Functionality to manage staff access in the agent services account

HMRC is developing a new feature within the agent services account (ASA) called Manage Access Groups which will allow agents to control which staff can access which client records.

HMRC has expanded the private beta test (which was limited to agents with up to 1,000 clients) to include testing with larger agents with up to 100,000 clients.

Agents who are interested in taking part in testing, or would like to find out more about what it involves, should email mtdgpvolunteers@hmrc.gov.uk.

Annual tax on enveloped dwellings chargeable amounts

The indexation order for the annual tax on enveloped dwelling for the chargeable amounts for the 2023/24 chargeable period has been made.

Mandatory disclosure reporting

To prepare for the reporting of cross-border arrangements under the mandatory disclosure rules from 28 March 2023, HMRC has published a guidance page alongside a schema and supporting documents.

Change to date postponed import VAT statements available online

Businesses that account for import VAT through their VAT return have to access the customs declaration service to obtain their postponed import VAT statement. The date by which these statements are available online has changed from the sixth working day of the month to the eighth working day of the month.

Change to UCC supplementary declarations submission date

From 1 January 2023, the union customs code gives traders importing goods into Northern Ireland, that use simplified declarations, until the tenth calendar day of the month following import to submit their supplementary declarations. Traders that use the trader support service duty deferment account (DDA) or that are already submitting supplementary declarations by the fourth working day of each month do not need to make a change.
For traders that decide to file declarations through the customs declaration service (CDS) after the fourth working day, the customs duty and import VAT due from the trader’s DDA may not show on the supplementary deferment statements. Payment may therefore be taken in the following month. Traders must ensure they have sufficient funds in their bank account for this payment to be made as they may be charged interest.

Traders should check that their DDA limits are sufficient before making declarations. Traders can make current month increases by using the CDS deferment top-up facility. It is important to check that any top-ups are showing against the account limits before making the declaration.

Improvements to transit guidance

Traders moving goods under the common transit convention (CTC), more generally known as ‘transit’, can now benefit from a number of improvements made to HMRC’s online guidance for businesses. Transit is a customs facilitation that allows businesses to easily move goods across multiple borders, without customs checks taking place at each border crossing. The Transit GOV.UK guidance has been refreshed, with improvements including a new landing page, step-by-step routes and simpler navigation.

New computerised transit system phase 5

The UK is an independent member of the common transit convention (CTC). Under the terms of the CTC, all members must move to new computerised transit system (NCTS) phase 5, a new version with improved functionality, by 30 November 2023.

HMRC will switch over to NCTS5 from NCTS4 on 16 November 2023. Great Britain (England, Wales, and Scotland) and Northern Ireland will be switched to NCTS5 at the same time.

Going forward, monthly updates containing more details about the switch will be published here.

Imports of products of animal origin and animal by-products from the EU (excluding the Republic of Ireland)

A recent change has been implemented into the customs declaration service (CDS) tariff affecting imports of products of animal origin and animal by-products from the EU (excluding the Republic of Ireland).

Importers of these products should have been making pre-notifications on the import of products, animals, food and feed system (IPAFFS) since January 2022 and including references from IPAFFS in the customs declarations for these goods. This is now required. To ensure movements are not disrupted, traders should make these pre-notifications on IPAFFS and include the reference from the pre-notification in the customs declaration. For further information, visit customs declarations completion requirements or the online tariff.

Traders that have already pre-lodged their declaration should amend it before the goods arrive in the UK to include the correct pre-notification reference from IPAFFS. If the declaration was pre-lodged and the goods have already arrived in the UK, the declaration will need to be resubmitted with the correct pre-notification reference.