How to use ‘grouping’ on your customs declarations

Find out what grouping is and when you may be allowed to benefit from this simplification on your Internal Market Movement Information (IMMI) or customs declarations for goods movements to Northern Ireland.

contents:

-          What is grouping?

-          Why would you use grouping?

-          Before you start using grouping

-          When can you use grouping?

-          When you cannot use grouping?

-          Completing entry summary declarations with customs information

-          Grouping using the Trader Support Service

-          Grouping is not the same as groupage

 

What is grouping?

Grouping is a customs declaration simplification which can let you combine goods with different commodity codes in your consignment under one commodity code on to the Internal Market Movement Information (IMMI) or customs declaration under certain conditions.

This can be helpful if you need to declare a lot of different goods within a single consignment. The time and expense of entering each item could end up being greater than any duty you might be charged.

When you use grouping, the commodity code declared must be the one attracting the highest rate of duty within the whole consignment.

 

 

Why would you use grouping?

You need to know the benefits and limitations of using grouping before you decide to use it. Grouping is an optional declaration simplification. You should only use it where it is suitable for the goods, the declaration route and the duty outcome.

The main benefit of using grouping is that it can make your customs declaration quicker to complete. This is particularly beneficial if you regularly move lots of different goods in each consignment and they attract similar rates of duty (for ‘at risk’ goods).

Using the UK Internal Market Scheme (UKIMS) to move ‘not at risk’ goods

If you have a UK Internal Market Scheme (UKIMS) authorisation and can evidence that your goods are for use in the UK internal market, you can declare your goods ‘not at risk’ of entering the EU. You may be able to use grouping on your declaration.

For example, you move a consignment of ‘not at risk’ goods to Northern Ireland. The consignment is made up of 10 different commodity codes. If you meet the conditions for grouping, you will need to total the quantities of the 10 codes and declare them as one goods record on your declaration. This can be any commodity code from your consignment because there are no duties applicable to ‘not at risk’ goods. In this instance, you complete your declaration quickly instead of entering each goods record separately.

Moving ‘not at risk’ goods where the applicable duty rate is 0%

In other cases, after checking the Northern Ireland online tariff, you may find that all the commodity codes in your consignment show 0% duty. These goods are automatically considered ‘not at risk’ even if they may not remain in the UK internal market. In this case you can still use the grouping simplification providing all other conditions for grouping have been met to help you complete your declarations quickly. You can do this by selecting any commodity code from your consignment.

 

Moving ‘At risk’ goods

You may be able to use grouping on consignments containing ‘at risk’ goods so long as you meet the conditions to do so.

For example, you move a consignment of ‘at risk’ goods to Northern Ireland. All the goods attract the same rate of duty. If you meet the conditions for using grouping, you can use any of the commodity codes to group the whole consignment into a single goods record. You will pay the same duty as you would have if you had declared each item separately and you gain the added benefit of completing your declaration quickly.

In some cases, when moving ‘at risk’ goods, you can end up paying more duty when using grouping. This usually happens when you have more goods at a lower rate of duty with a good that attracts a higher rate of duty.

For example, you move a consignment of ‘at risk’ goods to Northern Ireland. The consignment is made up of 5 different commodity codes of varying duty rates. If you meet the conditions for using grouping, you will need to total the 5 commodities and declare them using the commodity code attracting the highest duty. In this case, grouping may not be a suitable option as you will pay more duty than if you had declared the 5 commodity codes as 5 individual items.

 

Before you start using grouping

To use grouping you must know:

·       that your goods, declaration route and movement meet the conditions for grouping each time you use it

·       how your goods will move or have moved to Northern Ireland (from Great Britain to Northern Ireland or from the rest of the world – excluding the EU)

·       the ‘risk’ status of your goods – whether they are ‘at risk’ of onward movement to the EU or ‘not at risk’ of onward movement

There are other details you will need to know about the goods to decide whether they can be grouped or not. You will need to search for information about your commodity codes using the Northern Ireland Online Tariff to help identify:

·       the unit of measurement for the goods (if applicable) - shown as supplementary units on the tariff

·       the third country duty applicable to the goods - shown in the Import duties section of the tariff

·       if the goods are subject to prohibitions, restrictions or licensing (goods are eligible for grouping if exempt from license requirements) - shown in the EU import controls section of the tariff

You can also use the tariff to find out if your goods are subject to other tariff measures, including if you can claim a preferential rate of duty on them.

You should also consider the type of goods you are moving. For example, you might be moving a mix of excise and non-excise goods. If you put the excise goods into one group, and the non-excise goods into another, this may make grouping a viable option. If you put all these goods into one group, you may end up paying more duty than you need to for your whole consignment as excise goods tend to have higher rates of duty.

