Tomorrow (23 October), the Chartered Institute of Export & International Trade will be hosting a public webinar with Customs4trade, addressing how traders can prevent their goods being delayed at the border.
Ahead of the event we spoke to customs and trade expert Andy Bridges and Imports Advisory Practice lead Ilona Kawka to understand how and why goods tend to be delayed and the business implications.
Key issues
Reflecting on the mistakes he’s seen most frequently, Bridges says that there are common customs pitfalls that tend to trip traders up.
“Using the wrong or incorrect licence with their goods”, he begins, “will cause significant delays if your goods are dual use or for military purposes, or are subject to newly introduced rules like sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) requirements”.
“Having incorrect paperwork and careless mistakes, like the goods not matching the packing list accompanying them – that can catch a lot of businesses out.”
Kawka adds that other discrepancies, such as “mismatches in weight of the goods, inaccurate descriptions” can also slow goods’ movements down.
These errors can be a particular problem when goods are subjected to random customs checks and inspections, despite not actually requiring additional paperwork or being especially high risk.
In the case of goods which are higher risk and therefore require inspection at a specific Border Control Point, such as imports of food and drink products subject to SPS requirements, Kawka says there is “the added issue of goods travelling through inappropriate crossings”.
Bridges also notes external issues that traders can overlook when handling adherence to customs rules.
“You’ve got to keep an eye on the news – if there’s border disruption or congestion at ports that will cause delays, for example, and you want to factor that in when moving your goods.
“Weather problems will also hold you up, particularly at seaports, so you need to be aware of what’s going on beyond your internal processes.”
Communication
If your goods are delayed at the border, Bridges says that the Customs Declaration Service (CDS) will be the first point of contact for any notification.
Rolled out for exports earlier this year, CDS has been a requirement for importers since 2022, so businesses bringing goods into the UK should have greater familiarity with the software.
However, he adds that, “while most issues will be caught in advance by CDS”, there are still instances where “Border Force will pick up on anomalies and mistakes made in paperwork”.
Bridges says that the Goods Movement Vehicle System (GVSM) could also notify traders of delays. While there have been a number of systems changes in recent years, he adds that ultimately this means traders are better informed, sooner:
“Both systems can notify the shipper of issues in advance so that delays should be minimal.
“Newer changes, like port authority checks and SPS checks, are also automated through CDS, so the right people are often notified in good time.”
Consequences
Kawka notes that perishable items like food will obviously fare worse when delayed, and sometimes “they can just go into waste at the border due to delays”.
“Some supply chains work on a ‘just-in-time’ basis, and contracts will stipulate very high penalties for not delivering goods needed in production to factories on time.”
Bridges is keen to emphasise that, while delays are better communicated than in the past, a firm’s aim should still be avoiding them where possible.
Considering the consequences of a delayed shipment, he says:
“There is the old adage of ‘time is money’ but delays go deeper than that.
“Financially, there will be demurrage and detention fees, plus storage costs that can then lead onto sales penalties and extra transport costs.
“However, it’s the reputational, longer-term damage that can be more impactful; reputations can be tarnished easily and sometimes very difficult to repair.”
This can translate into financial difficulties, to which no business is immune:
“The cost implications can vary, but are always impactful for a business, no matter its size.”
To understand the best practice for avoiding errors that can cause delays, and for a refresher on recent and upcoming changes to the UK border, join us on Wednesday at 2pm for ‘How to avoid your goods getting stuck or delayed at the border’. You can still register for that here.