Customs comprehensive guarantee (CCG)
Source: gov.uk (2025-03-31)

Details of how to apply for a CCG authorisation.

If you need to suspend or defer duty on a regular basis (more than 3 times a year) or you have multiple duty suspense procedures, you may apply for a customs comprehensive guarantee (CCG) which can cover multiple declarations over an extended period of time.

There are two elements to a CCG — the CCG authorisation and the CCG guarantee. If you are granted the CCG authorisation and you qualify for a full waiver, you may not be required to provide the CCG guarantee.
- a CCG (authorisation and guarantee) will always be required to operate a duty deferment account in Northern Ireland
- a CCG authorisation will always be required to use common or union transit, or to support a special procedure authorisation in Northern Ireland, in these cases a CCG guarantee will be required unless you qualify for a full waiver
- a CCG authorisation and guarantee will not normally be required to operate a duty deferment account in GB or to support a special procedure authorisation in GB — if one is required you will be told this when you apply for the authorisation
Applying for a CCG authorisation

You need to apply to HMRC for the authorisation and (once that has been approved) apply to a bank or other financial institution for the CCG guarantee. You may not need to apply for the CCG guarantee part if you are approved for a full CCG waiver when applying for the authorisation.

A CCG authorisation will always be required for transit and to use special procedures and duty deferment in Northern Ireland.

A CCG authorisation and guarantee will not normally be required for special procedures and duty deferment in Great Britain. You will be told when you apply for the procedure if you also need a CCG authorisation and guarantee. You may wish to apply for a CCG authorisation and provide a guarantee even if this is not required by HMRC.

HMRC encourage applicants to begin talking with their intended guarantor before receiving their CCG authorisation as it can take some time to set up a guarantee. You should not finalise any agreement with your chosen guarantor until receiving your CCG authorisation, to ensure the guarantee is for the correct amount (specified amount less any waivers granted).

Apply for authorisation

To complete your application you’ll need your business’s:
- EORI number
- name associated with your EORI number
- company registration number (if this applies)
- UK address associated with your EORI number
- correspondence address
- VAT number (if this applies)
- Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) certificate number (if this applies)
- duty deferment account number (if this applies)
- company directors’ and officials’ details — full name and date of birth as they appear on the Companies House record
- person responsible for customs authorisations, their details (full name, email, and telephone number) and practical customs experience
- your estimated debt
You may also need:
- records of any times when your business has not followed customs or tax rules in the last 3 years
- details of checks and measures in place to make sure your business complies with customs and tax rules
- financial records if you want to apply for a reduction in level of guarantee you need to provide
You can apply for a CCG authorisation online at GOV.UK (https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/submissions/new-form/apply-customs-comprehensive-guarantee). You’ll need our sign in details to make your application. If you do not have one, you can create one.

To use a guarantee in both Great Britain and Northern Ireland, you should submit separate applications.

If you need a guarantee to declare goods to common or union transit in both Great Britain and Northern Ireland, you can apply for a single customs comprehensive guarantee authorisation if all the transit declarations will be made using the EORI linked to your customs comprehensive guarantee. Select Great Britain if you will use a GB EORI or Northern Ireland you will use an XI EORI.

After you apply

HMRC will carry out assurance checks. We’ll let you know if you can get any reductions and tell you the amount of the guarantee you’ll need. You’ll need to get a guarantor to cover this amount.

If you stop meeting the conditions for reducing your guarantee

If your circumstances change and you do not meet the conditions for a reduced guarantee, you must change your guarantee amount so it’s no longer reduced.

If this happens, you must:
- tell HMRC if you need to change your guarantee amount
- calculate the estimated duties and taxes from your imports and check your guarantee always covers them
You can also use a single guarantee for one-off or high value imports to avoid going over your customs comprehensive guarantee.

HMRC will regularly check the use of guarantees and will tell you if your guarantee amount is incorrect.

Who can apply

To get this type of guarantee you need to:
- be established in the UK (for a CCG covering GB) or Northern Ireland or EU (for a CCG covering NI)
- have no serious or repeated infringements of customs or tax rules in the past 3 years
- have no record of serious criminal convictions related to your business activities in the past 3 years
To submit your application for authorisation to use a customs comprehensive guarantee you must be a company official of the business. Depending on your type of business you’ll need to be a:
- company official such as company director or company secretary
- sole proprietor
- trustee
- partner