 

When can you use grouping?

Grouping can be used on:

·       the Internal Market Movement Information (IMMI) – when submitted separately from the entry summary declaration

·       simplified frontier declarations – when submitted separately from the entry summary declaration

·       supplementary declarations

·       full import declarations (called a ‘standard declaration’ in this service, previously called a full frontier declaration)

To use it, you will need to add additional procedure code F47 on your declaration. You will also need to add document codes and additional information codes depending on the declaration type. In some scenarios you may need to use more than one additional procedure code. These are described in the following guidance:

·       conditions for using grouping on the Internal Market Movement Information (IMMI)

·       conditions for using grouping on supplementary declarations and full import declarations

You must meet the conditions to use this simplification and keep evidence to show how your goods were grouped.

 

 

 

Keeping records about how you use grouping

HMRC may ask to see evidence of how you were able to use grouping for your goods.  You should keep records of:

·       commodity codes

·       duty rates

·       origin

·       quantities

·       values

·       number of packages

·       reason the goods were grouped

When you cannot use grouping

Grouping cannot be used on:

·       entry summary declarations (ENS)

·       full import declarations and supplementary declarations where goods are being moved into or out of a customs special procedure, such as a customs warehouse

·       export declarations

There are other circumstances where grouping cannot be used, for example, goods subject to prohibitions and restrictions. These are stated in the completion rule instructions for additional procedure code F47. You will need to read the completion instructions with a particular focus on the general conditions as well as the Northern Ireland conditions and restrictions.

To find out more on when you cannot use grouping:

·       on the IMMI, see the completion instructions for additional procedure code F47 for IMMI.

·       on a supplementary declaration or full import declaration, see the completion instructions for additional procedure code F47 for import declarations.

 

The conditions for using grouping can change at any time. You need to check that your movement and goods comply with the conditions before each use of this simplification.

 

 

 

Completing entry summary declarations with customs information

If you use the Trader Support Service to complete an entry summary declaration and customs information (for non-controlled goods) as part of the combined journey, you may use grouping by following these steps.

1.      Submit an entry summary declaration with an entry in the declarants record (EIDR) before the goods move using a minimum 6-digit commodity code for each goods in the consignment.

2.      When the goods arrive, delete all goods records from the supplementary declaration and replace with the grouped commodity code – use procedure code F47 to confirm you are using grouping.

For controlled goods that require a simplified frontier declaration or for goods eligible for the IMMI, follow these steps to use grouping.

1.      Submit an entry summary declaration on its own before the goods move.

2.      Submit a separate simplified frontier declaration for controlled goods or an IMMI for eligible goods before the goods move - use procedure code F47 to confirm you are using grouping.

3.      If you have submitted the IMMI, no further action is required.

4.      If you have submitted a simplified frontier declaration, you need to complete the supplementary declaration when the goods arrive – use procedure code F47 to confirm you have used grouping.

 

Grouping using the Trader Support Service

How you group goods is dependent on the type of declaration you use, whether they are ‘at risk’ of onward movement to the EU and whether they are UK domestic status (UK duties paid).

Here are some examples to show how you could use grouping.

However, you must check the current tariff, declaration completion rules and F47 conditions for your own goods before using grouping.

Supplementary declarations or full import declarations

Example 1 – ‘not at risk’ goods

A business is moving clothing from Great Britain to Northern Ireland for sale at a retail store in Armagh.

The goods in this movement are:

·       moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland as UK domestic goods (UK duties paid)

·       ‘not at risk’ for onward movement to the EU

The business will not need to pay any duties but can use grouping to combine the whole consignment into a single goods record rather than declare each goods record separately. This is because they have claimed ‘not at risk’ by using their UKIMS authorisation.

The business is moving 4 types of goods.

Goods description	Commodity code	Country of origin	Quantity	Number of packages	Duty %	Total value
Boys Cotton t-shirts, size S	6109100010	China	5	1	0	£50
Girls cotton dresses, size M	6204420090	India	10	2	0	£100
Women’s fine knit turtle neck jumpers, size S	6110301000	Bangladesh	10	2	0	£80
Men’s shirts 50% polyester 50% modal, size 15”	6105209000	Cambodia	5	1	0	£25

 

After checking the Northern Ireland Online Tariff, these goods can be grouped into a single goods record because:

·       there is no duty applicable

·       there are no license requirements for the goods

·       they are not subject to prohibitions or restrictions

The business checks the general conditions, as well as the Northern Ireland conditions and restrictions as listed under additional procedure code F47. These goods can be grouped:

·       using any one of the 4 commodity codes

·       using any of the 4 countries of origin because they are UK domestic goods

·       using the totals of unit of measurement (quantity), value and packages for all commodity codes

The business can now group these goods together.

