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Traffic Manual

IV.1.5.4. Transport of Union goods destined for, originating in or passing through a transit country

When transporting goods from the Union to or passing through one or more transit countries, the following rules should be observed in order to ensure rapid border crossing:

  1. When goods move between two points in the customs territory of the Union through the territory of one or more common transit countries or when they are transported from the customs territory of the Union to the territory of a common transit country, they should be placed under the Union or common transit procedure at the competent customs office of the place where the holder of the procedure is established, at the place where they are loaded for transport under the Union or common transit procedure or, as a last resort, before the common border area between the Union and the common transit country, in order to avoid delays at the border crossing. It is also recommended that, as far as possible, Union or common transit operations outside the border zone between the Union and the common transit country be completed.

  2. The competent authorities of the Member States and common transit countries shall ensure that the economic operators concerned are informed officially of the applicable provisions and that they are aware of the advantages of applying the provisions of point (a), in order to avoid, as far as possible, any practical problems at the borders between the Union and common transit countries.

Transit through the territory of a common transit country

Article 189 of the AD

The movement of Union goods between two points located in the Union via a common transit country may be carried out under the T2, T2F or T1 transit procedure (see Part I, section 4.1.2.1).

Movement of goods from the Union to a common transit country

When Union goods are exported from the customs territory of the Union to a common transit country and a transit procedure is initiated in the Union after export, the goods shall be covered by an internal Union transit procedure (T2) within the Union and subsequently continued as a common transit procedure in the common transit countries.

However, in exceptional cases, an external Union transit procedure (T1) will apply if a transit procedure is carried out after export and continues as a common transit procedure in the common transit countries. These cases are as follows:

  1. when Union goods are subject to customs export formalities with a view to the granting of export refunds to third countries under the common agricultural policy;

  2. where Union goods originate from intervention stocks, are subject to control measures as to their use or destination and have been subject to customs formalities for export to third countries within the framework of the common agricultural policy;

  3. where Union goods are eligible for reimbursement or remission of import duties provided that they are placed under the external transit procedure in accordance with Article 118(4) of the UCC;

  4. when exporting goods from the Union as referred to in Article 1 of Directive 2008/118/EC (see footnote 9); re-dispatch of Union goods from a common transit country.

  • Union goods introduced into the territory of a common transit country under the T2 procedure may be re-dispatched under the same procedure provided that:

    • have remained under the control of the customs authorities of that country in order to ensure that their identity or integrity has not been altered;
    • have not been placed, in that common transit country, under a customs procedure other than transit or warehousing (*), except when they have been imported temporarily for display at an exhibition or similar public event;

(*) In the case of goods in storage, the forwarding must take place within a period of five years (or for goods classified in Chapters 1 to 24 of the Harmonized System and stored for less than six months) provided that the goods have been stored in special spaces and have not received any treatment, other than that necessary for their preservation in their original state or for the splitting of consignments without replacing the packaging, and that they have not been subject to any treatment under customs supervision.

  • The T2 or T2F declaration or any document proving the customs status of Union goods issued by a common transit country shall bear a reference to the MRN of the declaration or proof of the customs status of Union goods under which the goods arrived in that common transit country.
  • In the case of exports not subject to the transit regime, common transit countries will not be able to issue a T2 or T2F declaration as there is no prior transit declaration. Re-shipment must therefore be carried out under a T1 regime. Upon re-entry into the Union, the consignment must be treated as an import of non-Union goods unless it can benefit from the provisions on returned goods.

Procedures for re-entry into the customs territory of the Union of re-dispatched goods

Article 9, paragraph 4, of the Convention

  1. When Union goods are re-dispatched from a common transit country to the Union, they are transported under cover of a T2 or T2F declaration or an equivalent document (e.g. e.g., CIM-T2 consignment note).
  2. In order to determine, in the Member State of destination, whether the movement of goods between two points in the Union has been interrupted in a common transit country or whether the goods have re-entered the customs territory of the Union following a permanent or temporary export from the Union, the following rules must be observed:

    • The goods, as well as the T2 or T2F declaration or equivalent document, must be presented at the customs office of destination to end the transit operation;

    • It is up to that customs office to determine whether the goods should be released for free circulation immediately or whether they should be subject to another customs regime;

    • The release of goods for free circulation shall be granted immediately where the T2 or T2F declaration or equivalent document contains no reference to a previous export from the customs territory of the Union.

      In case of doubt, the customs office of destination may request supporting documents from the recipient (for example, an invoice bearing the VAT identification numbers of the sender and the recipient, in accordance with the provisions of Directive 2006/112/EC as amended, or the electronic administrative document (e-DA), as provided for in Directive 2008/118/EC).

      • The goods must be covered by the successive transit regime or remain in temporary storage, with the consequences that arise from this (collection of VAT on imports and any internal taxes that may be payable).

      • when the goods have been exported from the customs territory of the Union,

      • where the consignee, or his representative, cannot satisfy the customs authorities that the movement of goods is between two points in the customs territory of the Union.