28 June 2023 (Lloyd's List) - FREIGHT forwarders and customs managers are being warned to use the summer to prepare for the transition to the UK government’s new customs declaration process.

Following disruptions last October following the deadline for traders to move to the new Customs Declaration Service for import declarations, DP World’s CNS subsidiary is urging exporters to prepare for the November 30 implementation of CDS for exports.

“There are some issues such as outages on the system that are impossible to prepare for, but there are a lot of issues traders are now aware of from last year, which mean there are known steps that can and should be taken,” said CNS managing director Matthew Bradley.

“Last year showed us that organisations that trained their staff and prepared through test environments before the deadline were far less impacted by the change in system. The broader industry should learn from this and start testing and preparing now.”

He warned that the repercussions of being unable to submit valid and compliant declarations included cargo delays, increased costs and frustration for customers and staff.

“We would urge any traders dealing with export declarations to do their homework and be as prepared as they possibly can be,” Bradley said.

The challenges encountered last year have left many traders nervous about the new system, which requires additional data fields to complete an export declaration.

CNS has developed its cloud-based Customs Declaration Management System in order to assist shippers with managing the transition.

“We understand increased costs and slimming margins are always a key factor and we can’t protect against all eventualities,” said Bradley.

“But the reassurance of knowing you are as prepared as you can be, may put end customers at ease and may even help you sleep better at night, which is something we think is pretty important in our extremely stressful industry.”