Guidance

Data Element 2/3: Documents and Other Reference Codes (Union) of the Customs Declaration Service

Find the relevant document codes, document status codes and details to be declared such as licences and certificates (Appendix 5A).

Documents

Data Element 2/3 Documents and Other Reference Codes (Union) (Appendix 5A)

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Details

Known error workarounds may apply to this area of the instructions.

This Appendix provides details of the relevant document codes, document status codes and details to be declared (for example, licences and certificates) in Data Element (DE) 2/3 of the customs declaration.

This includes document codes for all types of authorisations required to declare the goods to the customs procedure concerned (for example, C512 to be declared when the Simplified Declaration Procedure is being used).

This guidance refers to Union codes and details. If you want to declare National codes and details, see Appendix 5A: DE 2/3 Document and Other Reference Codes (National).

Where both Union and National document codes are being declared, enter any Union codes first.

Where a document code permits the use of status codes UA, UE, UP, US, XX or XW, and where the document normally requires a reference number, and where the document is not held (waiver is claimed) a statement supporting the use of those status codes must be provided. The statement must be provided in both the Second Component (Document Identifier) and in the fourth component: (Document Reason) (an..35) of DE 2/3.

See Appendix 5B: DE 2/3 document status codes for status code definitions.

Unless specifically instructed otherwise in column 4 of the individual document code, a document identifier reference number is not required.

Use of status code XX or XW is a legal declaration that the goods are exempted from the documentary controls.

Enough evidence must be held in records to show eligibility for the waiver or exemption which must be produced on demand.

Published 1 August 2018
Last updated 3 July 2023 + show all updates
  1. Document code X838 has been added.

  2. Document codes L144, L838, X824, X832, X837, X840, Y852 and Y865 added.

  3. Union Document code N002 has been updated to include reference to new waiver document code.

  4. The use of punctuation and terminology has been standardised for status codes.

  5. Document code Y703 has been added. This document code applies only in Northern Ireland. The EU have prohibited the import of certain Ukrainian cereal crops into Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia due to the impact on domestic producers. All Northern Ireland imports of Ukrainian cereal crops impacted by this prohibition qualify to use this waiver.

  6. Document Code C600 has been updated to include Freeports.

  7. Document code C715 has been removed as it is not required.

  8. Document status codes JA and JE added to the list of document status codes which are permitted to be used with document code C673. This will facilitate declaration of document code C673 on Supplementary Declarations for catch certificates which were produced with the Simplified Frontier Declaration. Document status code XW removed from the list of status codes permitted with Y100, to reflect system behaviour. Notes on document codes C085, C640, C673, C678, I004, L001, L079, N002, N851, N853 & Y100 updated to distinguish between when a DUCR is required for licence or Automatic Licence Verification System (ALVS) reconciliation and when it is just required for tracing in trader’s records.

  9. Document codes Y803, Y804, Y817, Y819, Y985, Y990, Y991 and Y992 have been deleted and are no longer in use.

  10. Document code Y864 added for use on imports from Israel to Northern Ireland.

  11. Appendix 5A Union Document Codes have been updated with the following changes. Document codes C651 and C658 have been amended to be exports only. Document codes Y117 and Y118 have had text added to clarify they can only be used with Requested Procedure Codes beginning with 51, 71, or 78.

  12. Document codes Y150, Y839 and Y844 added. Document codes C669, C670, C672, Y915 and Y923 updated to reflect the addition of Y150.

  13. Document codes L143, X817, X819, X823, X830, X831, X834, X835, X836, X990, X992 added. These are EU document codes applicable only to Northern Ireland declarations.

  14. C667 has been updated to show document reason as mandatory rather than conditional. C667 is only permitted to be used with status codes XX and XW, which both lead to the Document Reason being mandatory. Completion requirements for Y054, Y058, Y085, Y200 to Y222 and Y925 have been updated to reflect the requirements shown in columns F and G. We are aware that some document codes have both the Document ID and Document Reason shown as being mandatory. We will aim to correct this at some point in the future but, for now, both will have to be completed.

  15. Document codes Y856, Y857, Y858, Y859 and Y863 have been added to 5A Union Document codes.

  16. New columns have been added for Document ID and Document Reason to show if completion is mandatory, conditional or not applicable. A small number of document codes will incorrectly mandate Document ID and Document Reason are always both declared. This will be corrected on a future CDS release but must be complied with in the meantime. Completion requirements for C517, C518 and C519 amended to show the requirement is to declare the warehouse authorisation rather than the warehouse ID. Document status code requirements for A030, C019, C082, C083, C085, C516, C601, C640, C673, C678, N002, N851, N853, N990, U178, Y006, Y007, Y990 and Y992 have been updated.

