Imports cannot meet authorised use: what next?
Tell your HMRC supervising office promptly if circumstances beyond your control prevent the prescribed use. Request an extension or agree a permitted export or destruction route. Customs warehousing does not discharge the original duty liability. Cambridge China Bridge can help gather factory and shipment records.
Identify the goods and explain the problem
This guide concerns goods already imported under authorised use. If reasons beyond your control prevent the prescribed use, the authorisation holder must advise the supervising office without delay. Check the authorisation notification for the point at which your goods count as having reached that use.
Prepare a batch-by-batch summary: import reference, authorisation, current location, remaining stock, intended use and what prevented it. Attach factory correspondence, photographs and a proposed next step. Use the UK customs documents guide to assemble the underlying shipment records.
Request more time before the deadline
Apply in writing to the supervising office before the discharge period expires. HMRC may extend it where adequate records prove assignment to the prescribed use and proper conduct of operations is assured. Explain the delay, propose a revised completion date and attach evidence supporting that plan.
If the deadline has passed, HMRC considers retrospective requests case by case. An extension is not guaranteed; refusal may leave goods liable for customs duty if they miss the prescribed use within the discharge period. Keep the request and decision with your stock records.
Agree export before arranging a return
Export may discharge authorised use even where the goods have not reached the prescribed use, but it requires approval and is not a normal disposal route. Ask the supervising office to confirm the route before arranging collection. Check the authorisation notification to establish whether a Bill of Discharge is required for that export.
If returning goods to the Chinese factory, agree who receives them and how the returned batch will be identified. Keep the commercial return arrangement separate from the customs decision. The UK export clearance guide covers preparation for the outward shipment.
Obtain permission before destruction
Request permission from the supervising office five working days before destruction. Use HMRC’s request checklist and prepare the import details, stock references, reason, method, proposed location and disposal company. Destruction must comply with applicable environmental, health and waste disposal requirements.
A disposal company’s destruction certificate is required, or a director-signed self-certificate for destruction on site. Record destruction in stock records and send the certificate to the supervising office. The authorisation holder must also report destruction through a Bill of Discharge. Ask your customs agent about any commercially valuable residue before agreeing the disposal method.
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Do not treat warehousing as closure
Authorised use goods can be declared into customs warehousing, but that move does not discharge the original customs duty liability. An eligible discharge method is still needed. Changing the storage location therefore does not settle the authorised use case.
Keep the original authorisation and discharge deadline visible alongside any warehouse entry. Ask your customs agent to identify what remains outstanding and what evidence will close it. For storage arrangements, see UK customs warehousing for China stock; for stock still awaiting export in China, see China warehousing before export.
Frequently asked questions
Can HMRC extend my authorised use deadline?
Apply in writing before expiry, with records supporting the prescribed use and proper conduct of operations. HMRC may approve an extension, but approval is not guaranteed.
What if my authorised use deadline has passed?
Contact the supervising office and request a retrospective extension with supporting evidence. HMRC considers these requests case by case.
Can I return unused goods to China?
Export may be approved as a discharge route. Confirm the route with the supervising office and check whether your authorisation requires a Bill of Discharge.
Does a customs warehouse clear authorised use liability?
No. Declaring the goods into customs warehousing leaves the original authorised use duty liability open until an eligible discharge method is completed.