Complete customs documents needed

The new agreements between the UK and the EU on Brexit have been in place for a few weeks. However, the agreements reached almost at the very last minute have far-reaching effects on the movement of goods and trade across the English Channel. inTime provides an update here.

The good news first: "We can continue to offer our customers transports from and to the UK," says Jörg Breitenbürger, Key Account Manager at the logistics service provider. "We also hope that - as with any system with new processes - automatisms and routines will set in over the next few weeks. But especially in logistics services, we see time delays due to additional checks and document creation," he adds. Because one thing must be clear to all parties involved in the movement of goods - despite the agreement of the governments: an external border now runs along the European North Sea coast. Therefore, it is urgently necessary to submit comprehensive and, above all, complete customs documents for customs inspection for all transports across this border. Detailed information on the documents can be found [here].

These documents are part of the customs clearance instruction that the logistics service provider requests from its customers. The importer in the UK or his appointed customs agent prepares these instructions to ensure that the transport is transparent. Various reference numbers, which the importer also provides at best, then serve as proof of customs clearance. "This helps us in this respect, because as a transporter we are obliged vis-à-vis the customs authorities to provide proof of proper export and import during transport and also at a later date," explains Jörg Breitenbürger. There is a transitional period until 30 June 2021. However, this does not release inTime from the fact that the transporter must already be able to prove proper customs clearance at any time. Therefore, the reference numbers are already indispensable now, because they are the only recognised proof for a declaration of customs clearance. "We want to make our customers aware of the problem. Otherwise, we can no longer carry out transports if the data is incomplete," says Jörg Breitenbürger.