Key BTOM Checks May Be Skipped If UK Ports Face Congestion
Key BTOM Checks May Be Skipped If UK Ports Face Congestion Information obtained by the Financial Times suggests that there’s a chance animal products coming into the UK from the EU might not undergo the required BTOM checks. These checks might be bypassed if British ports get too busy due to the application of the new post-Brexit border rules. Background Starting from the end of January 2024, new border rules called the Border Target Operating Model (BTOM) have been put into place. These rules categorise all animal products arriving from the EU into three risk categories: high, medium, and low. Medium- and high-risk meat products now need to have health certificates before they are allowed to enter the UK. Under these regulations, EU companies sending goods to the UK need to provide health certificates to UK port authorities 24 hours before their shipment arrives. This allows officials sufficient time to review the paperwork. If the paperwork isn’t checked before the goods arrive, they will automatically be scheduled for a physical inspection. Failure to submit the required paperwork will result in their shipment undergoing physical inspection. These checks will occur at specific border control posts designated for this purpose. Many of these control posts are expansions of current facilities that already inspect plant and animal goods from non-EU countries. And some posts have been created specifically for these new regulations. One example is a newly built £147 million facility near Dover in Sevington. This facility will handle all the products passing through the UK’s busiest port. Only 1 per cent of shipments were initially intended to undergo this process. However, as outlined in a contingency planning document, there’s concern that border control posts may not be fully prepared to conduct these checks by April. Introduction of Todcof The growing pressure on British ports dealing with the new post-Brexit border regulations indicates the potential necessity for a backup plan to manage any disruptions or congestion. This plan may involve implementing measures to prevent delays in transporting goods and ensuring the smooth entry of essential products like animal-derived foods into the UK. As part of the ongoing implementation of new import measures, meeting the deadlines for these checks might be challenging. Therefore, a temporary automated clearance process known as the ‘timed out decision contingency feature’ (Todcof) will be specifically applied to medium-risk animal products. This will be on an interim basis” as the government continues implementation of new measures on imports. The Todcof system would intervene to prevent goods from undergoing physical inspection. Instead, it would indicate that no documentary check was conducted, but the consignment has still been cleared for entry. This process will allow goods to enter the UK without requiring paperwork checks if there are capacity issues at border control posts. The Financial Times notes that the documents explaining the process haven’t been reported before and were posted on Portsmouth City Council’s website for the first time. Organisations React Different organisations have reacted to the idea of potentially skipping BTOM checks. The Freight Liaison Group, which represents trade intermediaries, seemed unsure if port health authorities could still charge for checking paperwork. Meanwhile, the Dover Port Health Authority raised concerns about unauthorised meat products entering the UK, stressing the health risks involved. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), however, emphasised their strong border controls and confidence in the ability of current and new infrastructure to handle checks effectively. They assured that they’re keeping a close eye on things and have backup plans to support businesses if needed. This highlights the challenge of balancing trade and safety at the UK border. What are the next steps? Things are changing, and we expect more updates in the coming months, especially by April 30th. Don’t worry, we’ll keep you informed every step of the way. At iCustoms, we’re here to support you with any help and guidance you need as these changes unfold. Explore iCustoms.ai’s AI-powered platform to optimise your customs and trade processes Explore more Or Watch a Demo Now! iCustoms.ai – Revolutionising Trade Compliance with AI An all-in-one solution designed to streamline all customs procedures to save you time and costs. You may also like: 02 May 2024 From Streamlined to Stalled? Solving Rule of Origin Challenges in UK Construction with iCustoms Read More 30 April 2024 Trade Compliance News – April 2024 Read More 25 April 2024 Stuck in Customs? Build a Smoother Supply Chain for Your Manufacturing Clients Read More 19 April 2024 iCustoms Receives ICC Digital Trade Award for “Best Port or Logistics Systems” Read More 18 April 2024 iCustoms Board Member Series: Michael Burnett Read More About iCustoms iCustoms is an all-in-one solution helping businesses automate customs processes more efficiently. With AI-powered and machine-learning capabilities, iCustoms is designed to streamline your all customs procedures in a few minutes, cut additional costs and save time. Start Now Solutions Customs Agents Traders Couriers Products Import Export Classification Intelligent Document Processing Customs Audit Landed Cost Calculation Restricted Screening
Intelligent Document Processing Software vs. Manual Data Entry
