In August 2018, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) conducted a soft launch of the Customs Declaration Service (CDS) which was to replace the 25-year-old Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight System (CHIEF). HMRC decided to replace CHIEF with the CDS before the UK voted to leave the EU in June 2016 and planned to implement functionality in three phases. However, the CDS needed to be scaled up in order to handle the predicted increase in declarations post-Brexit. The first stage of the staggered release was conducted amid the UK’s exit from the EU (Brexit) and was met with some trepidation across the freight forwarding industry and with supply chain managers and traders alike.

According to the National Audit Office CDS report, the UK would need to prepare itself to receive an extra 200 million declarations after the UK leaves the European Customs Union. The significant increase on the 55 million existing declarations, is expected to place considerable pressure on the ageing CHIEF system and the immature, yet modern CDS system. The two systems were to work parallel to each other until Sept 2020, while HMRC migrated traders over to the CDS platform; however, this deadline has been extended beyond Dec 2020. Ultimately this means that traders will have more time to make the move from CHIEF to the CDS.

Brexit, and the ever-changing Brexit deadline, has delivered economic and political tension and left the logistics industry scrambling to prepare themselves. Over the years, traders, freight forwarders, and supply chain managers have enjoyed smooth trading and have reaped the benefits that globalisation offers. However, Brexit and the complexities surrounding the CHIEF-CDS migration means that they must now navigate huge changes in compliance requirements. Robert Keen, the General Director of the British International Freight Association (BIFA), warns that “Businesses need to be as prepared as they can be, given the fact that the goalposts have moved continuously over the past three years.” Hopefully, the transition period that ends on 31 Dec 2020 will offer businesses the time needed to adjust. Freight forwarders and logistics providers are well-positioned to provide businesses of all sizes

with expert advice regarding international trade and Customs and legal responsibilities. Keen advises that “businesses trading with the EU that have not had to worry about the free circulation of goods between the UK and EU will need to seriously consider partnering with a freight forwarder that is experienced in complying with the Customs and excise rules for trade moving to and from the UK and countries that are not in the EU.”

The CHIEF system handled vast amounts of increasingly complex Customs processes and over the years became inflexible and unable to manage the magnitude of information. The CDS was designed to manage all future Customs requirements and approximately 100 million declarations per year. However, that number is expected to exceed 250 million post-Brexit according to Financial Times estimates. It is estimated that around 500,000 businesses across the UK and EU will be required to make Customs declarations for the first time once the UK successfully leaves the EU. Until such time that Customs authorities are sure that Brexit will eventuate and what Customs arrangements will be required, it makes sense for CHIEF to continue to run parallel to CDS to offer some much-needed stability