In today’s world, where international trade is the driving force behind economic development, simplifying customs procedures is becoming increasingly important. One of the tools that can significantly speed up and simplify customs clearance of goods is the granting of the status of ‘authorised consignor’ and ‘authorised consignee’ to companies.
What are these statuses?
An authorised shipper is a status that allows a company to declare goods under the common transit regime and ship them from a relevant facility (building, structure, open or closed area, or other place) without presenting them to the customs office of departure.
Authorised consignee is a status that allows a company to receive goods transported under the common transit regime at a relevant facility (building, structure, open or closed area, or other place) without delivering them to the destination customs office.
Advantages of such statuses
Obtaining the status of an ‘authorised consignor’ or ‘authorised consignee’ provides companies with a number of advantages:
Simplified customs clearance: A significant reduction in the time and number of documents required for customs clearance.
Reduction of financial costs: Reduced customs duties and logistics costs due to process optimisation.
Increased security: Increased control over cargo and simplified inspection procedures.
Improving the company’s image: This status indicates a high level of trust in the company on the part of customs authorities and business partners.
The prerequisites for obtaining the Authorised Shipper status are:
* Having authorisations to apply the transit simplifications ‘Use of general guarantee’ and ‘Use of special type seals’
A prerequisite for obtaining the status of ‘Authorised Consignee’ is:
* A statement according to which the applicants declare that they will regularly receive the goods placed under the common transit procedure.
The mandatory criteria for obtaining such simplifications are:
Compliance with the customs and tax laws of Ukraine, as well as the absence of any criminal convictions;
A proper system of accounting, commercial and transport documentation;
Ensuring practical standards of competence or professional qualification of the responsible official of the company.
An application for the aforementioned simplifications may be submitted by a company that has filed at least 50 declarations under the common transit regime (T1UA). The application is submitted electronically along with a self-assessment questionnaire. The application form and self-assessment questionnaire are approved by the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 1092 dated 27 September 2022 ‘Some Issues of Implementation of the Provisions of the Customs Code of Ukraine on Granting Authorisations’.
Almost all communication between a company that has the transit simplifications ‘authorised consignor’ and ‘authorised consignee’ and the customs office in the joint transit procedure takes place remotely. The company can perform all the necessary actions independently or they can be performed remotely by the customs, without the need to physically deliver the goods to the places where customs usually performs customs formalities.