Goods description	Commodity code	Country of origin	Quantity	Number of packages	Duty %	Total value
Mixed clothing (t-shirts, dresses, turtle neck jumpers and shirts)	6109100010	China	30	6	0	£255

 

Example 2 – ‘at risk’ goods

A business is moving various goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland for sale on their online store. The business distributes their sold products from their warehouse in Newry.

The goods in this movement are:

·       moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland as UK domestic goods (UK duties paid)

·       ‘at risk’ of onward movement to the EU

The business will need to pay duties but can use grouping to combine more than one goods record into a single goods record rather than declare each goods record separately.

The business is moving 4 types of goods.

Goods description	Commodity code	Country of origin	Quantity	Number of packages	Duty %	Total value
Chocolate flavoured Cigars (packs of 5)	2402100000	United Kingdom	1000	200	26	£2000
Menthol Cigarettes (packs of 20)	2402209000	United Kingdom	1000	5	57.60	£100
‘1 world’ flip flops, black, size 8 (EU 42)	6402200000	Morocco	10	1	17	£34
Black leather gloves, size M	4203299000	Morocco	25	2	7	£125

 

After checking the Northern Ireland Online Tariff, these goods should not be grouped into a single goods record because the consignment contains a mix of excise and non-excise goods. If the whole consignment is grouped under the commodity code attracting the highest rate of duty, the business will pay a disproportionate amount of duty on the whole consignment.

The business checks the general conditions and the Northern Ireland conditions and restrictions as listed under additional procedure code F47. These goods can be grouped:

·       into 2 goods records – one for excise goods and another for non-excise goods

·       using any of the origins of the grouped goods

·       using the totals of unit of measurement (quantity), value and packages for each goods record grouped

 

In addition:

·       the business has evidence to claim a preferential rate of duty for the cigars and cigarettes of UK origin under the trade and cooperation agreement (TCA), reducing the third country duty from 57.60% to 0%.

·       the cigars and cigarettes are excise goods, which must also be declared with additional procedure code 1EB. The goods meet the conditions for using this additional procedure code.

 

These goods can now be grouped.

Goods description	Commodity code	Country of origin	Quantity	Number of packages	Duty %	Total value
Chocolate flavoured cigars and menthol cigarettes	2402100000	United Kingdom	2000	205	0	£2100
Black flip-flops and leather gloves	6402200000	Morocco	35	3	17	£159

 

Example 3: mixed ‘at risk’ and ‘not at risk’ goods

A business is moving various goods from rest of the world (excluding the EU) to Northern Ireland for sale in their retail store and online shop.

The goods in this movement are:

·       moving from rest of the world (excluding the EU) to Northern Ireland as non-UK domestic goods (UK duties unpaid)

·       partly ‘at risk’ for onward movement to the EU

The business will need to pay duties on the ‘at risk’ goods. No duties are payable on the ‘not at risk’ goods.

The business is moving 5 types of goods.

Goods description and risk status	Commodity code	Country of origin	Quantity	Number of packages	Duty %	Total value
Men’s wellington boots – size 44 – blue – ‘at risk’	6401990010	Egypt	10	10	17	£100
Men’s bicycle helmet – size L – red – ‘not at risk’	6506101000	China	10	10	0	£100
‘cool rider’ men’s cotton t-shirts – ‘not at risk’	6109100010	Morocco	20	2	0	£200
Men’s leather boots – black – ‘at risk’	6403510590	China	10	5	8	£500
‘cool rider’ black baseball caps – ‘not at risk’	6505003000	Thailand	50	2	0	£200

 

After checking the Northern Ireland Online Tariff, the whole consignment cannot be grouped as a single goods record because they contain a mix of ‘at risk’ and ‘not at risk’ goods.

They can use grouping to combine the ‘not at risk’ goods together under one commodity code.

The remaining ‘at risk’ goods could also be grouped together under one commodity code as long as the conditions for grouping have been met.

After checking the general conditions and the Northern Ireland conditions and restrictions as listed under additional procedure code F47, these goods can be grouped:

·       into 2 goods records – one for ‘at risk’ goods and another for ‘not at risk’ goods

·       using any of the origins of the grouped goods

·       using the totals of unit of measurement (quantity), value and packages for each goods record grouped according to their measurement unit

 

This means that the 3 ‘not at risk’ goods can be grouped under one commodity code.

Goods description	Commodity code	Country of origin	Quantity	Number of packages	Duty %	Total value
Men’s bicycle helmets, t-shirts and baseball caps – ‘not at risk’	6109100010	Morocco	80	14	0	£500

 

The remaining 2 ‘at risk’ goods can be grouped under one commodity code.

