Your lorry waiting at the border without a T1? We issue it with a CGU customs guarantee — see our pricing page (easyclearance.pl/en/pricing.html). Over 1,500 T1 documents issued in 2025 for Polish and British carriers. We handle routes PL→UK→IE, PL→UK→NO, PL→UK→CH and the entire Common Transit Convention area.
T1 transit UK is a customs document allowing goods to be transported in transit through the United Kingdom (e.g. PL→UK→IE, PL→UK→Norway) without paying duty and VAT in the UK. It derives from the Common Transit Convention (CTC) — an international agreement between the EU, UK, EFTA (Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Switzerland), Turkey and several Balkan countries. The document is managed by the electronic NCTS system (New Computerised Transit System), currently NCTS Phase 5.
Issuing a T1 requires four elements:
Standard cost: see our pricing page for the fee per single T1, plus guarantee proportional to goods value. T1 issuing time depends on the completeness of documents and the procedure.
T1 is required in three main scenarios:
T1 is not needed for direct export PL→UK with delivery to a UK customer — in that case we use a standard export declaration + UK import declaration.
From the client's perspective it is a single submission. From our side — a 4-stage sequence with clear milestones and status updates sent to the driver after each step.
Step 1
Goods value, route, deadlines, authorised consignor required. Proportional customs guarantee quote. Quick HS code and sanctions check.
Step 2
Required list: invoice, packing list, import MRN if applicable, CMR. Power of attorney (direct/indirect) verified. Preliminary data for NCTS. Data consistency check.
Step 3
MRN issuance via NCTS. Authorised consignor flag (if EC). T1 printout with MRN number. Office of destination invited. First system confirmation.
Step 4
Driver briefing: closure deadlines, border procedure, emergency contact. SMS + email with MRN number. EC monitors transit in NCTS until closure.
Transparent pricing — our current rates are published on the pricing page. Competitors most often operate on "quote on request", so you can compare offers without wasting time.
| Item | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| T1 standard (Mon–Fri 8–18) | pricing page | Per T1 document — depending on route complexity |
| Customs guarantee CGU | 0.1–0.3% of value | Proportional, refundable after transit closure |
| Authorised consignor service | Included | EC acts as authorised consignor — no visit to office of departure |
| OOH — evening (18:00–22:00) | pricing page | Mon–Fri outside business hours |
| OOH — night (22:00–8:00) | pricing page | Emergency line duty |
| Saturday | pricing page | Full service |
| Sunday / UK bank holidays | pricing page | Limited HMRC OOH desk availability |
| Volume discount (50+/month) | pricing page | Tier 2 — dedicated account manager |
| Volume discount (200+/month) | pricing page | Tier 3 — enterprise + API portal access |
Decision matrix for carriers unsure whether a given route requires T1 or whether direct export is sufficient. For each scenario we show a recommendation and the reason.
| Scenario | T1 | Direct export | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|
| PL→UK→IE multi-leg | ✅ | ❌ | Direct requires 3 declarations (PL export + UK import + IE import) + UK duty |
| Goods to UK customs warehouse | ✅ | ❌ | T1 allows entry to customs warehouse without 20% VAT upfront |
| Direct customer in UK (B2B/B2C) | ❌ | ✅ | Direct export cheaper; T1 here is over-engineering |
| Trade fair / demo equipment (temporary export) | consider ATA | ❌ | ATA Carnet is better for temporary entry |
| Value > £100k high-risk | ✅ | ❌ | T1 eliminates £20k+ VAT exposure from direct import |
| PL→UK→Norway (EFTA) | ✅ | ❌ | T1 covers the entire CTC area — one document instead of 3 |
From 1,500+ T1s handled — five recurring traps with concrete consequences and ways to avoid them.
Example: guarantee £5k on goods value £200k → undischarged transit → duty + VAT liability drawn from guarantee.
