If you need to apply for a duty deferment account but cannot provide a guarantee, the UK Government guarantee waiver may be useful.
If you want to apply for a new duty deferment account without using a guarantee, you can apply for a guarantee waiver approval.
You can also amend your existing duty deferment account and apply for a guarantee waiver.
There are 2 types of guarantee waiver approvals:
- approval for a guarantee waiver to defer customs duty, import VAT and excise up to £10,000 per month
- approval for a guarantee waiver to defer customs duty, import VAT and excise up to a specified amount over £10,000 per month
Who can apply
You can apply for a waiver if you have:
- no serious or repeated infringements of customs or tax rules in the past 3 years
- no record of serious criminal offences related to your business activities in the past 3 years
- had held positive net assets (excluding goodwill) at the date of your application and for the past 3 years (or, if shorter, for the period you have been trading)
You must also be established in the UK.
If you are an Authorised Economic Operators for Customs (AEOC and AEOF) you qualify for a guarantee waiver at the level of your deferral limit.
How to apply
If you have an existing duty deferment account, you can apply to amend your account and apply for a guarantee waiver.
If you do not have a duty deferment account, you will need to apply for an account and a guarantee waiver.
UK Government
More guidance is available from the UK Government website.
