On 26 March the government announced the outcome of the 2024 Duty Suspension application process. This year’s list was notable in that it contained four specific Plywood customs codes within which certain Plywood products could claim duty free status. See the latest TDUK Trade Note for further details.
However, discrepancies between the stated commodity code and product listing within Temporary Suspension SUS-83B have marred the implementation of this initiative causing significant disruption to the UK Plywood trade. Since 27 April importers have been forced to make an invidious decision between claiming duty free status on incorrectly described Plywood products or paying full duty and being told they were unable to compete on price for identical types of Plywood products.
Following significant lobbying from TDUK and its members HMRC classification have confirmed that Plywood with at least one outer ply of eucalyptus should be declared under: Subheading 44123330. As a consequence an investigation is underway by the Department of Business and Trade as it appears likely an error has occurred during implementation of Temporary Suspension SUS-83B.
Unfortunately, the investigation and the legislation necessary to implement a correction, which should allow all Importers to benefit from this temporary duty suspension, will take a number of months to complete. In the meantime, DBT have confirmed that tariff suspensions only apply where the imported product is declared against the correct commodity code and meets the technical description provided in the suspensions reference document on GOV.UK
TDUK would remind all traders that they should ensure their Plywood is declared against the correct commodity code, which in our view means that NO Plywood with an outer ply of eucalyptus (eucalyptus spp.) can benefit from the temporary duty suspension against commodity code 4412339000.
Questions have also been raised by the Plywood trade in relation to Temporary duty suspensions SUS 83A and SUS 83C.
The first provides a temporary duty suspension for Coniferous throughout Plywood, raising questions about interactions and overlap with the existing Coniferous Quota. Discussions with the Department of Business and Trade confirm that the two schemes will run in parallel for the next two years with traders able to choose which process best suits their needs. Temporary duty suspension SUS 83A for Coniferous Plywood will be in place until 30 June 2027, with a review on possible extension occurring before this date.
Temporary duty suspension SUS 83C provides temporary duty relief for products with at least one outer ply of tropical wood provided they meet the species, thickness and density criteria. See the latest TDUK Trade Note for further details. A typographical error in the listing we are assured will be corrected from m2 to m3. Importers must declare their products fall within the stated density range and spot checks will require evidence of product density to be provided.
TDUK will keep members informed as the investigation on SUS 83B continues but the other three temporary duty suspensions are already in place and open for all Importers to use.
There will be further opportunities to apply for tariff suspensions in due course. Further information, including dates of the application window, guidance, and methods to apply, will be announced on UK Trade Tariff: duty suspensions web page.
