Updated: 12th July 2024
What is a CCI clearance?
The Centralised Clearance for import (CCI) is a simplified customs procedure within the European Union Customs Code that allows you to clear goods from your country, in another part of the community.
To do this, you lodge the customs declaration at your supervising office, who then coordinate the clearance with the office of presentation in the other country. During this process, the two offices will determine if document or physical controls are necessary, or if the clearance needs amending.
Once your clearance is validated, the presentation office will levy the taxes according to local rates and task your supervising office with collection. Upon paying the taxes to your supervising office, they will inform the office of presentation that the goods can be released.
How does this benefit you?
Although there are additional parties involved at a customs level, things become easier for you as a trader:
- You gain the advantage of a single customs contact in your chosen country, eliminating the need for multiple brokers and customs offices across the community.
- You benefit from standardised declarations, which replace various documents and datasets for each country, making customs compliance auditing and training more straightforward.
- You enjoy the convenience of centralised finances, allowing you to pay taxes to a single office and manage a singular customs account.
- You experience reduced administrative costs through streamlined processes and consolidated accounts.
Who can use CCI clearances?
You can use Centralised Clearance for Import (CCI) procedure if you clear goods in several countries within the EU, and are approved for a Single Authorisation for Simplified Procedure (SASP) permit by customs.
To obtain a SASP licence, you need to:
- Possess Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) certification.
- Utilise digitalisation in your customs processes.
- Obtain permission from each member country where you are clearing goods.
More digitalisation on the horizon
Spain is tested the EU centralised clearance mechanism in 2023, which builds on the UCC centralised clearance for import and allow clearances of all kinds to be completed in a single trade window.
Following testing in Spain and some other countries afterwards, legislation outlining the electronic infrastructure requirements has been circulated for countries to create development plans from.
Currently, using CCI clearances still requires the involvement of customs offices within most EU countries. However, the aim is to make the whole process digital throughout the EU, so that you can process all of your declarations independent of the supervising office.
If you are already prepared with a CCI licence and operation, then you may be one of the first to benefit from the new system when it arrives in your country.
Interested in using the UCC centralised clearance for import procedure?
Customs Support is here for you. Operating in 14 countries within the EU, and in the UK, we provide businesses just like yours with import declarations, export declarations, and customs consultancy. Contact one of our experts for assistance in obtaining a CCI customs licence today.
