Procedure when pre-lodging a simplified declaration
A customs declaration should always be submitted to Swedish Customs when goods are imported from countries outside the EU. One option is to submit a simplified declaration, followed by a supplementary declaration. A simplified declaration can be pre-lodged and activated once the goods arrive.
A simplified declaration contains less information about your consignment than a standard customs declaration. The remaining information is subsequently provided in a supplementary customs declaration. An authorisation is needed to use a simplified declaration.
A simplified declaration can be pre-lodged and activated once the goods arrive.
The image below describes how to pre-lodge a simplified declaration. Below the image, you can read descriptions of the roles and what happens at each stage.
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Roles
There may be a declarant both in a customs declaration and in a presentation notification. To distinguish between these roles, this procedure will use the following designations:
- Declarant in the customs declaration
- Declarant in the presentation notification.
A declarant may hire a representative who will handle their communications with Swedish Customs. The representative acts on behalf of the declarant. In this specification, it is stated that Swedish Customs will communicate with the declarant, regardless of whether the communication takes place directly with the declarant or via the declarant's representative.
Declarant in the customs declaration
The declarant in the customs declaration is the person lodging a customs declaration or an amendment request, or amending a pre-lodged customs declaration.
Declarant in the presentation notification
The declarant in the presentation notification is the person presenting the goods to customs at the border.
Process description
1. A pre-lodged simplified declaration is created
A customs declaration should always be submitted to Swedish Customs when goods are imported from countries outside the EU. The declarant indicated in the customs declaration draws the customs declaration and submits it digitally to Swedish Customs. The customs declaration will then contain a Local Reference Number (LRN). A declarant may also engage an representative who will handle their communications with Swedish Customs. The representative acts on behalf of the declarant.
A pre-lodged simplified declaration can at the earliest be submitted 30 days prior to the arrival of your goods at the border. When pre-lodging a simplified declaration, you may omit some information. This information should be submitted prior to presenting the goods to customs.
2. The simplified declaration is received
The declarant in the customs declaration will be given an opportunity to amend the errors and re-submit the customs declaration.
Swedish Customs receives the standard customs declaration and verifies that the information is correctly entered.
- In the event of errors, the customs declaration will be stopped. A message will be sent to inform the declarant that the customs declaration cannot be processed.
- If the information is correct, a message will be sent to the declarant in the customs declaration to inform the declarant that the declaration has been received.
In the next step, the system will cross-check the information against TARIC and applicable authorisations.
- If any if these entries are incorrect, for example, if a commodity code that does not exist in TARIC is used, a message with information about the errors will be sent to the declarant in the customs declaration. The declarant will be given an opportunity to amend the errors and re-submit the customs declaration.
3. Creating a file
Swedish Customs will receive the customs declaration if the checks in (2) are approved. Swedish Customs creates a file and a 30-day deadline for presenting the goods to customs is established.
The files is assigned a customs identity and the customs declaration is given ‘Registered’ status.
4. Registered status
A confirmation of receipt and customs identifier is sent to the declarant in the customs declaration. As long as the declaration has this status, it is possible to supplement information by submitting an amendment. After this step, if the information provider corrects the information in the customs declaration, a new transaction will not be created. Instead, a new version of the transaction replaces the previous version.
- Message that a simplified declaration has not been lodged
If goods are not presented to customs within the established deadline, the customs declaration will no longer be considered to be Registered. The declarant will be notified via a digital message declarant in the customs declaration. The declarant in the customs declaration will then know that the presentation notification has not been received and that the declaration is not considered to be Registered. The declarant may now lodge a new declaration.
5. Presenting goods to customs
When the goods arrive, they should be presented to Swedish Customs. The declarant in the presentation notification presents the goods to customs via a digital message or by presenting the goods directly upon arrival at the customs office.
6. Processing the presentation notification
If the goods are received by the deadline, the information is checked and linked to the customs declaration. A message confirming the receipt of the notification is sent to the declarant in the arrival notification.
In cases where the notification does not fulfil the technical requirements, it is not accepted and the arrival notification declarant is informed of this and given information on what needs to be done. Once the errors have been corrected, the declaration can be resubmitted.
The system performs certain checks to ensure the quality of the information provided in the declaration.
In cases where a declaration does not fulfil the requirements, the declarant is informed in the arrival notification of the errors found. The information provider will be given an opportunity to amend the errors and re-submit the notification.
If the notification fulfils the requirements, the activity Link the notification to the existing customs declaration is carried out, where a status ‘Received’ message is sent to the declarant in the presentation notification and the deadline for submitting a notification is stopped.
7. Assessing the validity of the simplified declaration
A check is then carried out to ensure that the information in the customs declaration is correct and that all mandatory fields are completed. If the result of the check is that the customs declaration is authorised, the case is processed further.
8 a Information on amendment
If the customs declaration is not correct, the need for amendment is summarised and sent for information to the declarant in the presentation notification.
8 b Amendment or rejection
If there is a need to correct the information in the customs declaration, a message is sent to the declarant in the customs declaration. A period of three days starts for the declarant in the customs declaration to submit an amendment. If the requested amendments are not received within three days, the customs declaration is rejected.
9. Authorising a pre-lodged simplified declaration
Swedish Customs ensures that the information in the customs declaration is correct and authorises the customs declaration.
10. Authorised simplified declaration message
A message that the pre-lodged customs declaration is approved, containing a Master Reference Number (MRN) is sent. The process then switches to the process for simplified declarations under step 5, ‘Processing simplified declarations’.
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