Arne Mielken
- Dec 19, 2021
- 3 min read

UK: How to make a full customs export declaration out of Great Britain

(S,P) Find out what you need to do when making a full declaration to export or bring goods out of Great Britain.

Before you submit

You need to check if you must submit your export declaration as ‘arrived’ before your goods start their journey. You’ll need to do this if they’re leaving from:

roll on roll off ports or other listed locations — before 1 January 2022
specified locations — from 1 January 2022

If the goods are being exported from a location which is not authorised to use the arrived export process, the declaration should be submitted as pre-lodged.

When to submit

You or your representative must declare and obtain clearance for your goods with customs before they are allowed to leave the UK and this depends on the last mode of transport you use.

Road and inland waters

You must make a declaration at least one hour before your departure when using road or inland waters.

Sea

You must make a declaration at least 2 hours before leaving port if you’re moving your goods using a boat or ship and your cargo is in a container from the UK to:

Greenland
Faroe Islands
Iceland
ports on the Baltic Sea
the North Sea
the Black Sea
the Mediterranean Sea

For all other cargo in a container movements you must make a declaration at least 24 hours before they are loaded on to the vessel on which they leave the UK.

For cargo not in a container, at least 2 hours before your good leave the port.

Air

You must make a declaration if you are exporting goods by air at the latest 30 minutes before departure from a UK airport.

Rail

You must make a declaration if you are using rail:

one hour before you arrive at the office of exit when the journey time from the last train station at which the train was formed, to the customs office of exit takes less than 2 hours
in all other cases 2 hours before the goods leave the UK

How to submit

Your declaration will need to include:

customs procedure code
commodity code
your declaration unique consignment reference which is the main reference number that links declarations

You also need to provide information like:

departure point and destination
consignee and consignor
type, amount and packaging of your goods
transport methods and costs
currencies and valuation methods
certificates and licences

Find out the boxes you need to complete on your declaration in:

Customs Handling of Import Export Freight (CHIEF)
Customs Declaration Service

Read the Customs Declaration Completion Requirements for Great Britain when you are completing your declaration.

Arrived export declarations

Enter ‘A’ in:

box 1 for Customs Handling of Import Export Freight (CHIEF)
data element 1/2 for Customs Declaration Service

An arrived declaration is processed instantly, and you will be told of the outcome. If a check is needed this will be completed at the port’s customs checking facility or an inland border facility. The goods should not be moved to the border location until permission to progress is received or you are asked to do so.

Pre-lodged export declarations

Enter ‘D’ in:

box 1 for CHIEF
Data Element 1/2 for Customs Declaration Service

The goods can be moved to the border location without permission to progress. If any checks are required, they will take place within the port.

If you need to withdraw an export declaration before your goods depart, you will need to tell HMRC.

After you’ve submitted

Before 1 January 2022

If you are exporting excise duty suspended goods (such as alcohol or tobacco products) from roll on roll off ports or other listed locations, you need to confirm manually to HMRC that the goods have left the UK by completing a C1602 form unless the border location does this for you.

You can amend your export declaration before it’s been cleared by customs.

You can amend your statistical record up to 3 years after your declaration is cleared, but you need tell to HMRC.

From 1 January 2022

From 1 January 2022 a departure message will be a legal requirement for all exports.

For locations where an Inventory Linked system or the Goods Vehicle Movement System (GVMS) is available, this would be done automatically by the systems at the point of departure.

If you export from a location which does not have an inventory linked system and an approved loader is not available at your exit location, you need to confirm to HMRC that the goods have left the UK by completing a C1602 form to make an electronic departure message for you.