Goods description	Commodity code	Country of origin	Quantity	Number of packages	Duty %	Total value
Men’s wellington boots and leather boots – ‘at risk’	6401990010	Egypt	20	15	17	£600

 

 

Internal Market Movement Information (IMMI)

The approach to grouping when using the IMMI is different to supplementary or full import declarations.

Rather than looking at duty rates and measurement units, goods on the IMMI are grouped according to their category. This is because to use the IMMI, you will have already checked that the goods are eligible to be declared ‘not at risk’ under your UKIMS authorisation.

Using the IMMI does not automatically mean grouping is allowed.

Only standard goods and category 2 excise goods (not subject to licence requirements) can be grouped. Any goods subject to documents or licensing cannot be grouped.

You must check the category of your goods to help you decide if your goods can be grouped. You will still need to consult the Northern Ireland Online Tariff to find out other information about your goods, such as whether they are subject to prohibitions or restrictions.

 

Remember, you must be eligible to use the simplified processes for Internal Market Movements to use the IMMI.

 

 

Example 1: Great Britain to Northern Ireland single category goods (standard)

A business is moving cosmetics from Great Britain to Northern Ireland for sale at a retail store in Belfast.

As the business has confirm the goods are eligible to use IMMI, the goods in this movement are:

·       moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland as UK domestic goods (UK duties paid)

·       ‘not at risk’ for onward movement to the EU

The business is moving 4 kinds of goods.

Goods description	Commodity code	Country of origin	Quantity	Number of packages	Total value
Electronic book reader – 16GB - white	8543700500	United Kingdom	50	5	£1000
Foldable smartphone – 256GB – gunmetal silver	8517130000	United Kingdom	5	1	£1000
Kids GPS smartwatch – 64GB - starry sky	8517620000	Italy	20	2	£500
Kids digital cameras – 64GB – white	8525890000	USA	50	2	£300

 

The standard goods category was confirmed using check the category of your goods.

After checking the Northern Ireland Online Tariff, these goods can be grouped because they are:

·       standard goods

·       exempt from documentary requirements

·       not subject to prohibitions or restrictions

The business checks the general conditions and the Northern Ireland conditions and restrictions as listed under additional procedure code F47. These goods can be grouped:

·       using any one of the 4 commodity codes

·       using any of the 4 countries of origin because they are UK domestic goods

·       using the totals of the value and packages for all commodity codes

 

These goods can now be entered as a single goods record.

Goods description	Commodity code	Country of origin	Quantity	Number of packages	Total value
e-book readers, smartphones, smartwatches and digital cameras	8543700500	United Kingdom	125	10	£2800

 

Example 2: Great Britain to Northern Ireland dual category goods (standard and category 2)

A business is moving various products from Great Britain to Northern Ireland for sale at a retail store in Larne.

As the business has confirm the goods are eligible to use IMMI, the goods in this movement are:

·       moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland as UK domestic goods (UK duties paid)

·       ‘not at risk’ for onward movement to the EU

The business is moving 4 kinds of goods. The goods are not moving under the Northern Ireland Retail Movement Scheme (NIRMS).

Goods Description	Commodity code	Country of origin	Quantity	Number of packages	Total value
Chocolate biscuits  - 500g packet	1905311900	Spain	30	5	£75
Milk chocolate bars – 50g slab	1806329000	Switzerland	50	2	£100
Champagne 12% ABV – 75cl bottle	2204101100	South Africa	10	2	£300
Prosecco 8% ABV – 75cl bottle	2204101500	USA	10	2	£200

 

The category of goods was confirmed using the check the category of your goods service as:

·       Standard goods – chocolate biscuits and chocolate bars

·       Category 2 non-licensable excise goods – champagne and prosecco

After checking the Northern Ireland Online Tariff, these goods cannot be grouped as a single goods record because they are different categories of goods

The business checks the general conditions and the Northern Ireland conditions and restrictions as listed under additional procedure code F47. These goods can be grouped:

·       according to the category of the goods

·       using any of the countries of origin according to the category of goods because they are UK domestic goods

·       using the totals of the value and packages of the commodity codes according to their category

 

These goods can be grouped as 2 goods records.

Goods Description	Commodity code	Country of origin	Quantity	Number of packages	Total value
Chocolate biscuits and bars	1905311900	Spain	80	7	£175
Champagne (12% ABV) and prosecco (8% ABV) in 75cl bottles	2204101100	South Africa	20	4	£500

 

Grouping is not the same as groupage

Sometimes the grouping simplification can get confused with the practice of groupage.

Groupage is a logistics method that hauliers or transporters use to move multiple consignments that can include a wide range of goods belonging to different customers in one truckload.

Grouping is a simplification that can be used on a customs declaration.