Teething Problems
The introduction of the new customs requirements from January 1st 2022 certainly hasn’t been as challenging as when Brexit first became part of our lives over a year ago but it has still thrown up a few issues that mostly has affected transporters trying to enter and leave the UK.
New requirements
The biggest challenge for transporters in particular has been trying to obtain a valid GMR for their movements. A GMR or a Goods Movement Reference is a number which is issued by the UK system, GVMS (Goods Vehicle Movement System), which was designed to control the flow of goods to and from the UK. A valid GMR is needed at ferry/Eurotunnel check-in when leaving the EU on route to the UK or indeed leaving the UK en route to the EU.
Main issues
Customs declarations which need to be registered in GVMS need to meet specific requirements which make the declarations recognizable to GVMS. In many cases these declarations have not met the GVMS requirements. These declarations are provided to the transport company who is responsible to create the GMR. When the transporter tries to create the GMR with the provided declaration numbers, it is not possible to finalise the GMR as the declarations are not recognized by GVMS.
One of the main issues has been that transporters have been provided with import reference numbers of an IM A, which is an arrived import declaration, but GVMS only accepts non arrived import declaration reference numbers.
Advice and tips
Below are some tips to keep in mind and be aware of when moving goods between the UK and the EU;
Import and export declarations which will be registered in GVMS should meet GVMS requirements;
UK export
1) For UK export, if leaving via ports such as Dover or Eurotunnel, type of EX should be EX A (arrived) and the reference code RRS01 should be mentioned in box 44 at header level
2) For UK export, if leaving via ports such as Dover or Eurotunnel, mode of transport should be declared as type “6” for RoRo
3) For UK export, if leaving via ports such as Sheerness or Newhaven, type of EX should be EX D (non-arrived) and the reference code RRS01 should be mentioned in box 44 at header level
UK import
1) For UK imports, if arriving via a GVMS port, type of IM should be IM D (non-arrived) or similar non arrived type, and the reference code RRS01 should be mentioned in box 44 at header level
2) For UK imports, if arriving via a GVMS port, type of IM can also be IM E or IM F (both non-arrived) and the reference code RRS01 should be mentioned in box 44 at header level
*if the declarations do not meet the GVMS requirements, the declarations will not be recognized by GVMS and the GMR will be Non-Finalisable
Solutions
For those struggling to receive the correct of customs declarations from the relevant parties, using Transit is a solution which can ensure that transporters can register their movements without issues on GVMS and check in at their exit port.
Click here to find out more.
SGS e-Customs Services offer a full customs brokerage service including UK import and export declarations created according to your requirements.
SGS e-Customs also offers a full GVMS service offering our clients the possibility to;
1) Create a GMR as part of an exit/entry UK transit via TransitNet – TransitNet reuses the DUCR number of the UK export declaration to create the GMR
2) Create a GMR for import, export or transit declarations whether or not created in TransitNet or by SGS
Contact us today or contact your local SGS affiliate for more information.
