All members of the Common Transit convention are in the process of updating their customs systems to meet the new requirements of NCTS 5. Member countries are required to complete their transition to NCTS 5 by 1st December 2023 (this is the official date from the European Commission but it is likely to change).
Some countries will change immediately to NCTS 5 before this date whilst others will begin working in NCTS 5 but also maintain NCTS 4 operations during a transition period. Croatia, Slovenia and Bulgaria are countries which are already operating in NCTS 5. Regardless of when a country starts in NCTS 5, there will be a transition period during which a number of transition rules must be respected by all member countries.
For clients of SGS and companies which need transit declarations, there are not many changes that they will notice but there are some important changes that they should be aware of;
- Once the transition period has ended, HS codes in transit declarations will be mandatory in all cases – this is probably the most important change that NCTS 5 brings.
- NCTS 5 along with the implementation of new Automated Export System (AES) ensures the closure of the national Export declaration as long as the transit declaration meets some specific conditions.
SGS TransitNet has been preparing for the switch to NCTS 5 in all the countries where we are present. TransitNet is already operating successfully in the NCTS 5 environment in Croatia, Slovenia and Bulgaria.
The next countries due to transition to NCTS 5 are Germany and Turkey at the end of October and Italy in the second week of November.
Our clients do not need to worry about the transition to NCTS 5 as SGS have it covered and will be there to guide them in case of any questions.
If you have any questions regarding the requirements of NCTS 5, please contact your local SGS affiliate.
