The National Export System (NES), used as part of the Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight (CHIEF) system, will no longer be in use for sending consolidation or movement messages from tomorrow (9 February).
‘Urgent steps’
The change comes as part of the migration to the Customs Declaration Service (CDS), through which all export declarations must be made by 30 March.
The government has written to those who have used NES to alert them to the change, and said that those currently using the system must take “urgent steps” to move over to the new one.
The government notes that, “until the declarations you are consolidating, arriving or departing are also on CDS, you won’t receive status notifications relating to these declarations through CDS”.
During this period, users of CDS will need to continue to use CHIEF to view the permission to progress and departure statuses of their consignments.
Avoiding delays
In order to “avoid unnecessary delays at the border”, HMRC adds, firms need to make the change as soon as possible. The government recommends that those making declarations use the new CDS feature, ‘Make and Manage an Export Declaration Online’.
This feature is the replacement for CHIEF NES, and the government advises exporters to contact the HMRC CDS Exports team at cdsexportsuiteam@hmrc.gov.uk.
Other options beside submitting messages via HMRC include contacting a Community System Provider (CSP) or software developer “to access to their user interface (CDS UI)”.
The IOE&IT perspective
Ilona Kawka, digital trade and customs specialist at the Institute of Export & International Trade (IOE&IT), said “to avoid any delays with moving goods, importers and exporters should remain proactive in applying changes to their internal processes, procedures and software to remain aligned with improvements around the activities at the borders”, adding that they need to be alert to changing practice in the services used for trade.
“Traders should keep an eye on the Daily Update to ensure they’re aware of the latest changes. If you have any doubts or need help in understanding the changes, I encourage you to reach out to IOE&IT for support.”