UK customs declaration service: Move from CHIEF to CDS with AEB

As of September 30, 2022, import declarations are no longer managed in CHIEF and have moved to the new CDS system. 

HMRC had offered a time-limited option for traders to ask for permission to continue using CHIEF for imports from October 1, 2022, onwards, however, this option is no longer available as of December 15, 2022. 

On March 30, 2024, the CHIEF system for exports will formally close and businesses will need to use CDS for their export declarations. This timeline includes a new phased approach that was announced by HMRC on August 23, 2023 as follows: 

1. Phase: Selected high-volume declarants will move to CDS for exports by November 30, 2023. HMRC will inform applicable traders accordingly. 
2. Phase: All other businesses will move to CDS for exports by March 30, 2024 – with migrations expected to start in the beginning of the year.

The original deadline for the export migration from CHIEF to CDS was March 31, 2023. This was then extended to November 30, 2023, and has now moved to the new phased approach as outlined above. 

The customs handling of import and export freight system CHIEF has been in use by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) for nearly 30 years. Its core function is the processing of declarations to facilitate the international movement of goods between the UK and non-EU countries. Technology has advanced over the years and the CHIEF system cannot easily adapt to new requirements. Plans to retire CHIEF have therefore been underway for a long time – a successor project was eventually announced back in 2015 and a system provider was selected in 2016.

The decision to replace CHIEF with HMRC’s new customer declaration service CDS was made before the EU referendum, but developments since have been factored into the planning so that CDS is scaled to handle the increase in the volume of declarations resulting from Brexit. The customer declaration service CDS has been developed in consultation with the border industry and will provide a more secure and stable platform. CDS has the capacity and capability to grow in line with the UK’s trade plans and the system move is also expected to deliver savings for the taxpayer.

HMRC will be closing its customs handling of import and export freight system CHIEF on November 30, 2023. From this date, all businesses will need to declare goods through the new customs declaration service CDS. The retirement of the CHIEF system is managed in two stages:

• September 30, 2022: Import declarations have closed on CHIEF and CDS is now in use
• November 30, 2023: Export declarations close on CHIEF / National Exports System (NES)

CHIEF is based on the Community Customs Code (CCC) and Single Administrative Document (SAD) Harmonisation rules (boxes). CDS is based on the Union Customs Code (UCC) and data integration and harmonization rules.

This means: It’s a move from using paper-based rules on CHIEF to data processing rules on CDS.

CHIEF declaration completion requirements can be found in the CHIEF Tariff (online). CDS declaration completion requirements can be found in the CDS Tariff (online), which includes separate sections for declaring imports, declaring exports, Inventory Imports, and inventory exports. 

This means: Using the correct tariff is essential. CDS declarations using the CHIEF tariff will be rejected. And declarations using CHIEF codes will be rejected, too, as the code does not exist on CDS.

HMRC has made detailed trader guidance available online, including separate sections for declaring imports, exports, inventory imports, and inventory exports. You can find the official links here. 

CHIEF includes 68 Paper form multi-use boxes. CDS includes 91 Single use data elements.

This means: CHIEF declarations are tailored to paper completion and offer several boxes that accept data in a free text format. In the new customs declaration service CDS on the other hand, most data elements are restricted to code format except fields for names, addresses and goods descriptions. One box on CHIEF may equate several different data elements on CDS. Users making declarations need to populate all required data elements, depending on the selected declaration category, and if they do not select the appropriate data set, the declaration will be rejected.

CHIEF features 7-digit fixed Customs Procedure Codes (CPCs) for each goods item. CDS codes are split into two parts: a single 4-digit Procedure Code combined with up to 99 different types of 3-digit Additional Procedure Codes (APCs) for a single goods item.

This means: There is no 1:1 correlation between CHIEF CPCs and CDS Procedure Codes (PCs) / (APCs). CHIEF CPCs are unique to a goods item while CDS PCs / APCs are multiple, interchangeable combinations depending on circumstances. The Procedure Code is always the same in CDS regardless of the type of declaration, i.e. the same code is used on simplified, standard, and supplementary declaration types. As code lists are not the same for CHIEF and CDS, users making declarations are required to select the correct code or their declarations will fail.

CHIEF features 4,000 separate error codes while CDS is limited to 200. The CDS error codes refer to the exact data element that incurred an error and allow the user to interpret and resolve it in targeted manner. 

Submitting payments through CHIEF is based on Duty Deferment Accounts, guarantee and/or via the Flexible Account System (FAS). CDS on the other hand, offers several payment options including a new cash account and immediate payments. CDS also offers transparency and central online access to financial customs information such as viewing account statements, controlling standing authorities, and making payments.