New Customs System Marks a Sea Change for British Shippers as UK Prepares to Leave EU

UK – Agency Sector Management (ASM), the British International Freight Association (BIFA), and HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will be running a series of seminars for British shippers and other stakeholders ahead of August's phased launch of the Customs Declaration System (CDS), the procedures set to completely replace the existing methods of Customs declarations in the UK, offering advice and guidance to businesses affected by its implementation. Robert Keen, Director General, BIFA, commented:

“The move over to CDS marks the biggest change to impact the processes by which Customs declarations are managed since the introduction of CHIEF, which it replaces, and which is needed to enable importers or exporters to comply with the EU's recently introduced Union Customs Code (UCC).”

The HMRC will begin a phased launch of the CDS in August 2018, replacing the current Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight (CHIEF) system, with all declarations taking place on CDS from early 2019. The seminars have been organised in response to concerns about the readiness of the new system, and to provide companies with the opportunity to fully understand what CDS is, why it is being introduced, how it will impact their businesses, and when the system will be fully launched. Peter MacSwiney, Chairman, ASM, said:

“There are significant differences between CHIEF and CDS, and still a lot of unanswered questions about what will be required from our industry. These seminars are partly in response to questions we receive from our users when I attend government meetings regarding Brexit and CDS.

"The seminars will provide insight into those differences and address the issues faced by companies that make Customs declarations, which will need time to adjust their internal computer systems to accommodate CDS.

“We are experiencing high demand for seminar places, and we recommend that anyone looking to attend these highly informative events registers their interest by May 11th. Registering is simple - send us an email providing your name, email address, and the name of your company or organisation as well as the regional event you wish to attend.” Parties can register their interest by sending an email to ASM at asm-bifa-hmrc-cdsseminar@asm.org.uk, and invitations with full details will also be distributed this week. The seminars are being held at a number of locations across the UK during June and July: