The short story about Temporary Admission
The essence of Temporary Admission
Contents
- Introduction
- The customs aspect of flying within the EU
- Who can use Temporary Admission?
- Advantages
- Disadvantages
- Basic preconditions for EU outsiders
- How does Temporary Admission work?
- Temporary Admission is supposed to be paperless, so why is documentation needed?
- Temporary Admission is not without preconditions and consequences
- Activation of TA
- The definition of the declarant
- The physical operator is liable for the correct use of TA
- Carrying EU-resident passengers on flights within the EU
- Carrying EU-resident pilots on flights within the EU
- Carrying non-EU-resident passengers and pilots on flights within the EU
- Does the owner of the aircraft have to be onboard or present in the EU?
- The function of the Supporting Document
- Validity of the Supporting Document
- How to handle a customs ramp check
- Correct documentation is a make-or-break issue
- Aircraft registrations allowed when using TA
- Period of stay within the EU
- How can the aircraft be used?
- Traffic rights (charter permits)
- How handling of VAT and customs work
- Legal background for TA
- How can we help?
Any aircraft flying into the EU will fly under customs control using either TA or full importation. There are no other options. If the aircraft is not already fully imported, the aircraft will automatically be considered as flying under TA even though the owner or operator has not themselves taken any action to activate this procedure or realized that their aircraft is flying under TA. The TA procedure is thus always required for non-EU imported aircraft, even for flights with only one stop within the EU. Please be aware that full TA compliance includes correct handling of various limitations and situations, which is why a compliance test is fundamental before flying to the EU.
TA can only be used by EU outsiders where the aircraft is owned (including any UBOs), operated, registered, and based outside the EU.
Operators capable of using TA will have vast advantages. These operators will practically have the same flying privileges as given under full importation, as the few limitations do not influence the typical flight for EU outsiders. Here, TA will even give the declarant more flexibility and extra advantages, such as unrestricted personal, family, and guest use without consequences and no tax or VAT liability anywhere, many of which are often a large problem when using full importation.
1. Flights where the aircraft will be used for passenger transport, subject to an individual and personal ticket fee or direct payment, are not allowed
2. Transportation of commercial freight items is not allowed
3. The use of TA includes some grey zone areas, which can be handled securely by having the proper documentation
4. Some preconditions must be handled correctly, including those described below
TA can only be used if the aircraft is owned by and registered to a non-EU entity and further operated by a non-EU operator. The aircraft must also have its normal fixed base outside the EU. The term ‘non-EU’ relates to anything other (states, territories, or areas) than the 27 EU member states and related customs areas. However, we always recommend that an operator check for full TA compliance before flying to the EU as other factors can also influence compliance.
The use of TA is designed to be a paperless process with a voluntary option to document entries and exits using a Supporting Document, meaning that a qualifying aircraft can enter the EU without any customs contact or paper declarations. It is the EU Commission’s opinion that the bare act of crossing the outer EU border counts as a customs declaration. Over the years, it has become evident that a common misunderstanding persists: some operators believe the TA procedure is irrelevant or optional if an aircraft’s passengers or pilots reside outside the EU or hold non-EU passports. This is not the case, and such misconceptions have left many operators unprepared and at risk. Operators must understand the requirements and ensure TA compliance for all flights within the EU.
Unfortunately, the paperless entry and exit procedure has created another common misunderstanding, namely that an operator is not required to present relevant documentation to prove TA compliance upon request from customs. This is incorrect. Only the entry and exit are supposed to be paperless, but the operator must continuously live up to the preconditions of TA, handle the limitations correctly, and be able to document these at any time, even if flights are just in and out of the EU with only one visited destination. Correct documentation proving TA compliance is a make-or-break issue during customs ramp checks, and the so-called Supporting Document (if used upon entry) does not prove TA compliance alone. To learn more, please view our explainer video about the topic.
When flying to the EU under TA, the qualifying aircraft must adhere to certain preconditions and be granted a suspension of all normal EU taxes and duties. Yet, there will naturally be random customs checks, ensuring that all TA terms are correctly fulfilled and documented. Failure to adhere to or document the terms properly will most often have consequences. Here, the lack of relevant documentation has stopped or grounded several aircraft over the years. The risk is that the aircraft will be stopped or impounded until TA compliance has been verified and documented or, in a worst-case scenario, until payment of all taxes and duties has been made.
If you have a concrete case, please inquire for a more detailed overview of the practical usage of TA.
TA is activated (knowingly or not) every time an unimported aircraft crosses the outer EU border and is terminated again when the same aircraft crosses the EU’s external border on the way to a non-EU destination. The bare act of crossing the outer EU border counts as a customs declaration.
In a customs context, the declarant (the physical operator) is seen as the user of the aircraft. Therefore, it is important to know the structure surrounding the aircraft, as some limitations depend on the role of the declarant. The declarant must always be the entity that truly operates (physically pilots) the aircraft. No other entities are allowed to be the declarant. If the aircraft is managed, the management company is normally considered to be the physical operator, thus the correct declarant in customs terms.
