Earlier this year the UK Government announced its intention to migrate the UK Customs Declarations from the current system, CHIEF, to CDS.
CHIEF (Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight) (CHIEF) will terminate on 31 March 2023. Declarations made on your behalf will be made through CDS (Customs Declaration Service) as it becomes the UK's single customs platform.
Services on CHIEF will be withdrawn in two stages:
➡ After 30 September 2022 – you won’t be able to make import declarations on CHIEF
➡ After 31 March 2023 – you won’t be able to make export declarations on CHIEF
The new system fulfils the UK Governments requirement for
• A long term, more flexible, secure and stable platform,
• Capacity and capability to grow in line with the UK’s trade plans
• Compliance with the UK obligations as a signatory to the Union Customs Code (UCC) and with the Northern Ireland Protocol.
It also operates the full UK Trade Tariff which CHIEF cannot do.
CHIEF has served the UK well, but it is nearly 30 years old and cannot match the technology that the Customs Declaration Service offers.
CDS is currently used for both Northern Ireland declarations and Rest of World movements and has processed more than one million import declarations since August 2018.
We’re now ready for our declarants to start moving to the new system, so we wanted to give you more details to help you prepare
1. KEY CHANGES
The Customs Declaration Service offers several new services, alongside existing services, all in one place. CDS captures some information differently and the way you input data is different. Primarily, this affects how we all use the UK Trade Tariff and make finance payments
2. Tariff changes and impacts
The Trade Tariff helps you find out which forms, codes and procedures to use when importing or exporting goods.
CDS groups the information required to make a declaration into 8 groups. Additional information may be required to enable us to make a declaration on your behalf
The eight data element groups:
- Message information
- References
- Parties
- Value
- Shipping details
- Goods identification
- Transport information
- Other
Trade Tariff information
The Trade Tariff for customs declarations using the Customs Declaration Service is the UK Trade Tariff: Volume 3 for the Customs Declaration Service (now known as the ‘Declaration, Completion, Instructions and Rules’ document).
You can also use the UK Trade Tariff tool to search for import and export commodity codes as well as the tax, duty and licenses that apply to your goods.
Changes to payment methods
The way you process your declaration payments will change with the Customs Declaration Service. How you’ll be affected depends on which of these payment methods you use. You’ll be affected if you use:
• Cash accounts
• Duty deferment accounts
• Immediate payments
• Guarantee accounts
• Individual guarantees
Cash accounts
The Customs Declaration Service uses cash accounts. These replace the Flexible Accounting System (FAS) used in CHIEF.
All traders who register for the CDS are automatically given a cash account. A trader can pay funds into their cash account and use those available funds to pay for declarations. A trader can also authorise an agent to use their cash account to pay for declarations on their behalf. This account behaves in a similar manner to a current account and you must have deposited sufficient funds deposited in this account in advance to cover any upcoming import transactions.
This option should not be viewed as a pay-as-you-go service and we will not be able to process any entry using this method unless evidence of sufficient funds is provided in advance.
Click here to find out more about using a cash account for Customs Declaration Service declarations
Duty deferment accounts
To help you manage your cashflow, a duty deferment account allows you to make one payment each month for any imports, rather than paying every time you import goods.
If you use a third party to do declarations on your behalf, such as a freight forwarder, customs agent or express operator, you should check with them about whether you require your own duty deferment account or if you can use their duty deferment account.
We can offer a solution and we are happy to advise you on the approach for this.
Click here to find out how to apply for a duty deferment account.
Top-up payments
One major change which the switch to CDS will being is that once an entry is submitted the selected method of payment of import taxes cannot be amended. To ensure continuity importers will now be able to view their Deferment Account transactions via their CDS Dashboard and make top up payments to their Deferment account to cover payment of upcoming transactions. This new feature is designed to ensure that you hold sufficient funds in your account and enable you to build in contingency. If you are approaching or reach your monthly deferment limit, you can make a payment to increase your available balance. Your payment reference for making a duty deferment top-up payment will be ‘CDSD’ followed by your duty deferment number.
Click the link to find out how to top-up your duty deferment account using the Customs Declaration Service
Immediate Payments
A trader can choose to pay at the point of making an import declaration. To make a payment on the same day or the next day, a trader can use:
- online or telephone banking (Faster Payment)
- CHAPS (Clearing House Automated Payment System)
- paying with debit card or corporate credit card using the online payment service
A trader can also pay by BACs (Bankers Automated Clearing Services), which will be paid in 3 working days, or by cheque.
Your payment reference for making an immediate payment will be ‘CDSI’ followed by the specific number generated for you by Customs Declaration Service.
Note: Because our services operate continually 24/7 meaning that your goods frequently arrive outside normal operating hours, this payment option will NOT be available to customers routing their goods with Rhenus Logistics.
Click here to find more information on how to pay for imports declared using the Customs Declaration Service
What you need to do to prepare
Key actions to take to prepare for using the Customs Declaration Service.
- If you have not already done so, you should register for CDS though your Government Gateway account. If you are using Postponed VAT Accounting, you should already have access because it is required to access and download your Postponed VAT statements Get access to the Customs Declaration Service
- Do not cancel your old Direct Debit Mandate with HMRC for CHIEF as this may still be required by HMRC after the transition to CDS has been made.
If you have any questions about the new Direct Debit instruction you can contact [email protected]
If you have not already done so, you must authorise Rhenus Logistics to use your Duty Deferment Account when making declarations in CDS on you behalf. You can do this from your CDS dashboard (Deferment options) by adding our EORI Number, GB146892628000 to the list of authorised agents. If you intend to authorise Rhenus on a specific import basis, you must provide Rhenus with a form C1207S with your import clearance request.
- If you wish to account for import duty / VAT using your CDS Cash Account, you must ensure that we are authorised to use it. More information on CDS cash accounts including how to pay into your cash account
- whether your business details (email and business address) match our records, or if they need updating
- understand the changes to the Import and Export Tariff
- Once we begin to clear your goods in CDS using your Duty Deferment Account it is important that you monitor your transactions via your CDS dashboard to ensure that you hold sufficient funds to account for any taxes due
- If you are not already doing so, we strongly recommend that you account for your import VAT using Postponed VAT Accounting (PVA)
Please note that if you have not undertaken the necessary preparations, we will not be able to process your declarations in CDS.
Rhenus Logistics can offer you inclusive customs solutions for goods we manage on your behalf. Please feel free to contact your local branch or account manager for support.