What are CCI clearances?
UCC centralised clearance for import (CCI) clearance is a simplified customs procedure within the EU which allows you to clear goods in another part of the community from your country.
To do this, you lodge the customs declaration at your supervising office, who then coordinate the clearance with the office of presentation in the other country. During this process, the two offices will determine if document or physical controls are necessary, or if the clearance needs amending.
Once your clearance is validated, the presentation office will levy the taxes according to local rates and task your supervising office with collection. Upon paying the taxes to your supervising office, they will inform the office of presentation that the goods can be released.
How does this benefit you?
Although there are additional parties involved at a customs level, things become easier for you as a trader:
- You get a single point of contact for customs in the country which is most convenient for you, instead of multiple brokers and customs offices throughout the community.
- Standardised declarations, instead of a variety of documents and datasets to fit each country. This gives you easier compliance auditing and training.
- Centralised finances, only paying the taxes to one office and holding one customs account.
- Reduced admin costs because of streamlining your processes and accounts as above.
Who can use CCI clearances?
You can use UCC centralised clearance for import (CCI) clearances if you clear goods in several countries within the EU, and are approved for a licence by customs.
To get a licence, you must:
- Have Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) certification.
- Be using digitalisation in your customs processed.
- Have permission from each member country you are clearing gods in.
More digitalisation on the horizon
Currently, using CCI clearances requires the involvement of customs offices within the declaration country. However, the aim is to make the whole process digital.
Spain is currently testing the EU centralised clearance mechanism, which will build on the UCC centralised clearance for import and allow clearances of all kinds to be completed in a single trade window. It is anticipated that this will be rolled out for further testing in 2024.
If you are already prepared with a CCI licence and operation, then you may be one of the first to benefit from the new system.
Interested in using the UCC centralised clearance for import procedure?
Customs Support are here for you. Operating in 12 countries within the EU, and in the UK, we provide businesses just like yours with import declarations, export declarations, and customs consultancy. Contact one of our experts for help with getting a CCI customs licence today.
