The way businesses trade internationally is increasingly being transformed by digital customs programs and technological advances.
Updates to border controls, customs declarations and compliance systems can provide many benefits for businesses such as faster moving trade, reduced costs and easy access to their secure digitised records.
Research by ICC UK & Coriolis in 2021 reported that switching to digital trade processes can deliver an 80% reduction in trade transactions cost, with efficiency savings of £225bn for traders across the globe.
A prime example of the move to digitalisation and improved technology is the Customs Declarations Service (CDS). In early July, the free training service for its predecessor, the Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight (CHIEF) closed to traders, declarants and intermediaries and registrations stopped for new importers.
New importers now need to make import declarations through CDS and existing CHIEF users have until October to transition to the new system. Exporters will need to switch to CDS by March 2023.
CDS has been developed over several years, in close consultation with the border industry, to replace the almost 30-year-old CHIEF platform. Using the latest technology, CDS aims to increase efficiency and compliance, remove human error and provide a faster release of goods.
CDS has already been used by businesses for imports and exports for countries outside of the European Union and declarations for Northern Ireland in recent years. Following the switchover dates for importers and exporters, it will become the UK’s single customs platform.
While businesses are being encouraged to embrace the technological changes to global trade now, some companies may feel reluctant due to time constraints, cost concerns and capacity within their organisation to complete declarations. This is where Chamber Customs can help.
Offering a HMRC compliant service, Chamber Customs utilises a combination of smart technology and highly skilled customs agents across the Chamber network to ensure that data being submitted for declarations is correct and compliant.
Chambers Wales South East, South West and Mid is a dedicated customs intermediary who can manage all HMRC declarations through every port. Supporting both importers and exporters, our experienced team curate end-to-end solutions and can advise on the latest technological changes and digital processes to help keep goods moving and ensure compliance at every stage.
Find out more: https://cw-seswm.com/international/
