What is a customs site?
A Freeport customs site is a secure, enclosed customs zone where some normal tax and customs rules do not apply. Solent Freeport has two customs sites: Solent Gateway and Portsmouth International Port.
Authorised businesses can import certain goods to a Freeport customs site with simplified customs documentation, and without paying tariffs. However, a customs site cannot be used as a first point of presentation of goods brought into the UK.
Any authorised businesses operating inside the Freeport customs site can store or manufacture goods, using imported goods. By doing this, they can add value before exporting them again and, where certain conditions are met, they won’t need to pay import or excise duties.
Where goods are declared to free circulation (home use) in the UK, relevant duties must be paid before they are released from the customs site. Domestic goods can also be held in a customs site and used in any processing activity.
Customs sites that offer these benefits can be set up anywhere within the outer boundary of the Freeport and goods can be moved between customs sites without entering free circulation. The customs site operator, who must be authorised by HMRC, provides physical and IT infrastructure to control goods entering and leaving their customs site. For example, they maintain records of goods entering and leaving the site.
By providing infrastructure customs site operators can attract new businesses by making it easier for them to engage in activities on the customs site. Businesses interested in becoming a customs site operator should first speak to the Freeport operator.
Under the Freeport customs special procedure businesses can benefit from:
Goods brought into a Freeport customs site can be processed and re-exported without the expense of formally importing them into the UK
Goods can be brought into a Freeport customs site and stored in suspense without paying duty to maximise inventory flexibility and cashflow benefit
Goods assembled in a Freeport customs site and subsequently imported into the UK only attract the duty associated with either the raw materials OR the finished product depending on whichever is lower (this choice is not allowed in some specific circumstances please contact HMRC for further details)
Solent Gateway
ABP Solent Gateway was formed in 2016 and holds the 35 year lease until 2051 to develop and operate the 83-hectare Marchwood Port on the River Test opposite the Port of Southampton.
Solent Gateway is developing the port to create 64 hectares of outstanding high quality, port-centric logistic space with excellent connectivity by sea, rail and road for commercial business, creating jobs and value for the local area in the process.
Portsmouth International Port
Portsmouth International Port is a major UK port, responsible for handling millions of customers and vital cargo across the globe. Owned and operated by Portsmouth City Council, the 66-acre port has grown extensively over the decades.
Starting with just one route to France from a small section of reclaimed harbour front in 1976, it is now known as Britain’s best connected port with more destinations than any other. It is adjacent to HMNB Portsmouth, home to almost two-thirds of the Royal Navy’s surface ships.