How to avoid: guarantee always proportional to CIF value, minimum 0.15% for values >£100k. EC quotes automatically. CGU — complete guide.
Example: driver reached the office of destination but did not close transit in NCTS → 7 days elapsed → undischarged transit movement.
How to avoid: EC monitors all T1s and intervenes at 5 days. Driver briefing includes the closure procedure. Undischarged T1 — recovery.
Example: generic office specified instead of the correct one (e.g. "Poland" instead of "PL000010" Warsaw). NCTS rejects or driver is held at the border.
How to avoid: EC verifies the specific office of destination before submission. PL offices list in our database. Double-checked before MRN issuance.
Example: MRN issued but driver does not have a copy (SMS, paper, email) → border security turns the driver back.
How to avoid: EC sends MRN via three channels: SMS, email with PDF, paper signed by the driver. Missing GMR / MRN — what to do.
Example: invoice value £50k, MRN £45k (rounded), CMR £52k (inclusive of VAT). NCTS auto-reject or HMRC requests corrections.
How to avoid: EC verifies consistency across all 3 documents BEFORE submission. The standard 30-minute pre-check saves costly corrections later. Transit MRN vs import MRN — typical errors.
No — T1 transit always requires a customs guarantee (comprehensive guarantee CGU or a one-off guarantee). The guarantee secures the customs debt and VAT from the moment transit opens until it is closed at the office of destination. Typically proportional to goods value: 0.1–0.3% of value. The requirement derives from the Common Transit Convention and cannot be waived by HMRC. EC provides the guarantee as part of the T1 service.
A standard T1 allows 7 working days from issuance of the MRN to closure of transit at the office of destination. For longer routes (e.g. PL→UK→Norway) HMRC may extend the deadline to 14 days — this requires a justification of route length in the NCTS application. If the deadline is exceeded, the transit becomes 'undischarged' — the broker is liable for the full duty and VAT being drawn from the guarantee.
Every undischarged T1 transit movement results in automatic assessment of full duty and VAT against the customs guarantee (CGU). Recovery procedure: (1) proving that goods physically entered the office of destination (alternative evidence), (2) submitting a discharge application via NCTS, (3) HMRC has 9 months to decide. Without this, the CGU is drawn upon. EC monitors all T1s and intervenes if closure is missing after 5 days.
No. T1 is a transit document, not an export declaration. In practice, for routes PL→UK→third country (IE, NO, EFTA), you need: (1) export declaration from the PL side, (2) T1 transit for the passage through UK, (3) import declaration in the destination country if applicable. T1 does not eliminate other formalities, but allows the duty+VAT that would be due on standard UK import to be avoided.
Yes, EasyClearance operates an OOH (out-of-hours) duty for urgent T1s. Out-of-hours surcharges apply and are listed on the pricing page. Before a weekend we recommend planning T1 from Thursday — this eliminates the surcharge and the risk of delays during NCTS Phase 5 maintenance windows.
T1 (Common Transit Convention) — transit system for EU+EFTA+UK+Turkey, based on electronic NCTS, CGU guarantee. TIR (Transports Internationaux Routiers) — global system for 78 countries (including Russia, Middle East, China), based on paper carnets. T1 is preferred for routes PL→UK→IE, PL→UK→NO, PL→UK→CH. TIR — when the route ends outside the CTC system.
Yes — T1 covers the entire Common Transit Convention area: EU countries, UK, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Turkey, North Macedonia, Serbia. Routes PL→UK→NO and PL→UK→CH are handled under a single T1 (no separate T1 per country required). This requires specifying the correct office of destination when issuing the T1 and current EORI authorisations in the destination country.
Brief 5 fields, quote for T1 + customs guarantee, status to driver from MRN submission. Professional liability insurance £2M+.
Short description of route + goods value = a concrete quote. No "it depends".
Information on this site is operational and informational in nature and does not constitute legal or tax advice. Regulatory sources: gov.uk, HMRC, NCTS / Common Transit Convention.