Customs Declaration Service is the new CHIEF for imports and exports

The Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight (CHIEF) system is to close in 2023 to allow the Customs Declaration Service (CDS) to become the UK's single customs platform 

HMRC has announced that the closure of CHIEF will take place on 31 March 2023.

From this date, all businesses that import and export will need to declare goods through CDS.

CDS is currently used for Northern Ireland and Rest of World declarations and has been live since 2018.

Ahead of the 31 March 2023 closure, services on CHIEF will be withdrawn in two stages:

• 30 September 2022: import declarations close on CHIEF
• 31 March 2023: export declarations close on CHIEF / National Exports System (NES)

HMRC says CDS has been developed over a number of years in consultation with the border industry and should offer a more secure platform that has scalability to grow in line with the government’s trade objectives.

There’s further information on GOV.UK to help businesses and agents prepare for CDS and there are also a number of live customer support services available. 

Further information

If you would like help and advice with VAT on imports or exports, please contact a member of our VAT team, and check out our International Advisory Knowledge Hub.