T2
Also known as: T2 document, internal Union transit
A T2 is the declaration for customs transit of Union goods that travel via a third country or a special territory and must keep their Union status. Without a T2 those goods would have to be imported again on return.
When do you use a T2?
You use a T2 when Union goods temporarily leave the EU and come back in, for example on transport from the Netherlands to Italy through Switzerland. Transport to and from territories with a special status also falls under it. Union goods are goods produced in the EU or on which the import duties have already been paid. That status is worth money. The procedure preserves the status, so that on return no import duties and no VAT are due. Without a T2 the same cargo would be treated as non-Union goods on entry into Italy, with an import declaration over the full value as a result. Reversing that afterwards is possible, but takes weeks. Excise goods can be T2 excise: import duties paid, excise still due. That combination appears with alcohol and tobacco that travel inside the EU via a third country. The T2 then preserves the Union status, while the excise procedure runs separately.
How does T2 relate to T2L?
T2 is a transport procedure with a running declaration in NCTS. T2L is not a transport procedure but a proof with which you show afterwards that goods have Union status. A T2 opens and closes. A T2L travels with the goods or is shown afterwards, without a procedure that has to be discharged. You use T2L for example on sea transport between two EU ports where the ship calls at a port outside the EU. Since the introduction of the PoUS system that proof is registered electronically. The paper T2L therefore disappears as a working method, but the function remains: proving status without a transit declaration. Choose T2 if the goods need customs supervision on the way, for example because they travel by road through Switzerland. Choose T2L if only the proof of Union status is needed, without a running procedure. The two are not synonyms, and a T2L does not discharge an open T2.
What is the role of common transit?
The common transit procedure extends T1 and T2 to countries outside the EU that have signed the convention, including Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, the United Kingdom, Turkey, Serbia, North Macedonia and Ukraine. A shipment can therefore travel from Rotterdam to Oslo on a single declaration without being declared again on the way. For the UK that means: a T2 to an office of destination in the UK, without a separate transit declaration having to be opened at the border. The Union status is preserved to that destination. Without common transit the same trailer would stand still at Dover or Calais. The guarantee and the discharge work the same as inside the EU. The office of destination in the partner country reports back to the office of departure. If that message stays out, the same enquiry starts. A T2 to the UK that is not discharged therefore occupies the same guarantee headroom as a T2 to Italy via Switzerland.
How does T2 relate to Union status?
Union goods are goods produced in the EU or on which the import duties have already been paid. That status is worth money: on transport inside the EU there is no declaration and no levy. If those goods leave the customs territory, the status is in principle lost and they would have to be imported again on return, with duties and VAT as a result. T2 prevents that by preserving the status on the way under customs supervision. That is not a formality. A cargo that drives through Switzerland without a T2 and is treated as non-Union goods on entry into Italy produces an import declaration over the full value. Reversing that afterwards is possible with proof of Union status, but takes weeks. Union status is something other than preferential origin. Union goods can have Chinese origin, if the duties have already been paid. T2 preserves the status in free circulation, not the origin. For a preferential tariff on export to a partner country you need a proof of origin, not a T2.
What does T2 mean for the records?
As with T1, every T2 must be discharged and the guarantee must come free. Because no import duties rest on the goods, the financial risk is smaller, but the administrative process is the same. The time limit, the MRN, the return message and the enquiry do not differ. Practice shows that T2s stay open more often than T1s, precisely because the risk looks low. An open T2 still blocks guarantee headroom and produces at a later audit the question of why the discharge is missing. That question is harder to answer if nobody watched the T2 because it looked harmless. Watch T1 and T2 therefore in the same monitor. The distinction between the two is relevant for the declaration, not for the watching process after it. A list that only shows T1 misses the T2s that fill the guarantee. Filter on open transit declarations, not on the letter on the document.
When do you use T2 to the UK or Switzerland?
To the UK you use T2 for Union goods that must be able to prove their status in the UK, or that travel on via the UK. The UK takes part in common transit, so the T2 runs to a British office of destination. On import into the UK itself a British declaration is still needed; the T2 does not replace that. Through Switzerland you use T2 for Union goods that travel from one member state to another and only cross Switzerland. Without a T2 Switzerland treats the cargo as import, and the member state of arrival treats it as non-Union goods. With a T2 Switzerland is a transit country, not a country of destination. Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein work the same. Turkey, Serbia, North Macedonia and Ukraine too, within the bounds of the convention. Check per shipment whether the office of destination is known in NCTS. An office that is not in the common system does not accept the T2, and the trailer stands still.
Which documents and pitfalls belong with T2?
The T2 carries an MRN, an accompanying document and the same data set as a T1, with as the difference the Union status of the goods. That status must be right. Put T2 on non-Union goods and they travel without suspension of duties that are still open. Put T1 on Union goods and someone at destination pays import on goods that were already in free circulation. The first pitfall is confusing T2 with T2L. The second is not watching T2s because no duties rest on them, so the guarantee fills up. The third is assuming that T2 replaces import in the UK or in Switzerland. It does not: it preserves Union status on the way, nothing more. Use T2 when Union goods leave the customs territory and must keep their status. Use T1 when the duties have not yet been paid. Use neither for traffic that does not leave the EU: inside the EU Union goods travel without a transit declaration. A T2 from Rotterdam to Antwerp is superfluous and a source of open items.