PN 1844 - Temporary Admission from a country outside the European Union (EU) of certain goods for possible sale
1. General
This Notice sets out the arrangements for the temporary admission from a country outside the EU without payment of import charges (Customs Duty and VAT) of:
- Goods other than newly manufactured goods, which are imported with a view to their sale by auction;
- Goods imported under a contract of sale subject to satisfactory acceptance tests;
- Works of art, collectors’ items and antiques consisting of items listed in the Annex to this Notice which are imported for the purpose of exhibition with a view to possible sale;
- Consignments on approval, meaning consignments of goods, which a consignor wishes to sell, and which the consignee may decide to purchase after inspection.
2. Conditions
The following conditions must be observed
- Security - Security must be provided in the form of:
- A cash deposit (refundable when the goods are re-exported); or
- A bond (or, as a temporary measure, a Cover Note) either from an approved insurance company or a bank licensed by the Central Bank to carry out insurance business. Application for approval to use a bond or Cover Note should be made to Revenue at the proposed place of importation, from whom full information as to procedure and all the necessary forms may be obtained.
- Period allowed - The goods must be re-exported within the time limit authorised by Revenue at importation. The prescribed maximum period of temporary admission permitted is: - 24 months in the case of goods mentioned at paragraphs 1 (a) and 1 (c); - 6 months in the case of goods mentioned at paragraph 1 (b); - 2 months in the case of goods mentioned at paragraph 1 (d).
- Identification - The goods must be capable of being identified at re-exportation. For this purpose marks or seals may be applied to them at importation by Revenue.
- Export control - The goods must be re-exported under Revenue control.
- Prohibited or restricted goods - Goods subject to a national or Community prohibition or restriction may not be imported, except under licence or authorisation issued by the appropriate Authority and presented at importation.
3. Procedure at Importation
The goods should be presented to Revenue at importation.
In all cases, 
Form C. &E. No. 1047 (Rev 1) - application for Temporary Importation facilities (PDF, 31KB) should be completed in duplicate and the required security provided.
The Revenue official will stamp and sign both copies of Form C. &E. No. 1047 (Rev
1), fix the time limit during which the goods may remain under temporary admission arrangements, insert the final date for re-exportation on the form and return one copy to the importer.
The importer must also indicate in writing the circumstances of the case (e.g. the date and place of auction, the name of the prospective customer etc.) to indicate why the importation qualifies for this relief.
A copy of the Form C. &E. No. 1047 (Rev 1) - application for Temporary Importation facilities (PDF, 31KB) must be produced with the goods when they are being re-exported.
4. Procedure at Re-Exportation
The goods and documentation should be presented to Revenue at the Export Station in sufficient time to allow for examination before the period for temporary importation expires.
When goods imported on Form C. &E. No. 1047 (Rev 1) - application for Temporary Importation facilities (PDF, 31KB) are re-exported, a copy of the form with Part III completed should be presented to Revenue. Where all the goods are correctly re-exported, the form will be retained by Revenue and arrangements will be made to refund the deposit or release the security as appropriate.
5. Disposal of the Goods
When the importer becomes aware that some or all of the goods are to be retained in the European Union (EU), s/he should apply to the Revenue Office where the importation took place, to have the matter regularised. S/he should present the copy of Form C. &E. No. 1047 (Rev 1) - application for Temporary Importation facilities (PDF, 31KB) and copies of the relevant invoices raised where the goods were sold. The Revenue official will assess the amount of import charges due and will adjust the security accordingly.
6. Transfer of Authorisation
Temporary admission facilities may be transferred to another person subject to certain conditions. Requests for such transfers should be made to Revenue at the place of importation.
7. Partial Relief from Customs Duty
Goods, which do not meet all the conditions set out in, this Notice for temporary admission without payment of import charges may, in certain circumstances, qualify for temporary admission with partial relief from customs duty. This involves payment of a percentage of the full amount of customs duty in respect of each month the goods remain in the EU.
Note: Relief from VAT is not allowable in these cases.
8. Further Information
Enquiries regarding any issue contained in this Notice should be addressed to the Revenue District responsible for your tax affairs. Contact details for all Revenue Districts can be found on the Contact Details Page
Notice No. 1844
February 2012 Edition
Annex 1 - Works of Art, Collectors' items and Antiques
For the purpose of this Notice:
- "works of art" shall mean:
- pictures, collages and similar decorative plaques, paintings and drawings, executed entirely by hand by the artist, other than plans and drawings for architectural, engineering, industrial, commercial, topographical or similar purposes, hand-decorated manufactured articles, theatrical scenery, studio back cloths or the like of painted canvas (CN code 9701),
- original engravings, prints and lithographs, being impressions produced in limited numbers directly in black and white or in colour of one or of several plates executed entirely by hand by the artist, irrespective of the process or of the material employed by him, but not including any mechanical or photomechanical process (CN code 9702 00 00),
- original sculptures and statuary, in any material, provided that they are executed entirely by the artist; sculpture casts the production of which is limited to eight copies and supervised by the artist or his successors in title (CN code 9703 00 00); on an exceptional basis, in cases determined by the Member States, the limit of eight copies may be exceeded for statuary casts produced before 1 January 1989,
- tapestries (CN code 5805 00 00) and wall textiles (CN code 6304 00 00) made by hand from original designs provided by artists, provided that there are not more than eight copies of each,
- individual pieces of ceramics executed entirely by the artist and signed by him,
- enamels on copper, executed entirely by hand, limited to eight numbered copies bearing the signature of the artist or the studio, excluding articles of jewellery and goldsmiths' and silversmiths' wares,
- photographs taken by the artist, printed by him or under his supervision, signed and numbered and limited to 30 copies, all sizes and mounts included;
- "collectors' items" shall mean:
- postage or revenue stamps, postmarks, first-day covers, pre-stamped stationery and the like, franked, or if unfranked not being of legal tender and not being intended for use as legal tender (CN code 9704 00 00),
- collections and collectors' pieces of zoological, botanical, mineralogical, anatomical, historical, archaeological, palaetological, ethnographic or numismatic interest ( CN code 9705 00 00);
- "antiques" shall mean objects other than works of art or collectors' items, which are more than 100 years old (CN code 9706 00 00).
