Updated April 2021 EU Transit Manual for speedy border clearance
Essential guidance on how the transit system works and how to make T1 declarations has been updated in April 2021.

When is transit used?
When goods enter a country/territory, customs will demand payment of import duties and other charges and, where appropriate, apply commercial policy measures (for example antidumping duties). This is the case even where the goods are only
meant to pass through (to transit) that country/territory on their way to another. Under certain conditions the taxes and charges paid may be reimbursed when the goods leave that country/territory. In the next country/territory this procedure may
have to be repeated. The goods may have to undergo a series of administrative procedures at border crossings before reaching their final destination.
Main functions of transit
Transit is a customs facility available to operators who move goods across borders or territories without paying the charges due in principle when the goods enter (or leave) the territory thus requiring only one (final) customs formality.
Compared to the situation described in the first paragraph, it offers an administratively simple and cost advantageous procedure to carry goods across customs territories.
Transit is particularly relevant to the European Union where a single customs territory is combined with a multiplicity of fiscal territories: goods can move under transit from their point of entry into the Union to the point of their final destination where, after
transit has ended, the customs and the local fiscal obligations are taken care of and the goods are released for free circulation or placed under another customs suspensive procedure. Also, a suspensive procedure can be ended by placing non-Union goods under transit, for example, re-export from the Union customs territory.
About the Manual
The Manual is presented in nine main parts as follows: General Introduction; Status of
Goods; Guarantees; Standard Transit Procedure NCTS (new computerized transit
system); Business continuity procedure; Simplifications; Discharge and enquiry; Debt
and Recovery; and the TIR procedure. The Manual is updated whenever new developments in the common and Union transit systems make this necessary.
It must be stressed that the Manual does not constitute a legally binding act and is of an
explanatory nature. The Manual gives, however, a common interpretation.
How it is structured
General table of contents
Part I: General introduction
Part II: Status of goods
Part III: Guarantees
Part IV: Standard transit procedure
Part V: Business continuity procedure
Part VI: Simplifications
Part VII: Discharge of the transit operation, the enquiry procedure
Part VIII: Debt and Recovery
Part IX: : The TIR Procedure
List of commonly used abbreviations
List of definitions
General information source
Part II – Status of goods
The proposed update of Part II of the Transit Manual clarifies the mainly administrative practices that are already applied today. A written review is now organized based on the version Rev. 5. The written review is addressed to both customs and trade delegates.
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Customs Transit Manual Draft (Part II)
Download the full manual - updated in April 2021