01.01.2021

Social

ETD has arrived: Fewer formalities for transit procedure

On May 1, a new simplified transit procedure for air and sea transport companies was launched. It aims to reduce the administrative work on the mentioned companies. This is based on the declaration of electronic transport record and is one of the foreseen simplifications for transit procedure provided in Article 233(4) of the European Union Customs Code.

This new procedure replaces the common transit procedure of the European Union, based on the use of an electronic manifest for goods transported by sea or air. The definitive implementation has been established for November 1 this year, when the so-called ETD will be the only valid procedure for simplified transit.

Requirements for companies

Regarding its use, the shipping or air carrier must have an authorisation granted by competent Customs Authorities. This is granted upon the verification of the following requirements:

Authorizations can be requested from the Online office of the Spanish Tax Agency Agencia Estatal de Adminstración Tributaria (AEAT). If the authorisation is not available, transport companies will have to present the Transit Documents through the regular procedure of non-simplified transit, which requires corresponding guarantee.

The Electronic Transport Document (DTS) used as Tansit Declaration is taken from the Customs Office at Departure. It is the declaration of goods that are on Transit and will allow Customs Authorities to carry out their risk assessment or the control of goods before being cleared and released for transit. PORTEL has been attending this Customs Requirement since its implementation, with solutions that allow generating new messages according to the requirements of the Spanish Customs Authorities.