#2026/604UK updates customs safety and security penalties and notification rules
AI-generated summary for informational purposes only. Not legal advice. See the original source for the authoritative text.
This regulation updates UK customs safety and security procedures, mainly by widening who can be fined for problems with entry and pre-departure declarations. A declarant’s customs representative can now be penalized, as well as the declarant, where that representative lodged the relevant declaration. It also adds a £2,500 penalty where the operator of a ship or aircraft fails to notify the customs office when arriving in the customs territory. Freight operators, carriers, customs brokers, and businesses using representatives should check that arrival notifications and safety and security declarations are assigned clearly and filed correctly before the rules take effect on 30 June 2026.
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Key Changes
- Customs representatives can be penalized for entry summary declaration failures when they lodged the declaration.
- Operators of ships and aircraft face a £2,500 penalty if they fail to notify arrival to the customs office of first entry.
- References to exit summary declarations are updated to pre-departure declarations, with related penalty wording adjusted.
Obligations
What this law requires
When a sea-going vessel or aircraft enters the customs territory, the operator of that means of transport must notify arrival to the customs office of first entry upon arrival.
A declarant and any customs representative who lodged the entry summary declaration may be penalized if the relevant entry summary declaration safety and security requirements are contravened.
A declarant and any customs representative who lodged the pre-departure declaration may be penalized if the relevant pre-departure declaration requirements are contravened.
Pre-departure declarations must be lodged where required under Articles 263 and 271 of the Code and Articles 244 and 245 of the Delegated Regulation; failure to lodge them as pre-departure declarations may attract penalties.