The Customs Declaration Service How to be prepared?
In August 2021, HMRC notified the industry of its plans to close CHIEF, its current system for handling all Import and Export Customs declarations and replace it with the Customs Declaration Service (CDS).
As a result, all businesses in the future will be required to declare goods through the Customs Declaration Service (CDS).
The current services provided through CHIEF will be withdrawn in two stages:
• September 30th, 2022 – U.K. import declarations on CHIEF will no longer be supported.
• March 31st, 2023 – U.K. export declarations on (CHIEF) and (NES) National Exports System will no longer be supported.
Our local agent KRL will move its operating system over to CDS on August 31st.
To continue handling your U.K. export or U.K. import customs declarations after August 31st on CDS, we invite you to register for CDS through your U.K. Government Gateway portal. We refer to the explanations outlined on the following UK GOV website, and the steps you need to take as a non-UK company are explained hereafter.
Which steps have to be taken by yourself?
Register for a Government Gateway account
Since you have a GB EORI number, you already have a government gateway account, as this EORI number is linked to. The Government Gateway user ID was sent to you when you were in the progress of registering your GB EORI number.
If you forgot your Government Gateway user ID, use the words ‘Government Gateway user ID’ to search your inbox and any folders you’ve created.
Register for the Customs Declaration Service (CDS)
You can use this link to register for the Customs Declaration Service; this can take up to 5 working days, so the sooner you apply, the better.
You’ll need your Government Gateway user ID and password, as well as:
– Your GB EORI number
– Registered address of your business, as held on HMRC’s records
This registration is necessary to give your customs agent a mandate to declare on your behalf in CDS.
Payment of VAT/Duty
If your UK customs agent is paying your VAT & Duty on your behalf, nothing will change with this method, as the taxes will be against the agent’s account.
If you are accounting for VAT using Postponed VAT accounting, you will need to access your postponed VAT statement via the Customs Declaration Service.
If you have your Duty deferment account
The Customs Declaration Service uses a separate HMRC bank account to CHIEF, so you’ll need to set up a new direct debit.
You will also need to reauthorize your customs agent to use your deferment account. This is done in the Customs Declaration Service Finance Dashboard.