'Technical hitch' results in truck queues at UK border control point
Britain’s new phytosanitary regulations continue to cause problems for importers, with major queues reportedly plaguing ...
Traders are struggling to access the UK’s customs systems following planned weekend maintenance, with major queues forming at border facilities.
Sources told The Loadstar customs entries were, “at best”, taking a long time to submit and, in some cases, proving “impossible”.
HMRC, which is responsible for UK Customs, has yet to respond to requests for comment.
However, the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) said HMRC was aware of the Customs Declarations Service (CDS) problem and was working to resolve it.
In an advisory to users, APHA said: “Please be aware this is resulting in higher volumes of vehicles attending Sevington Border Control Post, causing subsequent additional processing times. If using a location operating the Goods Vehicle Movement Service, you will only be able to complete customs movements if you have a finalised goods movement reference.”
Responding to the situation, UK forwarding association BIFA informed its members that hauliers using the GVMS would need to create a goods movement reference and select ‘Declaration by Conduct’ to proceed.
It added carriers and agents had been authorised to use “contingency manifest codes” at temporary maritime storage locations.
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