The Channel Tunnel (Customs and Excise) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Order, SI 2020/1417, makes changes to article 5 of SI 1990/2167 in relation to the treatment of goods imported into the UK. Article 5 treats goods brought into the UK via the channel tunnel as imports, for the purposes of customs and excise legislation.
Article 5 will be amended so that goods will not be treated as imported into the UK where they exit a control zone prior to boarding a shuttle train.
The change is necessary because, in France, a duty-free shop will be sited outside the control zone. As a result, travellers will be able to enter the control zone, and then subsequently exit and re-enter the control zone, having made further purchases, before boarding a shuttle train. Disregarding previous importations prior to boarding a shuttle train will ensure that only one set of duty-free allowances can apply to goods the traveller is importing.
The ‘control zone’ means the part of the territory of France agreed between the French and UK governments within which Border Force officers are empowered to effect customs controls. The regulations come into force on IP completion day (11pm UK time on 31 December 2020).
The Channel Tunnel (Customs and Excise) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Order, SI 2020/1417, makes changes to article 5 of SI 1990/2167 in relation to the treatment of goods imported into the UK. Article 5 treats goods brought into the UK via the channel tunnel as imports, for the purposes of customs and excise legislation.
Article 5 will be amended so that goods will not be treated as imported into the UK where they exit a control zone prior to boarding a shuttle train.
The change is necessary because, in France, a duty-free shop will be sited outside the control zone. As a result, travellers will be able to enter the control zone, and then subsequently exit and re-enter the control zone, having made further purchases, before boarding a shuttle train. Disregarding previous importations prior to boarding a shuttle train will ensure that only one set of duty-free allowances can apply to goods the traveller is importing.
The ‘control zone’ means the part of the territory of France agreed between the French and UK governments within which Border Force officers are empowered to effect customs controls. The regulations come into force on IP completion day (11pm UK time on 31 December 2020).
