How to Close a T1 in Poland?

Who is responsible and what to present at the office

Scope of responsibility between the parties

The holder of the procedure (the principal) is responsible for presenting the goods intact, together with the required information, at the customs office of destination within the prescribed time limit; so are the carrier and a recipient who accepts the goods knowing that they are moving under transit (Article 233(1) and (3) UCC). The procedure ends when the goods and the required information are available at the office of destination (Article 233(2) UCC) or with an authorised consignee at the place specified in the authorisation (Article 233(4)(b) UCC, Article 316 of Regulation 2015/2447).

Minimum data set for the declaration

At the office of destination, the goods, the MRN of the transit declaration and all information required by that office are presented (Article 306(1) of Implementing Regulation 2015/2447). In Poland's NCTS2 PLUS system, the consignee notifies the office of destination of the goods' arrival with an IE007 message. The office carries out controls on the basis of the data received from the office of departure (Article 308(1)), sends the control results to the office of departure within three days at the latest (Article 309(1)) and sends the consignee an IE025 message releasing the goods from transit. Where goods are delivered to an authorised consignee, the consignee unloads them only after permission (IE043) and reports the unloading remarks in an IE044 message (Article 315 of Regulation 2015/2447).

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How closing a T1 works step by step

Operational stages from notification to release

In short: arrival and presentation of the goods with the MRN (Article 306(1) of Regulation 2015/2447), the IE007 arrival notification, controls and the IE025 message, the control results passed to the office of departure (Article 309), and finally closure of the movement by the office of departure with an IE045 message to the declarant. The procedure may also end at an office other than the one declared – that office is then regarded as the office of destination and informs the office of departure of the arrival (Articles 306(4) and 307(2)). The same rules apply under common transit, which covers, among others, movements from the United Kingdom (Article 45(5) of Appendix I to the Convention on a common transit procedure). In NCTS2 PLUS, a transit movement with the status 'goods presented' can also be ended by an import declaration with code TR025, provided its data match the transit data. The guarantee is released once a customs debt can no longer arise (Article 98(1) UCC).

The most common risk points and how to reduce them

The result of controls at the office of destination is recorded with a code. Discrepancies that do not give rise to a debt – for example missing or damaged seals, goods delivered after the time limit, or an incorrect weight with no signs of tampering – are coded A5. Code B1 means discrepancies that prevent the procedure from being closed: the movement remains open and the liability of the holder of the procedure and the guarantor continues until the matter is resolved. The time limit for presenting the goods is set by the office of departure and is binding (Article 297 of Regulation 2015/2447); if an itinerary has been prescribed (Article 298), it must be followed.

Record-keeping and working with an agency

Record-keeping, corrections and evidence of due diligence

Documents relating to the T1 procedure – the declaration, NCTS messages (including IE045), invoices and transport documents – must be kept for at least three years; for transit, the period runs from the end of the year in which the procedure was discharged (Article 51(1) UCC). A declaration may be amended on application and with the consent of the customs authorities, but not after they have announced an examination of the goods, found the particulars incorrect or released the goods; after release, an amendment is possible only under Article 173(3) UCC (within three years of acceptance of the declaration). Evidence of due diligence, such as correspondence with the haulier and a goods-receipt record, makes it easier to explain discrepancies.

Working with a customs agency

A customs agency can lodge the transit declaration and follow the authorities' messages in NCTS, while the client remains responsible for the accuracy of the data supplied. If a transit has not been discharged on time, see what to do about an unclosed T1. We write about choosing the office of destination in can you close a T1 at any customs office, and about the documents needed to open a transit in what documents are needed for T1.

Frequently asked questions