Increased use of digital solutions could be the way to keep compliant with post-Brexit border changes, experts say, as Border Force warns of fines for non-compliance with customs rules.
In an alert shared late last month, Border Force has reminded carriers on the need to meet their legal obligations when submitting a Safety & Security Entry Summary (ENS) declaration. The agency warned that fines are now going to be imposed for non-compliance.
ENS declarations were introduced at the start of the year for all consignments entering Great Britain from the EU, following removal of the waiver of 31 January 2025.
Compliance issues
Border Force said there has been “little improvement” with the quality of data fields in ENS submissions over the last six months.
“As a result, where there has been a failure to provide correct details in the correct fields, notably, in the identity of means of transport at the border and the Container/Trailer number field Border Force will take immediate compliance action.”
The agency said that this can include a customs civil penalty. The notice also included a reminder of some of the areas of the ENS that needed attention, such as the identity of the transport, a container or trailer number and the customs office of first entry.
The problem stems from the use of the Customs Declaration Service (CDS) import declaration information to populate the ENS declaration, said Anna Doherty, customs practice director at the Chartered Institute.
“CDS will accept words such as TRUCK or TRAILER instead of the actual details, but this information is not validated.
“While ENS declarations can technically be created with such holding information, this is a crucial piece of information that Border Force needs to identify the means of transport at the border, and therefore the actual truck, trailer or container registration numbers are required.”
Technical information
Other areas, such as the customs office of first entry, have the same issue, as Doherty explains:
“Where the declarant is unsure whether the goods will arrive via Port of Dover or Channel Tunnel, they can use a single combined location reference in their import CDS declaration. However, this option is not possible for ENS declarations and the appropriate customs office of first entry must be declared.
“For Dover sea traffic, including RoRo, the port code is GB000040 and for Channel Tunnel (Road and Rail traffic) into Folkestone port code GB000060 should be used.”
There are also challenges with changing the time of arrival but not updating the ENS declaration.
The ENS MRN does not currently need to be included in the Goods Movement Reference (GMR) created on the Goods Vehicle Movement Service (GVMS) for arrivals into Great Britian, though this might change, as Doherty highlights:
“If compliance does not improve, the government might decide to mandate the inclusion of ENS MRN in the GMR in the same way as it is mandatory for GB to NI movements and GB to the EU movements on the EU side.”
“If importers have chosen to do the ENS declarations themselves on behalf of their hauliers, then they must ensure that the data they enter is accurate, true and correct.”
Digital tools
“This is one of those situations where using digital tools might be helpful,” said Ilona Kawka, senior digital trade consultant at the Chartered institute
“Digital solutions like Dokit are on offer to support compliance amidst constantly changing regulatory requirements. They offer greater supply chain oversight and boost compliance while enhancing efficiency and assurance.”
Dokit, a digital supply chain platform, was recently launched by the Chartered Institute, and aims to combine all of these benefits into one easy-to-use platform.
“It consolidates export documents into a single digital repository, providing real-time goods tracking and advanced intelligence that helps you to ensure that you are meeting your customs obligations.”
