GEN 1.4 ENTRY, TRANSIT AND DEPARTURE OF CARGO

1  CUSTOMS AND EXCISE REQUIREMENTS
1.1  Importation and Exportation of Cargo and Cargo in Transit
1.1.1  Movement of Community Goods
1.1.1.1 With the completion of the Single Market, Community goods moving within the EC are considered to be in 'Free Circulation', and will for the most part, no longer require Community Transit documentation. Community/Free Circulation goods are those which:

  1. Originate in the Community; or

  2. are goods imported from a non-Community country and which have had all duties and charges paid and are said to be in Free Circulation;

  3. goods which have been manufactured in the community wholly or partly from materials or parts which are in Free Circulation.

1.1.2  Import of Non-Community Goods
1.1.2.1 The importation of goods from a third country are subject to customs controls and require documentary evidence. Refer to HM Revenue and Customs Notice 199 – Imported goods: Customs procedures and customs debt.
1.1.3  Transit of Non-Community Goods
1.1.3.1 Goods which transit the UK and are not in Free Circulation are required to be under Customs control.
1.1.4  Export of Non-Community Goods
1.1.4.1 Goods which are to be exported either direct to a third country, or via the EU require an export declaration to be lodged at the Customs office of export. Further information can be found in HM Revenue and Customs Notice 275 – Export Procedures.
1.2  Freight Charters - Consolidation and Consignment Size
1.2.1 For outbound cargo charters between the United Kingdom and Europe* there is no minimum consignment size requirement. Consolidation is permitted.
1.2.2 For outbound cargo charters from the United Kingdom, other than to Europe* and the USA, no consignment shall be carried unless it exceeds 500 kg in weight, or 3.0 cubic metres in volume. Consolidation of consignments of less than 500 kg is permitted.
1.2.3 For inbound charters to the United Kingdom, other than from USA and Canada, there are no consignment size or consolidation restrictions.
1.2.4 For inbound charters from Canada, no consignment shall be carried unless it exceeds 500 kg in weight or 3.0 cubic metres in volume. Consolidation of consignments of less than 500 kg is permitted.
1.2.5 Special arrangements apply for both inbound and outbound charters to and from the USA and details can be obtained from IA 2A, Department of Transport.

Note: * Europe means the area comprising the following countries:

Albania

Algeria

Andorra

Austria

Belgium

Republic of Bosnia & Herzegovina

Bulgaria

CIS (West of Urals)

Croatia

Czech Republic

Denmark

Finland

France

Germany

Gibraltar

Greece

Hungary

Iceland

Republic of Ireland

Italy

Liechtenstein

Luxembourg

Macedonia

Malta

Monaco

Morocco

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal (including Azores & Madeira)

Romania

Slovenia

San Marino

Slovak Republic

Spain (including Balearics & Canaries)

Sweden

Switzerland

Tunisia

Turkey (Europe & Asia)

Fed Rep of Yugoslavia (Serbia & Montenegro)

  
2  AGRICULTURAL QUARANTINE REQUIREMENTS
2.1  TO BE DEVELOPED
3  DANGEROUS GOODS AND MUNITIONS OF WAR REQUIREMENTS
3.1  Carriage of Munitions of War
3.1.1 For operators subject to EASA Ops, CAT.GEN.MPA.155 states that weapons of war or munitions of war may only be carried if approval to do so has been granted by all States whose airspace is intended to be used for the flight. As indicated in GM1 CAT.GEN.MPA.155, there is no internationally agreed definition of the terms ‘weapons of war’ and ‘munitions of war’. For the purposes of flights using UK airspace, these terms are considered to include:

  1. any weapon (with or without ammunition);

  2. any ammunition;

  3. any article containing an explosive or any noxious liquid, gas; or

  4. any other thing, which is designed or made for use in warfare or against the person, including parts and accessories for such weapon, ammunition or article.

3.1.2 For all other aircraft (i.e. those not subject to EASA Ops), the UK Air Navigation Order states that munitions of war may only be carried if the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has granted permission to do so. The ANO contains the same definition of a munition of war as 3.1.1 above.
3.1.3 Therefore, weapons of war or munitions of war may only be carried by an aircraft within UK airspace if an approval or a permission has been granted by the CAA. Such documents are only granted on a long-term basis rather than for each flight. Application must be made at least 10 working days before the proposed date of the first flight on which weapons of war or munitions of war are to be carried. Applications may either request the approval/permission be granted for a period of one year, or non-expiring. Non-expiring approvals/permissions are subject to an annual fee which is charged by invoice.
3.1.4 If the weapons of war or munitions of war are also classified as dangerous goods, then see also paragraph 3.2 (Carriage of Dangerous Goods).
3.1.5 For details of how to apply for an approval or a permission to carry weapons of war or munitions of war, see paragraph 3.3 (Applications and Enquiries).
3.2  Carriage of Dangerous Goods
3.2.1 The requirements concerning dangerous goods vary depending upon which operating regulations apply to the aircraft, as follows:

  1. UK commercial air transport aircraft operating under an EASA Ops Air Operators Certificate are subject to CAT.GEN.MPA.200 and require an approval granted by the CAA in order to carry dangerous goods;

  2. all other UK registered aircraft are subject to Regulation 4(1)(a) of the Air Navigation (Dangerous Goods) Regulations 2002 and require an approval granted by the CAA in order to carry dangerous goods;

  3. non-UK commercial air transport aircraft operating under an EASA Ops Air Operator Certificate are also subject to CAT.GEN.MPA.200 and require an approval granted by the National Aviation Authority of their own State in order to carry dangerous goods within UK airspace;

  4. all other non-UK commercial air transport aircraft that are not operating under an EASA Ops Air Operator Certificate (i.e. Third Country Operators) will be subject to EASA Part-TCO once it comes into force and will require an authorisation granted by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) in order to operate in any EASA member State. This authorisation will specify whether or not the operator is authorised to carry dangerous goods. Until such time as EASA Part-TCO becomes applicable to Third Country Operators, a general approval granted by the UK CAA approves the operator to carry dangerous goods within UK airspace provided it holds approval to carry dangerous goods granted by its own State in accordance with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Annex 18 and the Technical Instructions; and

  5. all non-UK, non-commercial air transport aircraft are subject to Regulation 4(1)(a) of the Air Navigation (Dangerous Goods) Regulations 2002 and require an approval granted by the CAA in order to carry dangerous goods.

3.2.2 In addition to the approval described in paragraph 3.2.1, where the ICAO Technical Instructions indicates that a particular type of dangerous goods requires an additional exemption or approval in order to be carried, such approval or exemption must be obtained from the CAA.
3.2.3 Applications for approvals and/or exemptions must be made at least 10 working days before the proposed date of the flight. For details of how to apply for an approval or exemption to carry dangerous goods, see paragraph 3.3.
3.3  Applications and Enquiries
3.3.1 Application forms and further information about dangerous goods, weapons of war and munitions of war can be obtained from the following website address:

www.caa.co.uk/dangerousgoods
3.3.2 Completed application forms should be sent to the Civil Aviation Authority by e-mail, although they may also be sent by post. The applicable addresses and contact details are below:
Post:

Flight Operations, Civil Aviation Authority
Aviation House, Gatwick Airport South
West Sussex
RH6 0YR
United Kingdom

Email: dgo@caa.co.uk

Tel: +44 (0)1293-573800