As you will be aware, the previous Government intended to end the waiver for Safety and Security (S&S) declarations on EU imports from 31 October 2024.

The announcement of the General Election in May meant that our planned S&S engagement to prepare stakeholders for implementation on this date was not able to start, due to the restrictions on communication activity during the pre-election period. Since the new Government was appointed, we have been working closely with Ministers to review plans for the introduction of Safety & Security declarations for EU imports, as well as listening to industry about the time it will take to prepare.

As a result, we are announcing today that S&S declarations for EU imports will now be introduced on 31 January 2025. We recognise that some businesses will be ready to start submitting declarations for EU imports earlier than this – for example because they already submit declarations for RoW imports. Those who are ready to start submitting their declarations ahead of this date are encouraged to do so.

HMRC