SPE02070 - Roles and responsibilities: National Clearance Hub (NCH)
Source: gov.uk (2025-11-24)


This manual will be archived on 15 December 2025. For up-to-date guidance on special procedures, please refer to Pay less or no duty on goods you store, repair, process or temporarily use (GOV.UK) (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/pay-less-or-no-duty-on-goods-you-store-repair-process-or-temporarily-use) and Customs Technical Handbooks (GOV.UK) (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/customs-technical-handbooks). If you have feedback about this manual being archived, email xxx@xxx.xx (mailto:xxx@xxx.xx).

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The central processing and clearance centre at Salford is split into three areas: the National Clearance Hub (NCH - which includes the Customs Input Entry (CIE) team – A mirror site for import and export clearance operates in Liverpool, giving the same 24 hours cover as Salford), the Post Clearance Amendments (PCA) section and the C18 team.

Authorisations by declaration

The NCH are technically responsible for granting authorisations for special procedures when the request for authorisation is made at the time the SP customs declaration is submitted to CHIEF/CDS. NIRU and NTAS are the supervising offices.

All authorisations by declaration for Inward Processing, End Use and Temporary Admission (and, in specific circumstances, Outward Processing) are subject to the taking of a guarantee on entry to the procedure.

Customs declarations entering goods to a special procedure

Specific Customs Procedure Codes (CPCs) are set up for each special procedure and a number of Additional Information (AI) Statement codes will be required by the CPC according to the procedure being applied for. For example, for inward processing, the CPCs that request entry to the procedure are 51 00 001 and 51 00 003 and certain AI statement codes relating to that specific procedure (including the Rate of Yield (ROY) and Economic Code (ECO) for IP) will be required to be submitted to CHIEF and CDS when the CPC is used.

Full details of the codes and additional information statements to be used for each special procedure can be found in Volume 3 of the UK Trade Tariff (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/uk-trade-tariff-volume-3) .

Goods may not be entered to a special procedure with an authorisation by declaration if CFSP (Customs Freight Simplified Procedure) is also being used.

Acceptance of the Customs declaration (and customs clearance status) constitutes the granting of the SP 'authorisation'.

In cases of doubt as to eligibility of the goods for entry to a special procedure (or the intended process or use) NCH should consult NIRU or NTAS for further advice. Examination of the goods should be carried out as necessary to confirm their nature and their eligibility for the customs procedure requested. If necessary the importer should be advised to consult the Customer Contact Centre for further information.

Note: Northern Ireland (NI) customs authorisations will continue to fall within the provisions of the Union Customs Code (UCC), as retained by the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 and CEMA 1979.