Transit Procedures
The transit procedure allows your goods to move from one customs office to another without customs duties being paid; it protects your cash flow, but imposes strict responsibility in return. If the procedure is not discharged in due form, the guarantee is not released and the duties become payable. We manage the whole chain end to end, from the NCTS declaration to the release of the guarantee, and never let your file stay open.
NCTS transit declarations
We prepare your T1 and T2 transit declarations through NCTS and monitor the office of departure, the route and the office of destination throughout the system. For movements under the Common Transit Convention, we lodge the declaration in a form directly compatible with the European network.
Guarantee management
A transit operation requires a risk equal to the duty on the goods to be secured by a guarantee. We calculate the required amount, determine whether a comprehensive or individual guarantee is right for your business, and follow up the prompt release of the guarantee once the operation is complete.
Seals, routing and time limit monitoring
The integrity of the vehicle seals, adherence to the prescribed route and arrival at the office of destination within the time limit are all mandatory for the validity of the procedure. We monitor your file from the moment of departure and, in the event of delay, breakdown or a change of route, notify the authorities in time to prevent the procedure from being compromised.
Discharge of the procedure and dispute management
The procedure ends when the goods are presented at the office of destination and the declaration is discharged. On files that do not close, an enquiry procedure is opened, and if it is not managed it turns into an additional assessment and a penalty. That is why we proactively scan your open transit files and contact the authorities before the problem grows.
Frequently asked
The period is not fixed; it is set by the office of departure on the declaration according to the mode of transport, the distance and the route. What matters is that it is not exceeded — exceeding it constitutes a breach of the procedure. We monitor your file's time limit and, where necessary, apply in good time for an extension or make the required notifications.
A T1 is used for the transit of goods that are not in free circulation (customs duties not yet paid). A T2 allows goods in free circulation to move while retaining that status. Which one is issued depends on the status of the goods and the route; choosing the wrong type causes serious problems on arrival, so we make that decision file by file.
The guarantee is released once the procedure has been discharged in due form and the declaration acquitted. In practice, the guarantees that wait longest belong to files nobody noticed had failed to close. We monitor the closure notifications and track guarantee release as a separate work item.
In such cases the carrier must immediately apply to the nearest customs office and have the incident formally recorded. When notification is made in time the procedure can usually be saved; if no notification is made, the assessment will be that the goods were removed from customs supervision, with severe consequences. If this happens, contact our team at once and let us manage the process.