Customs declaration requirements

The Customs (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations, SI 2021/478, introduce a number of legislative changes to ensure that the UK’s customs regime functions as intended from the end of the transition period following the withdrawal of the UK from the European Union.

The Regulations will allow most reusable packaging protecting goods during transportation to be declared for import or export either orally or by conduct, enable imports or exports of human blood, blood products, organs, tissues and cells for emergency use in transplants or medical procedures to be declared by conduct, and ensure consistency with the excise rules so that excise goods intended for commercial use and carried in accompanied baggage are subject to the appropriate customs import and export declaration requirements.

An oral declaration requires an individual to identify the relevant goods to an HMRC officer. A declaration by conduct is where a person follows a course of action described in the regulations, such as by going through a ‘nothing to declare’ green channel.