The physical operator (the declarant) will be seen as the responsible entity and targeted if anything related to EU customs is incorrect. Non-compliance with TA will most likely activate a direct payment of the VAT (ranging from 17-27%) and customs duty (2.7-7.7%).
Even though TA is meant to be a paperless customs entry process, please do not make the mistake of actually flying paperless without the ability to prove TA compliance. Every operator should be able to document their TA eligibility upon request. Mistakes can cost hours on the ramp, even in an “All Good” scenario.
EU-resident passengers are allowed*
EU-resident pilots are allowed but only if the pilots are directly employed by the physical operator (the declarant)*
There are no restrictions.
An aircraft under TA is used by the person(s) who act as the pilot(s) – and not by the passengers. Therefore, all restrictions for EU-resident persons are meant for the real user of the aircraft in customs terms, thus the pilots. Accordingly, the presence of the aircraft owner is not needed in most cases. The exception being aircraft owned by an individual and occasionally borrowed and used by an EU-resident person who acts as the pilot. This rule is meant for smaller aircraft personally owned and operated without hired pilots*
The Supporting Document (SD) only acknowledges that the aircraft has arrived within the EU and is opting to fly under TA. Having the SD ready onboard or actively using it shows that the operator understands the basics of TA, which is helpful if approached by customs, but it does not grant the aircraft free circulation for a six-month period, nor does it approve TA compliance in advance. Again, no operator should fly to the EU unprepared and unable to explain and document why they are eligible to use the TA procedure. The SD does not have this function.
The SD is only valid if the aircraft has not left the EU and for a maximum of six months. A new SD must be processed upon the next entry, even though the six months mentioned in the field “period for discharge” have not yet passed. The six months mentioned here is the maximum stay of the specific entry, whereupon the form is stamped (in customs terms: period for discharge). If the aircraft has flown outside the EU after the first entry, it is another common misunderstanding that any future entries into the EU within the first six months will be endorsed in advance by using the same form – it will not.
A well-prepared flight to the EU requires more documentation than the eventual use of the SD. Being ready for a customs ramp check should be seen parallel to how an operator prepares for an eventual SAFA ramp check. Most operators do not realize that failing a customs ramp check could have consequences that outweigh the costs of failing a SAFA check manifold. Various TA problems are related to the operators’ inability to understand and document the correct use of TA. We believe it is not worth the risk of being stopped and delayed for hours or days when minimal effort could avoid such a scenario.
Operators should always consider how to check and document TA compliance as well as handle and secure the known grey zone areas when using TA, which is why a compliance test is fundamental before flying to the EU. The relevant documentation can be conditioned without help from OPMAS, but we will be happy to help and have years of experience with this process. We offer different TA documentation solutions depending on the risk profile and typical flight pattern. Please inquire for more details.
Put simply, an operator must:
a) prepare and check whether the aircraft operation and structure meet the basic preconditions,
b) check whether all limitations are handled correctly,
c) explore and understand all the grey zone areas, and
d) conduct a compliance test to evaluate the above
In addition, an operator must choose between:
a) not preparing any documentation, taking things as they come, which we do not advise,
b) prepare own suitable documentation in-house by own legal adviser, or
c) ask OPMAS to do a compliance test and generate the needed documentation
Aircraft registered in the 27 EU member states and related customs areas are not eligible for TA, but any other aircraft registration will work.
A stay is limited to a maximum of six months per entry. Multiple continuous stays are allowed as long as the aircraft roam around within the EU.
Please note that TA can be used to fly privately, corporately, and commercially within the EU without any problems and with EU-resident persons onboard if applied correctly. Since 2014, the TA procedure has become a very well-defined customs procedure, especially for corporate and commercial aviation.
Non-EU-based charter operators may need to obtain traffic rights on some internal EU legs, but this is independent of the TA or full importation status. Any fully EU-imported aircraft must also obtain the same traffic rights. A fully EU-imported aircraft, instead of a TA aircraft, will not improve the situation. Full importation does not grant better traffic rights than aircraft flying under TA or EU-registered aircraft.
Both the VAT and customs duty are suspended as long as the preconditions for TA are fulfilled. A violation will activate a full payment of these taxes.
The Istanbul Convention from 1990, regulating the worldwide usage of TA, is not very precise, and the EU Commission has been and is continuously publishing various working papers and guidelines to clarify the correct understanding of TA and its usage in the EU. The 2014 working paper from the Union Customs Code Committee (available in English, French, and German) is especially important. Operators should always be aware that these documents are not binding for EU member states, which is why different interpretations exist between member states, thus also why it is important to have a competent customs agency outlining the correct use and understanding based on the specific setup.
Click here to see a list of the known grey zone areas where different interpretations of the TA procedure exist and where operators often need guidance to use TA safely. None of the grey zone areas create problems against using TA if correctly handled and documented.
If you have questions about the above, please do not hesitate to contact us.
* This reply is based on solid EU working papers, but these papers are non-binding for EU member states. The topic can therefore be seen as a grey zone area. This is why we have our reservation and recommend that all operators have proper documentation ready to present during a customs ramp check to secure flights with EU passengers onboard.
