Hauliers could have to pay new fines totalling thousands of pounds if they don’t follow the correct procedures for importing goods into the UK.
According to an email from the Joint Consultative Customs Committee (JCCC), shared with industry this week, from 7 April the haulier responsible for bringing the goods into the UK may face a civil penalty for failure to present all transit movement reference numbers to the Office of Transit.
This fine could rise to as high as £2,500.
IT system
The warning relates to the Goods Vehicle Movement Service (GVMS), a customs platform brought in post-Brexit.
GVMS relies on a ‘pre-lodgement’ model for clearing declarations, whereby hauliers submit all declarations required for a particular goods movement in advance of travelling to the port.
The haulier is not permitted onto a ferry crossing the border unless they have a Goods Movement Reference (GMR). This reference links together all the required declarations.
Details
All movements coming into the UK must have their transit movement reference numbers (MRN) included in the GMT. These must be entered into GVMS before the vehicle enters the ferry destined to the UK.
An MRN is a number that allows for customs authorities to identify the shipment in the system.
“Failure to include all the transit MRNs in the GMR means that we cannot complete the Office of Transit checks,” HMRC said in an email detailing the changes.
The JCCC said that they had been told of the changes last week (11 March).
“We indicated that traders had a legal obligation to present all the transit MRNs at the Office of Transit and that failure to do so could result in a penalty from April.”
‘Sad’ but necessary
Ilona Kawka, senior digital trade consultant at the Chartered Institute of Export & International Trade, said that this was a “sad but necessary” move by the government.
“Most traders move their goods compliantly, but unfortunately there will always be individuals who do not follow the correct process, mostly from lack of awareness. It isn’t, however, fair to traders, who follow the rules from the beginning, to allow those who do not follow the rules to continue doing so.
“The government has decided to put measures in place with financial impact to ensure people adhere to the correct way of doing things, in this case, to ensure that the proper process is being followed.
“We don’t want to see anyone have to pay these fines, so hopefully this will encourage non-compliant traders to fix the their operational processes before the penalties application comes live.”
Kawka also leads the Chartered Institute’s Imports Advisory Practice, offering bespoke support to businesses to enable them to navigate regulations, master technology and ensure efficient supply chains.
Information
The government says that, since 21 January, all Border Force staff have been giving information out to drivers who are brining goods into the UK and don’t include all the transit MRNs in the GMR. HMRC staff have been doing the same at Sevington Port.
The information includes details of the fines and is being down to make sure that all hauliers, agents and intermediaries are aware of the penalties post 7 April.
For further support on Transit procedures, you may want to consider the Chartered Institute’s training course on moving goods using the New Computerised Transit System (NCTS).
