usable. Proving this is usually a case of making sure you have the necessary documentation.

This can differ for each individual product category, so make sure to look it up. When sourcing your products, ask your manufacturer how thoroughly the goods have been tested — and make sure you get the proof too! Your suppliers can test your goods in the country of origin and provide documents proving that the goods are of a certain standard.

There are a few additional things you can do before importing your product, however:. In addition, they believe that compliance with a standard is sufficient to meet the essential safety requirements of relevant Directives which is not necessarily the case. There is a need for some businesses to better understand that supplying a safe product is about meeting the safety requirements of legislation and not just having a product that has been assessed as compliant with a standard.

Anti-Dumping Duty is the duty imposed on importers to prevent them from ruining their domestic economy. After pre-lodgement but before arrival of the vessel or goods into the UK, you must submit copies of the accepted hold import declaration and any supporting documents to the NCH , with a separate entry declaration for each number.

Pre-lodgement of declarations will be limited to 5 days before the expected or scheduled arrival of the vessel or goods. This period includes weekends and bank holidays.

The preferred way to do this is to use the send documents for a customs check for declarations made in CHIEF service. The email method to send documents to NCH is still available for those traders unable to use the online service. If you have provided the documents that HMRC need to clear arrived goods, they should be cleared within the following time limits:.

If you still need help contact the National Clearance Hub. The NCH may query a declaration that has been selected for a check.

You should respond to this query through the method you submitted your declaration. This makes sure NCH know the query has been answered and should prevent delays. If you do not respond using the method, you submitted your declaration through there will be delays to your clearance.

If a query means that you need to change a declaration, you must submit a copy of the amended declaration. If your declaration has been amended and has a Route 3 ICS22 status. HMRC must manually clear the goods. You will need to complete your declaration the same as a Route 1 declaration and you should submit documents about your goods to the NCH. If a query is raised by NCH about your goods the query will be sent to your secure inbox on the online service, which is accessed from upload documents and get messages for the Customs Declaration Service.

Responding to queries through the secure 2—way messaging should prevent any delays which would occur if you do not reply. If you need to change an import declaration following a query, then you will need to send an amendment to change your declaration. If you need to cancel an import entry declaration you need to request cancellation with reason for request for the NCH to approve. If you need to change an export declaration following a query, you must check with your software provider that they have the functionality to allow this.

If your provider cannot do this, you will need to cancel and resubmit your declaration. You can fax, email or post copies of declarations and supporting documents to the NCH for customs input, processing and clearance. For more information contact the National Clearance Hub.

The NCH will return any queries or declarations requiring amendment by email or fax. We aim to clear all CIE Route 1 declarations within 24 working hours from the time of receipt — if all the relevant paperwork is present, complete and correct. All original documentation must arrive at the NCH for post-clearance action within 3 working days from the date and time of clearance. Sometimes it can be a simple communication problem that slows down the movement of your goods. As with any industry, the logistics industry also experiences seasonality.

There are certain periods of the year when the demand for sea, air and land freight will rapidly increase, Christmas being one of the busiest. This seasonal increase in demand can cause congestion and the only way out of it is to wait your turn. To avoid any delays in the clearance of your goods, it is advisable to avoid peak times of the year. On the unlikely occasion that your goods get rejected, they may be held in customs for a significant amount of time, before being rejected or even destroyed.

How long your goods are held for will depend entirely on why your goods are being stopped at customs. If a certificate or the appropriate paperwork is needed, they will be held until you can provide this. As a customs software vendor, KlearNow has the ability to file across all UK ports of entry.