I.3. Common transit

The legal basis for the common transit procedure is the Convention on a Common Transit Procedure of 20 May 1987 (see footnote 3).

The common transit countries (all Contracting Parties to the Convention, except Liechtenstein, which has a customs union with Switzerland) are the following:

EU Member States
Switzerland, Norway and Iceland (the three EFTA countries)
Turkey
North Macedonia
Serbia
United Kingdom

The legal basis for the simplification of formalities in trade in goods between the EU and common transit countries, as well as between common transit countries themselves, is the SAD Convention of May 1987 (see footnote 4).

The rules and procedures governing the adoption of legislation relating to common transit are set out in Annex I.8.2.

The common transit regime applies to customs duties, excise taxes, VAT , and other charges levied on goods, which are suspended during their transit from the customs office of departure to the customs office of destination.

Economic operators may benefit from the regime to facilitate the movement of goods from one Contracting Party to another. However, its use is not, in any case, mandatory.

The management of the regime is the responsibility of the customs administrations of the various Contracting Parties through a customs network:

customs of departure,
customs crossings,
destination customs,
guarantee customs.

The common transit procedure begins at the customs office of departure and ends when the goods and the DAT are presented at the customs office of destination, in accordance with the common transit regulations.

The procedure involves an exchange of messages in the NCTS-specific computer system (see section I.4.1.3) between the customs office of destination and the customs office of departure.

In the business continuity procedure (see Part V), the customs office of destination returns a copy of the transit declaration in paper format (SAD or DAT) to the customs office of departure (or to a centralising customs office in the country of departure).

Once confirmation has been received through the NCTS or a copy of the transit declaration in paper format, the customs office of departure will finalize the procedure and will consider the holder of the procedure's obligations fulfilled, unless significant discrepancies have been detected.

Holder of the common transit regime

The common transit regime begins when an operator submits a transit declaration to the customs office of departure requesting that the goods be placed under the transit regime.

At that moment, that person becomes the "regime holder" for the purposes of common transit.
Once the goods have been cleared for transit, this person must present the goods intact (without altering the seals, if applicable) along with the transit declaration to the destination customs office within the specified timeframe.

The customs office shall apply the customs regulations applicable to the common transit regime and to the payment of any (customs) debts owed in the event of an irregularity.

The holder of the scheme must provide a guarantee covering the amount of the potential debt (when not exempt under the legislation or through an authorization). Such security may be provided by cash deposit, in the form of securities, or by a surety bond provided by a financial institution acting as guarantor (issues relating to guarantees and the role of the guarantor are discussed in Part III of the manual).

Article 2 of the Convention

There are two types of procedures applicable to the common transit regime, procedures T1 and T2. The application of one or the other will depend on the customs status of the goods subject to the operation.

The T1 regime (external transit regime) applies to the movement of non-Union goods, with the suspension of ordinary measures applicable to imports.

The T2 procedure (internal transit procedure) applies to the movement of goods from the Union, with the suspension of the ordinary measures applicable to imports into a common transit country.

Transit simplifications

Under certain circumstances, and subject to prior authorization from the competent customs authorities, the common transit procedure may be implemented using simplified procedures (detailed information on transit simplifications is provided in Part VI of the manual).