What are Steel Safeguard Quotas?
Steel safeguards are in place to protect UK industry from imports of steel causing (or threatening) serious injury.
Under steel safeguard measures the UK allows the importation of limited amounts of specific goods (sometimes from specific countries) at a nil rate of duty than would otherwise apply (25%).
The amount of steel which may be imported duty free, has been determined by the Department for International Trade (DIT) in tonnes - Taxation Notice
The period during which the steel quotas are set is quarterly.
The steel quotas operate on a first come, first served basis in which you or your agent/freight forwarder must make a claim to the quota on the Customs declaration covering the release of goods to free circulation.
What do I need to claim Steel Safeguard Quotas?
To make a claim you must have the necessary evidence and have paid any duties which may be due on the goods.
In the case of steel quotas, on critical status you must also have provided security for duty at the non-quota rate (25%).
Your goods must have also met the appropriate non-preferential Rules of Origin.
Do I have to make a claim Steel Safeguard Quotas?
If you want to take advantage of the nil rate of duty available under the quota, you must make a claim. HMRC will not give you the quota relief automatically.
You can also make a claim after your goods have been imported if the quota is still available.
Claims to first come first served quotas can only be made at the time of release of the goods concerned to free circulation.
They must not be made at any other time, for example, upon entry to warehouse or the placing of goods in a regime such as Inward Processing Relief (IPR), where Customs Duty is not immediately payable.
How can I find out the latest balance of Steel Safeguard Quotas?
The online Tariff has a quota look up page, accessed by the toolbar at the top of the page.
Nb. This facility is at least two working days behind the quota allocation date.
You can check with the Quota Team for a more accurate balance, by emailing tariff.management@hmrc.gov.uk.
How do I make a claim to Steel Safeguard Quotas?
You should follow the normal procedures for the entry of imported goods. These are set out in Volumes 1 and 3 of the Tariff.
To make the claim to these first come first served quotas you (or your agent/forwarder) must insert the UK quota order no. in box 39 of the Customs import declaration Single Administrative Document - SAD (form C88).
You should also enter preference code 120 in box 36 and on CHIEF tax type A00 F in box 47. When making a quota claim the net mass should be declared in kilograms.
You will have to provide security for duty at the non-quota rate if the quota is at critical status (less than 10% remaining). The security will be released up to 30 working days after receiving a full quota allocation. If the quota is exhausted your claim will be refused and you will have to pay duty at the non-quota rate.
When is my quota claim registered?
Your claim is registered only when:
- your declaration is correct
- all the documents have been presented
- any duties that are payable have been paid or secured
Any errors or omissions in your declaration can therefore affect your claim. For this reason, we recommend that you ensure your declaration is complete and correct and any documents or evidence needed are available when it is made.
For the same reason we would also recommend that you reply to any queries raised by the HMRC as soon as possible.
Can I be certain that my claim will be accepted?
We cannot guarantee that your claim will be accepted. This is because the:
- Quota was nearing exhaustion
- Quota is new and we cannot tell how quickly it may be used up
You should bear this in mind when selling on your goods.
If the quota is on ‘open’ status can I assume that my claim has been allowed?
The application of ‘open’ status for quotas doesn’t guarantee a claim will receive an allocation.
The unpredictability of trade flows or administrative difficulties may result in a quota being exhausted without ever having been made critical.
In such an event post clearance action may be taken for the recovery of the full non-quota rate of duty payable.
If post clearance checks reveal that your claim is invalid, that is, you do not possess the necessary supporting documents or you have misclassified the goods, then you will be required to pay duty at the non-quota rate.
If you knowingly misdescribe goods to obtain quota relief you may commit an offence.
What security is required if the quota is on critical status?
If the quota is critical HMRC will require security for the non-quota rate before your claim can be registered. This security can be provided in one of the following ways:
- by banker’s guarantee, which can cover either one importation or a number of importations
- a cash deposit (which may be set against your duty deferment account) You can get further details from NIDAC – nidacadjustingteam@hmrc.gov.uk
Can I leave my goods in customs warehouse or Temporary Storage pending my claim?
No. To be eligible to claim quota relief, your goods must be entered to free circulation. The goods can’t be returned to customs warehouse or temporary storage if you make an unsuccessful quota claim. However goods may be kept in Customs Warehousing or Temporary Storage prior to entry to free circulation.
Can I make a belated quota claim?
Yes if within the time limits and the quota still has a balance.
Any unclaimed quota balance at the end of the quarter is transferred to the next quarter on the 20th working day of that quarter (except from one year to the next i.e. July).
This means you cannot make a post clearance claim after the transfer has taken place (unless there is a quota return made to the original quarter after the transfer).
Your claim will be registered on the date that you make it, so if the quota has exhausted your claim will be refused.
You should also note that your claim will be set against the quota period in force on the date your goods went into free circulation, not the date of your claim.
This means that if the quota had exhausted for that period but subsequently re-opened for a fresh period, your claim will be refused. To make a belated claim, you will need to complete a form C285 claim for repayment or remission of safeguard duties. Present the completed C285, together with the documents and a copy of your entry, to the National Duty Repayment Centre.
Your claim will then be processed in the same way as any other claim made on that date.
You should also attach a letter explaining why you did not make a claim when you entered your goods.
Customs Freight Simplified Procedures
If you are authorised to use Customs Freight Simplified Procedures (CFSP) you can make a quota claim when you submit your Supplementary Declaration (SD). All necessary supporting documents will need to be available at that time. Where the SD is used to make a claim to quota, the date of acceptance by CHIEF of the SD will be the date used to register and schedule the claim. As it is possible that the quota may be exhausted before the SD is submitted, you may wish to consider whether to claim quota at the frontier using conventional entry procedures instead.
When imports are exempted from the safeguard measures
If the non-preferential country of origin is one that is exempt from the particular safeguard measures, you should not claim the quota in box 39 of the SAD.
You should use a non- quota preference code in box 36 and you should declare duty suspension code F B against tax type A00 in box 47 on CHIEF.
April-June quarter access to other quotas once the country specific quota has exhausted.
For some but not all product categories, in this quarter only, when the country specific quota has exhausted there may be access to another quota. If the quota re-opens due to a quota return or the transfer of the previous quarter’s balance, this additional quota will close until the country specific quota has exhausted again. Details of the available quotas in this quarter can be found in Annex 2 of the Taxation Notice issued by Department for International Trade.
