The Institute of Export and International Trade (IOE&IT) and HMRC are among those speaking at a townhall webinar next week, giving traders important information around the migration from the Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight system (CHIEF) to the Customs Declaration Service (CDS) for export declarations.

The details

The event can be joined for free here, and will run from 10–11.30am on 8 May, and features speakers from the British International Freight Association (BIFA), the Association of Freight Software Suppliers (AFSS) and the Association of International Courier & Express Services (AICES).

The session aims to increase awareness of the switch to CDS for export declarations by 4 June 2024 and the need for all parties involved in the movement of goods to be prepared.

IOE&IT offers regular updates and support on the migration to CDS.

This month, it hosted a public webinar exploring developments in UK customs IT that included the change.

Assumed departure status

HMRC notified traders last week to remind them that there will no longer be an ‘assumed departure’ status under CDS.

Under CHIEF, the status supported indirect EU declarations and ensured CHIEF declarations appeared on customers’ export MSS data reports. However, the Joint Customs Consultative Committee (JCCC) noted that “it was never official evidence of the goods being exported”, and that assumed departure will no longer be present under CDS.

It adds that, if traders fail to follow the correct process when moving goods via a Goods Vehicle Movement Service (GVMS) port, they won’t get a departure notification (DMSEOG) or be able to ask for a departure status.

Awareness ‘important’

They also won’t be able to see declarations in their CDS trade reports.

Anna Doherty, IOE&IT senior trade and customs expert and industry chair of the JCCC, emphasised the importance of being aware of these differences, stating:

“Export migration to CDS is not only about entering data differently into CDS than it is for CHIEF. If all parties do not adapt their processes, such as ensuring that the export Declaration Unique Consignment Reference (DUCR) is included in the Goods Movement Reference (GMR) from GVMS, then the declaration will remain open and will not be included on the MSS Data Report or the CDS trader reports.

“This could be a big compliance risk for exporters that use MSS Data to monitor their consignments and check that all declarations have been processed correctly. Lack of departure message could mean that the exporter is unable to zero rate their shipment for VAT or that controlled goods such as those subject to licences have not been properly presented to customs.”