Safety and Security Declarations for EU Imports

Background

A draft "Border Target Operating Model," which applies to imports into Great Britain from all nations, including the EU, was released by the UK government in April 2023. In it, they described how their recommendations aimed to strike a compromise between the necessity of efficient border controls and the requirement to assist companies with the most straightforward import procedures.

Their new approach to safety and security controls (which apply to all imports) and sanitary and phytosanitary controls (which apply to imports of live animals, germinal products, animal products, plants, and plant products) at the border is outlined in the Border Target Operating Model. It lays out how the UK's new Single Trade Window, digitalisation, and simplicity will be used to implement restrictions.

Before the goods reach the UK border, the entrance summary declaration needs to be exact, comprehensive, and submitted. If any information changes, including the quantity of goods or the time of the sea journey, companies are free to revise their declaration until the goods reach the UK border.

New Requirement

A safety and security statement, sometimes referred to as an "entry summary declaration" or "ENS," will be required for any items imported into the United Kingdom from the European Union as of January 31, 2025. Companies have been urged to begin filing Safety and Security Declarations before this deadline if they are prepared to do so.

What is a safety and security statement?

Border officials utilise a Safety and Security Declaration (SSD) to assess the possible risk that items crossing their border pose to their jurisdiction. It has nothing to do with taxes and duties. Declarations come in two varieties: exit summary declarations (EXS) and entry summary declarations (ENS).

Companies that currently import from non-EU nations or export from the UK to the EU are already obliged to provide safety and security declarations.

Completing a safety and security statement

Twenty necessary fields will need to be filled out for every declaration. Additionally, there will be eight conditional fields that must be filled out only under specific conditions. The remaining nine fields can be left empty or filled in.

Legal Requirement

HM Revenue and Customs state that “the legal requirement to submit a declaration lies with the carrier. This is the operator of the active means of transport on, or in, which the goods are brought into the customs territory. It is the carrier’s responsibility to make sure that the declaration is submitted within the legal time limits, and it must only be done by a representative or third party with the carrier’s knowledge and consent.”



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