20 October 2021 
Andrea Marshall, Tax Specialist
The Customs Declaration Service communication pack has been updated with a section called ‘Key differences between CHIEF and the Customs Declaration Service’. There are a few points to note in this document regarding payment of import liabilities:
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When you Apply for a customs comprehensive guarantee to cover customs debts, you can now apply for a Duty Deferment Account at the same time. (If members use this option please provide some feedback – Andrea cannot see the application process as it is via the Government Gateway login.)
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Using commodity codes and related additional codes in the Customs Declaration Service has been published. This is really for the agents who complete import or export declarations. However, there is one section that you may wish to bring to the attention of your agent:
VAT zero-rating
For imports, where the VAT relief is decided by the commodity code only:
For exports, where goods are being zero-rated for exports, you should enter VATZ in Data Element 6/17.
You must check the conditions and restrictions shown against the relevant Data Element 1/10 and Data Element 1/11 procedure and additional procedure codes to check eligibility criteria for zero-rating goods at export.
