Guidance

March 2024 — NCTS Phase 5: closing undischarged transit movements

Updated 5 December 2024

If you’re a New Computerised Transit System (NCTS) user who moves goods using Transit, read this information carefully.

You need to move to NCTS Phase 5 on 1 July 2024 and there are some key steps to take to make sure you are ready. You can find all of our updates on GOV.UK.

When moving goods via transit, if movements aren’t cleared on NCTS, this may result in contact from the Central Community Transit Office (CCTO) requesting proof that the transit procedure has ended. For example, this may happen if a customer has cancelled an order when declarations have already been submitted onto NCTS or if a driver fails to report to the appropriate customs offices. If this happens, some, or all of your transit guarantee may be held until CCTO enquiries have been concluded.

If you have an open movement on NCTS 4 after 1 July 2024, HMRC may need to administer the closure manually, including contacting other Common Transit Convention (CTC) administrations. This will mean longer enquiry and processing times for undischarged transit movements after this date.

What you need to do

There are actions you can take to avoid delays to your transit movements.

Check your guarantee balance

You can check your transit guarantee balance using our online service.

You will need your:

• EORI number
• guarantee reference number
• access code
• Government Gateway user ID and password

If your available balance is lower than expected, you may have an undischarged transit movement. You can check the status of a movement on the European Commissions’ MRN Follow-up (Export & Transit) website. You’ll need your Movement Reference Number (MRN).

Contact HMRC with the right information

If you find an undischarged movement, you should contact HMRC’s CCTO team using the following addresses:

• for movements where the office of departure is in Great Britain or Northern Ireland contact [email protected]
• for movements where the office of destination is in Great Britain or Northern Ireland contact [email protected]

You can also speak to your HMRC account manager or customs compliance manager if you have one.

When contacting HMRC, you must provide the relevant MRN and one of the following:

• a document certified by the customs authorities of the Member State of destination — this must identify the goods and establish they have been presented at the office of destination or have been delivered to an authorised consignee
• a document or a customs record certified by the customs authority of a Member State — this must establish that the goods have physically left the customs territory of the Union
• a customs document issued in a third country where the goods are placed under a customs procedure
• a document issued in a third country establishing that the goods are in free circulation in that country — this must be stamped or certified by the customs authorities of that country

HMRC are unable to discharge transit movements where the following has been provided:

• packing lists
• screenshots of a map with a pinpoint stating that the goods are there
• pictures of the goods at a location
• documents not legible, that are pictures of the documents, taken by the driver
• screenshots of internal systems
• thank you emails to say a parcel has been received
• invoices

If you have any queries with your transit movements, you can contact the NCTS helpdesk at [email protected].