Traders

Businesses that move goods commercially into or out of the Network deal with the Customs Service through a single registration. The Trader Registration Number identifies the trader on every declaration, links its payments and its records, and is the basis for the further authorisations that simplify regular trade: deferment of duty, simplified declarations, approved warehouses and authorisation as a carrier or customs agent.

Registration and authorisations. The table below lists the registration and the authorisations the Service grants, who may hold each, the security required and the time the Service takes to decide a complete application.

Registering as a trader. Registration is free and is completed by email.

1. 1

   Step 1: Write to the Service

   Send the business name, its registration with the Commerce Department or the member organisation concerned, its address in the Network, the names of the persons who will lodge declarations, and the kinds of goods and the approximate number of consignments expected each year.

2. 2

   Step 2: Receive the Trader Registration Number

   The Service confirms the registration by email within five working days and issues the Trader Registration Number, which is quoted on every declaration and every message to the Service.

3. 3

   Step 3: Apply for further authorisations

   Once registered, a trader may apply for a deferment account, simplified declarations, warehouse approval or authorisation as a carrier or agent, on the terms in the table above. Each application quotes the registration number and is decided within the period shown.

4. 4

   Step 4: Confirm details annually

   Each September the Service writes to every registered trader asking for confirmation that the details held are current. A registration not confirmed within 60 days is suspended until the confirmation is received.

Approved warehouses. Goods entered into an approved warehouse are held with duty suspended. Duty becomes due only when the goods are removed for use in the Network, at the rate in force on the date of removal, and no duty is due on goods re-exported from the warehouse. The Service designated six approved warehouses at establishment. Applications to operate further warehouses are considered against the standards of security, record-keeping and access for officers set out in the approval conditions, which are sent on request.

Deferment accounts. From 1 October 2026 a registered trader may apply for a deferment account. Duty assessed in a calendar month is recorded against the account and paid in a single transfer by the fifteenth day of the following month. The account is secured by a guarantee from a bank or insurer covering one month's duty, estimated from the trader's declarations over the preceding year or, for a new trader, from the volumes stated at registration. A trader who pays late is suspended from deferment until the arrears are cleared, and pays against each assessment notice in the meantime.

Customs agents. An importer or exporter may appoint a customs agent to lodge declarations and deal with the Service on its behalf. The agent quotes both its own registration and that of the trader it acts for. The trader remains responsible for the accuracy of the declaration and for the duty; the agent is responsible for lodging it in time and for keeping its own records of what it lodged.

Obligations of registered traders. Registration carries the obligations below. Repeated failure to meet them may lead to the withdrawal of authorisations and, in serious cases, of the registration itself.

Declare accurately

Every declaration must state the goods, their classification, quantity and customs value correctly. An error discovered before release is corrected without penalty; an error discovered at examination or audit is a misdeclaration.

Present goods when asked

Goods marked for examination must be presented at the holding area with the packages accessible and the packing list to hand. The trader or agent, or the driver acting for them, attends the examination.

Pay duty when due

Duty is paid against each assessment notice before release, or, for deferment account holders, by the fifteenth day of the month following assessment. Late payment suspends the deferment account until the arrears are cleared.

Keep records for six years

Declarations, supporting documents, assessment notices, release notes and receipts are kept for six years from the date of release, in a form that can be produced to the Service within five working days of a request.

Notify changes within fourteen days

Changes of name, ownership, address in the Network, bank details or the persons authorised to lodge declarations are notified to the Service in writing within fourteen days.

Admit audit

The Service audits a sample of registered traders each year, comparing declarations with commercial records. Traders give officers access to the records and premises concerned at a time agreed in advance, normally with ten working days' notice.

How declarations are lodged and decided is set out on the Declarations page, the tariff and the rules of valuation on the Duties and Allowances page, and the freight posts and their hours on the Customs Posts page. Applications and enquiries are made by writing to contact@customs.gov.vin, quoting the Trader Registration Number where one is held.