Since 1994 the system employed by HMRC to process import and export declarations has been CHIEF (Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight). In the coming months, this system is being replaced by the HMRC Customs Declaration Service (CDS), although there will be no sudden migration from CHIEF to CDS, with HMRC applying their agile development philosophy of incremental change.

The new system will facilitate import and export declarations as now, although there will be some differences and improvements required to meet the Union Customs Code (UCC). Current timelines for implementation remain flexible, and it is anticipated that we will be able to declare all importers goods on the CDS system by the end of the year, with export declarations following at a later date.

From our customers perspective you do not need to make any immediate changes to the way you currently interact with us on declarations, however, it is likely there will be some changes in the information we need from you as this progresses. In the meantime please rest assured that we are working with our approved software supplier and our Group customs consultancy (Customs Insights www.customsinsights.co.uk) to ensure we are ready for this change and that our staff are trained accordingly.

We will keep you updated in the coming months and if you have any immediate concerns you can contact us at cds@ugroup.co.uk

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