Guides / Transit guarantees and NCTS · Updated 30 September 2026

Transit guarantees and NCTS explained

What a transit guarantee covers, how individual and comprehensive guarantees differ, and what NCTS expects from the office of departure to discharge.

This guide is also available in Polish.

Every common transit movement rests on two things: a guarantee that covers the duty and tax at stake while goods travel unpaid, and a record in the New Computerised Transit System (NCTS) that follows the load from its office of departure to its office of destination. If you understand how those two fit together, most transit problems become easier to predict and avoid. This guide focuses on the guarantee and the NCTS lifecycle. For the broader picture of when a T1 makes sense on a UK to EU load, see our T1 transit guide.

What a transit guarantee actually covers

Goods under transit have not yet had their import charges settled. The guarantee is security for the customs debt that could arise if the goods disappear or the movement is not properly ended. HMRC guidance lists the charges it has to cover as customs import duties, import VAT and excise duties.

The amount is not a flat fee. HMRC explains that you work out the total potential duties across your open movements using the highest rates of UK customs duty, VAT, excise and other taxes, treated as third country import rates. Where the accurate figure cannot be determined, the guidance allows you to assume the sterling equivalent of 10,000 euros. The transit manual supplement puts the principle simply: the reference amount must cover the full amount of the customs debt liable to be incurred.

Individual guarantee or comprehensive guarantee

There are two broad families of guarantee, and the right one depends mainly on how often you move goods under transit.

Type	How it works	Who it suits
Individual guarantee	Covers a single movement. HMRC's transit manual supplement lists cash, an undertaking by a guarantor such as a bank or financial institution, and guarantee vouchers.	Occasional movers and one-off loads
Customs Comprehensive Guarantee (CCG)	One authorised guarantee reused across as many movements as you like, up to its reference amount.	Traders moving goods under transit more than 3 times in a 12 month period, where HMRC says a CCG is required

Guarantee vouchers are issued by authorised guarantors in the EU and other common transit countries, and HMRC's supplement states each voucher has a value of 10,000 euros. Cash deposits are taken in sterling.

Guarantee type codes you will see in NCTS

The declaration records the guarantee by type code. The ones most traders meet are:

Type 1: comprehensive guarantee
Type 0: guarantee waiver
Type 2: individual guarantee (undertaking)
Type 3: individual guarantee in cash
Type 4: guarantee vouchers

Other codes exist for specific waivers and routes where a guarantee is not required. If your paperwork shows a code you do not recognise, ask whoever lodged the declaration why it was used.

The guarantee reference number and access code

Once HMRC authorises a guarantee, it issues a Guarantee Reference Number (GRN). HMRC guidance says you must use both the access code and the GRN to make a transit declaration in NCTS. In practice this is where many first movements stall: the guarantee exists, but the declarant does not have the matching access code, so NCTS will not accept it against the movement. If an agent lodges declarations for you under your own comprehensive guarantee, agree in advance how the GRN and access code are shared and kept secure.

T1 or T2: which status your goods travel under

The declaration type reflects the customs status of the goods, not the route. HMRC's transit manual supplement describes it this way:

T1 covers goods that are not in EU free circulation. UK goods going to the EU or other common transit countries are declared as T1.
T2 covers goods with EU free circulation (Union) status, for example EU goods transhipped through the UK to another EU member state, or EU free circulation goods moving within Northern Ireland.
TGB is used for goods sent under transit from one part of the UK to another.

Getting the status wrong matters because it changes how the goods are treated at destination. If you are unsure, check the origin and previous customs history of the goods before the declaration is lodged.

How NCTS carries a movement from departure to destination

HMRC's transit manual supplement sets out the lifecycle in NCTS:

Declaration. An electronic transit declaration (message IE015) is submitted to NCTS before the goods are presented at the office of departure.
Checks at departure. The office of departure validates that the guarantee covers the movement, carries out risk-based controls and sets the time limit for presenting the goods at destination.
Release for transit. The goods are released (message IE029). The trader prints the transit accompanying document, which carries the movement reference number (MRN), and hands it to the haulier.
Anticipated arrival. The office of destination receives advance notice of the movement.
Arrival. When the goods are presented, an arrival notification is submitted. NCTS sends arrival advice to the office of departure, and for guarantee types 0, 1 and 9 the liability amount is re-credited to the guarantee.
End of procedure. Once satisfactory control results are recorded, the movement is discharged and a write-off notification goes to the declarant at departure.

One point that catches people out: the supplement notes that release from transit is not the same as release from customs control. At destination the goods still need their next customs treatment, usually an import declaration.

What happens when a transit is not discharged

A movement that never records arrival and end of procedure stays open against your guarantee, and the guarantee cannot be released.

According to the transit manual supplement, the office responsible for write-off (in the UK, the CCTO) starts an enquiry if the goods have not appeared within the time limit plus 7 days. The enquiry is raised through NCTS (message IE142) and asks the holder of the procedure to show what happened to the goods.

HMRC's step-by-step guidance for moving goods out of Great Britain warns that failing to end a movement correctly can delay the release of your guarantee and lead to fines and additional duties. The comprehensive guarantee is hit hardest: every open movement ties up part of its reference amount, so a handful of undischarged loads can leave too little headroom for new ones.

Practical ways to avoid open movements

Make sure the haulier carries the transit accompanying document and presents goods at the office of destination named on it.
Monitor each MRN in NCTS until the write-off notification arrives.
Keep proof of delivery and destination paperwork, since it is your evidence if an enquiry is opened.
Chase any movement still open after its time limit rather than waiting for the enquiry.

Getting help

Guarantees and NCTS access are the parts of transit where occasional movers most often rely on an agent, because the agent can lodge the declaration and, where appropriate, provide the guarantee. If you are weighing that up, our do you need a broker page sets out the questions to ask. Easy Clearance offers T1 and T2 transit handled end to end, alongside import and export declarations.

Related guides

Need a T1 or T2 declaration?

Easy Clearance is a UK–EU customs clearance agency handling import and export declarations, T1/T2 transit and UK–Poland removals.

See the transit service

Sources

General information, not legal, tax or customs advice. Rules change; confirm current requirements on gov.uk or with a registered agent before you ship.