HMRC have recently announced they will move away from the planned hard start on 30th November 2023, to a phased transition to the Customs Declaration Service (CDS) from the current Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight (CHIEF) platform for UK exports, following advice from industry leaders.

Businesses that already have the IT functionality in place will still be able to transition to CDS by 30th November, before the majority who will now migrate to CDS at the beginning of 2024.

HMRC will contact high-volume declarants able to migrate by the end of November to assist in the switch, while remaining exporters will be assisted from the beginning of next year.

There have been several changes in the CHIEF to CDS implementation timetable but businesses need to continue working towards transitioning.

CDS replaced CHIEF as the UK imports platform last September and the initial intention was that it would come online for exports on the 31st January this year, but more testing of the system is required, resulting in the delay to 30th November.

It has been reported and indicated that both industry and software companies didn’t have enough time to ensure the readiness of the CDS system for handling the expected volume of declarations.

Our customs clearance team are ready and here to explain and support how your exports are affected by the CDS/CHIEF changes and what actions are necessary to protect your outbound traffic flows. Get in touch with our team today.

For more information, contact your Customer Relationship Manager today on 01375 856060 or email crmteam@ugroup.co.uk to discuss.