  17. National document codes Y067, Y071, Y080, Y229, Y250, Y251, Y253, Y254, Y255, Y256, Y257, Y258, Y259 and Y501 have been added to the list of permitted document codes. As these have been set up in the format of Union document codes, they have been included here in addition to the published list of National Document Codes. These are not in the correct format for national additional codes, so will only be used temporarily. It is planned to replace these with codes in the correct format later in 2023. It is planned to have a period of dual running to facilitate the migration from the temporary codes to the final codes.

  18. Reference to Annex XVII added under Description and Usage of Code for Union code Y113.

  19. Licence Types X061 – X068 have been added.

  20. Document codes Y106, Y110 and Y113 have been added.

  21. The list of national authorisation type codes used with document code C676 has been updated.

  22. Appendix 5A Union Document Codes – codes C639, C990 and X001 updated.

  23. Union document codes Y860, Y861 and Y862 have been added.

  24. Clarification on the use of document code C400 in relation to other CITES documents. C400 must always be declared together with one of the document codes C401, C402, C403, C404, C405, C635, C638 or C639. CITES documents must be produced at the frontier for endorsement otherwise they may invalidated. Document status code XX can no longer be used with C401, C402, C403, C404, C405 or C406. Waiver document codes Y900 or Y932 can be used when the consignment does not require a CITES document.

  25. Document codes Y854 and Y855 have been added.

  26. Union Document codes Y997 and Y998 added.

  27. The ‘Details to be entered on the declaration’ for code N002 have been amended.

  28. Codes L139, L142, X839, Y846, Y847, Y848, Y849, Y850, Y851 and Y853 have been added to Data Element 2/3 Documents and Other Reference Codes (Union) (Appendix 5A).

  29. This guidance has been updated to reflect amended instructions at codes C085, C640, C673, C678, I004, L001, L079, N002, N851, N853 and Y100.

  30. Completion instructions for document codes N002 and N851 have been amended to reflect the differences dependent on whether the pre-notification was done using PEACH or IPAFFS. The document status codes for these document codes have also been updated. Document code Y946 has also been amended to show that it can be used on both import and export declarations.

  31. Document codes U116, U117 and U118 have been removed.

  32. The page has been updated with new codes at Y229 and Y999. Codes C603, C604, C606 and C610 have been removed.

  33. The page has been updated at CO52, U112, Y900, Y925 and Y950.

  34. Document codes Y840, Y841, Y842, Y843 and Y845 have been added as part of a response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

  35. Document code Y127 added for consignments of certain foodstuffs to declare that they have not originated in or been dispatched from Turkey. Document codes Y831, Y832, Y833, Y835 and Y838 added as part of the response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

  36. New union document code U178 for ‘Origin quotas — Product originating in accordance with Annex ORIG-2A’ between the EU, UK and European Atomic Energy Community has been added.

  37. Union document codes Y803, Y804, Y817, Y818 and Y819 have been added to cover EU sanctions in response to the invasion of Ukraine. Union document codes D008 and Y939 have had the definitions updated.

  38. New codes Y801, Y802, Y805, Y806, Y807, Y808, Y809, Y810, Y811, Y812, Y813, Y814, Y815, Y816, Y820, Y821, Y822, Y824 and Y825 have been added to facilitate the operation of sanctions imposed against Russia and Belarus.

  39. The list has been updated at Document Codes A016, C083, U075, U076, U077, U116, U117, U118, U119, X060, X061, X062, X063, X064, X065, X066, X067, X068, X070, X072, Y117, Y118, Y120, Y123, Y124, Y125, Y955, Y956, Y976, Y980, Y983, Y984, Y985, Y986, Y987, Y988, Y990, Y991, Y992, Y993, Y994, Y995 and Y996.

  40. This page has been updated to reflect amended completion instructions at C640, C678, N002, N851 and N853.

  41. This page has been updated to remove C051, C642, Y039, Y064, Y065, Y068 and Y974.

  42. This page has been updated at C014, C015, C017, C018 and C652 with clearer declaration completion instructions. The availability of status codes EA, EE, EL, EL and ES have also been removed at C014.

  43. This page has been updated with corrected instructions at Y930 and Y931.

  44. This page has been updated regarding ‘Details to be entered’ advice for C052, C667, Y006, Y007, Y034, Y038, Y085, Y105, Y109, Y200-223, Y919, Y951, Y970 and Y971.

  45. Updated guidance on document codes permitting the use of status codes UA, UE, UP, US and ‘Details to be entered’ for C667, N934, U112, Y006, Y007, Y034, Y038, Y054, Y058, Y085, Y919 and Y925.

  46. Added codes C089 and Y981 to relevant parts of Appendix 5A data table.

  47. Appendix 5A has been updated to include changes to the following codes: C008, C084, L081, L082, U031, U052, U072, U073, U074, Y116 and Y980.

  48. This page has been updated to reflect code changes, specifically the removal of C087 and Y933.

  49. This page has been updated to reflect the revised Appendix 5A: DE 2/3 Documents and Other Reference Codes (Union), specifically a change regarding Document Code Y935.

  50. First published.