Raising a T1 is the easy half of transit. The declaration goes in, an MRN comes back, the driver rolls. The half that protects your money happens days later, when the movement is discharged at the other end. Most of the trouble with T1 customs clearance comes from treating that second half as someone else’s problem.
T1, T2 and T2F in one paragraph each
Both T1 and T2 are transit declarations lodged in the same system. What separates them is the customs status of the goods inside the trailer.
A T1 carries goods that haven’t been released into free circulation in the territory they’re crossing. Duty and import VAT are suspended while they travel, not cancelled. Anything leaving Great Britain for the European Union under transit is a T1, because GB goods become non Union goods once they cross.
A T2 carries goods that already hold Union status and keeps it while they cross a third country. The classic case is an Irish load running Dublin to Holyhead, across England and back into the EU at Calais.
T2F covers movements to, from or between special fiscal territories, such as the Canary Islands. Lodge a plain T2 for those and the goods get questioned on arrival.
The guarantee is the real cost
Every movement has to be secured for the duty and VAT at risk, because for the length of the journey nobody has paid anything. There are two routes.
A comprehensive guarantee is authorised by HMRC, backed by a bank or insurer, and covers many movements against a rolling reference amount. It frees up cash, but the headroom is finite, so one high value load can take a big bite out of it. HMRC’s guidance says you must enter an accurate guarantee reference amount on each declaration, based on the duty and other charges suspended in transit.
An individual guarantee secures one movement, as a cash deposit or a guarantor’s undertaking. It costs more per journey and leaves everyone else’s headroom alone, which suits high value one offs. Zelir raises movements under its own comprehensive guarantee, so you don’t need your own authorisation to use transit, and it arranges an individual guarantee where the value at risk makes that sensible.
What discharge actually means
A movement is discharged when the office of destination confirms the goods arrived and the office of departure accepts that confirmation. Until then, the declaration is live and the guarantee stays committed.
If destination never reports the arrival, the office of departure opens an enquiry and asks the holder of the procedure for alternative proof. HMRC’s notice on undischarged movements says some or all of the guarantee may be held until the enquiry concludes. It also says HMRC can’t discharge a movement on the strength of a map screenshot or a photo of the goods. It wants a customs document from the destination.
No acceptable proof means a customs debt against the holder, and the guarantee is drawn on. In the meantime the locked amount quietly shrinks what else you can move. Zelir says it watches open movements and chases the arrival, which matters more than it sounds.
The system changed this year
Declarations go through NCTS, and the UK moved to Phase 6 on 1 June 2026, according to Zelir. Phase 6 keeps the six digit commodity codes and house level consignments that Phase 5 introduced, and in countries that have opted in it allows entry summary data to travel inside the transit declaration. Where that isn’t available, an entry summary declaration still has to be filed separately.
Choosing where the driver presents
The office of departure is where the movement opens and the time limit is set. Naming the wrong one is a common cause of trouble, because a driver sent somewhere that isn’t an approved office can’t present the goods at all.
Zelir’s office is in Ashford, the same town as the Sevington inland border facility, which acts as an office of departure for outbound journeys. Zelir says Dover Western Docks came off the inland border facility list in January 2025, and that oversized or hazardous vehicles go to Stop 24. It’s worth confirming where your vehicle stops before it leaves, because the wrong site can cost a sailing.
Before you book
- Which transit document does the load need: T1, T2 or T2F?
- Whose guarantee covers it, and is the headroom enough?
- Which office of departure will the driver use?
- Who is watching the movement until it discharges?
You also need an EORI and NCTS access to run transit yourself, as HMRC’s setup guidance explains. Many operators begin by using a broker’s guarantee and move to their own once volumes justify it.