HMRC has advised that CHIEF will be closed to new import declarations from 30 September 2022.

HMRC, the British tax collection authority, has announced that it has been monitoring customs agents and importers to identify which ones have not yet transferred their deferment accounts from the Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight (CHIEF) system to the Customs Declaration Service (CDS). CHIEF records movement of goods by land, air and sea, and CDS supports import and export declarations for goods moving into and out of the UK.

HMRC has advised that soon they will be contacting all deferment account holders who have not fully transitioned these accounts to CDS.

Particular emphasis will be placed on reminding holders of demand deposit accounts (DDAs). DDA holders should:

• Complete a new Direct Debit Instruction for CDS. If they do not complete one, then they will not be able to use their existing DDA after migrating to CDS, as CDS does not use the same bank account as CHIEF.
• Ensure that they have either obtained a bank guarantee or filed a waiver that a bank guarantee is not necessary.

Additionally, importers using their own deferment accounts via the Government Gateway should:

• Authorize their customs agents to use these deferment accounts.
• Provide their customs agents with information regarding their bank guarantees or waivers as above.

When migrating from CHIEF to CDS, the first steps are to link your Government Gateway user ID to CDS and ensure that your deferment account is properly integrated with all necessary bank guarantees/waivers attached. In many ways, these initial steps are the most important ones during the entire migration process.

“Our advice to all clients and partners who have not yet transitioned their deferment accounts to CDS is to do so as quickly as possible. This will reduce the chances of complications later on in the process of moving to the new system,” says Anna Smirnova, UK Head of AsstrA Industrial Project Logistics.