Merchandise in Baggage
There are special customs requirements for commercial goods or samples which are imported or exported by passengers in their accompanied baggage (hand carried). This is known as Merchandise In Baggage or MIB.
MIB goods include the following:
- goods acquired for company use
- goods for sale
- spare parts
- trade samples
whether or not they are:
- permanently imported/exported
- temporarily imported/exported
- in transit
- liable to customs charges
HMRC has recently issued an updated version of Notice 6 ‘Merchandise in baggage’. The new version of the notice cancels and replaces the previous version published in January 2016.
With effect from 1 January 2017 the statistical threshold in the UK has increased to £873 (from £750) due to currency fluctuations against the Euro. The statistical threshold is used when deciding whether a simplified export declaration can be used.