HMRC wants traders to participate in upcoming user testing for the Single Trade Window (STW), according to its March update on the project.

The Single Trade Window – one portal through which traders can input all required information and documentation – is currently under development and expected to be introduced in 2025.

The project entered its Beta testing phase at the end of February, so invited traders have been able to engage with the portal and offer comments on how it works.

Anna Doherty, senior specialist in trade and customs at the Institute of Export & International Trade, said that:

“As the STW is being developed in phases, it is important that a wide variety of users is involved in testing it and providing meaningful feedback in the spirit of co-design with HMRC.”

Those looking to get more insight into developments in UK customs IT can do so by signing up for IOE&IT's free public webinar on the subject, which takes place on 17 April.

User research

HMRC is looking for volunteers to sign up to help inform the next stage of STW’s development.

The government is interested in hearing from traders, intermediaries, hauliers, carriers and border location operators, especially those that are carrying out both import and export procedures. Doherty added:

“This is an opportunity for traders of all sizes to be involved, regardless of whether they complete their customs declarations in-house, or if they are using an intermediary and would like to see what the new system could offer them.”

Participants could be asked to test parts of the website and complete remote interviews. The update adds that “there will be more exciting opportunities as the development of the STW progresses”.

The government has said user feedback is at the forefront of the project, with the aim of developing STW iteratively.

Looking ahead

Having already captured users successfully submitting declarations via the STW that have been received by the Customs Declaration Service (CDS), the government is looking to move from the private beta phase of testing to a public beta later this year.

In the meantime, additional functionality is expected to be added in the coming months, including for agents and hauliers ahead of the October 2024 requirements on Safety and Security (ENS) declarations.

The ENS declarations are part of the third phase of the Border Target Operating Model (BTOM). From 31 October all imports from the EU will need to be accompanied by an ENS declaration. HMRC says that the STW team is working closely with the ENS team to deliver a free user interface that can be used to submit these declarations.

Reducing cost and error

The STW is designed to streamline the process of inputting trade documentation for UK businesses engaged in moving goods overseas. Whereas currently, a business or intermediary may need to input information into a number of different government systems, the STW will the reduce this required by limiting input to just one portal.

Explaining the system’s value ahead of the initial build last year, last year, Kevin Shakespeare, IOE&IT’s head of strategic projects and international development, said that an STW will enhance the quality of data submitted, as well as boost efficiency.

“It also provides the opportunity for the retention of data and the creation of templates. It means you’re just giving new data, for example, changes in the valuation of goods, the weight of the goods and so on.

“The opportunity here for a single trade window is to reduce the cost of trade and the time of trade. But it also reduces the propensity for error.”