Intelligent Document Processing Software vs. Manual Data Entry Choosing between Intelligent Document Processing software and manual data entry holds significant weight in the trades and customs sector, where precision and efficiency reign supreme. Today, businesses have a game-changing advantage with advanced technologies that streamline document handling and automate crucial procedures, marking a pivotal shift thanks to technological progress. Let’s look at the contrasting landscapes of IDP software and manual data entry in this specialised domain. According to research by Raymond R. Panko, there is an 18% to 40% chance of a human error while manually entering data into spreadsheets and documents. This mistake rate rises much more for complicated customs documents. Challenges of manual data entry in customs Customs and trades face numerous challenges when entering data by hand, which makes the process less accurate, efficient, and less smooth overall. The following are some of the main issues: Human error Typos and errors: Entering data is a time-consuming and repetitive process, which raises the possibility of errors, misreadings, and missing crucial information. These mistakes may result in fines, shipments being seized, and delays. Inconsistent formatting: Trade documents can be found in a variety of languages and formats, which makes it challenging to guarantee consistency in data entry and can cause processing delays. Fraudulent activity: Manual handling creates security risks and raises compliance issues by providing opportunities for criminals to tamper with data or falsify documents. Time and resource consumption Processing delays: Entering data by hand takes a lot of time and can cause delays in company transactions, shipment deliveries, and customs clearance. This can have an influence on consumer satisfaction while also costing businesses time and money. Inefficient resource allocation: Large teams of data entry personnel are frequently needed, especially for high-volume trade transactions. This can be costly and reduce resources for other important tasks. Lack of real-time data: Manual processes slow down getting and analysing data, making it tough to make smart decisions or adapt to market changes or new laws in a timely manner. Limited scalability Unable to manage higher volume: When trade volumes rise, manual data entry cannot keep up, leading to bottlenecks and backlogs. Adding more staff is necessary for scaling up, which raises expenses and puts more strain on available resources. Lack of interface with other systems: Manual data is frequently compartmentalised, making it difficult to combine with other customs and trade systems, restricting automation and data visibility. Decreased accountability and transparency in trade operations: Manual processes make it impossible to precisely audit data and adhere to shipment status, which further reduces transparency. These difficulties underline the crucial importance of digitalisation and automation platforms in customs and trade. Businesses can increase the accuracy, efficiency, and scalability of their customs and trade operations by implementing technology such as IDP software and document automation tools. Introducing Intelligent Document Processing Software: Enhancing Operational Efficiency IDP is a process automation software that employs various technologies to replace manual data entry processes. OCR: IDP employs OCR to read and convert scanned documents or photos into machine-readable text, allowing for information extraction. ML: Over time, IDP software increases the accuracy of data extraction and classification by continuously learning from data patterns. NLP: By helping software comprehend the relationships, context, and meaning of text, NLP improves its capacity to extract pertinent data from unstructured texts. IDP software: overcoming the challenges of manual data entry in customs Data extraction from various documents Packing lists Bills of lading Certificates Invoices. By reliably and consistently extracting relevant information from these documents, it ensures data consistency. Automating customs forms and declarations By automating the data extraction and input processes, this intelligent power automation tool simplifies the completion of customs forms and declarations. This automation considerably speeds up the clearance process, decreasing errors caused by manual entry. Simplifying compliance checks By comparing extracted data with accepted norms and rules, this software for document management guarantees regulatory accuracy. By reducing the chance of non-compliance, this capacity helps to prevent fines and shipment delays. Improving data transparency and accessibility This legal document automation software offers correct information in real time by centralising and digitising data. This provides immediate insights, powering business owners to make the right decisions. Intelligent Document Processing Software vs. Manual Data Entry The following list of salient features compares manual data entry with intelligent document processing (IDP) software: Speed and efficiency IDP: The automation built into IDP software speeds up document processing. It quickly gathers, sorts, and organises data from a variety of documents, cutting down on the time needed to complete these operations. Manual data entry: Manual procedures are time-consuming and slow. Manual data entry requires a lot more time than intelligent automation software. Precision and reliability IDP: IDP ensures greater accuracy in data extraction and processing by utilising technologies such as OCR, machine learning, and natural language processing. When compared to manual data entry, it reduces errors and produces more trustworthy data. Manual data entry: Typing data by hand is prone to mistakes, including typos, misreadings, and omissions, which can result in less accurate and potentially unreliable data. Flexibility and scalability IDP: This is intended to handle large amounts of documents efficiently. Its scalability enables it to adapt to different document kinds and volumes, ensuring efficiency even when workloads fluctuate. Manual data entry: When handling massive volumes of data, manual approaches frequently result in bottlenecks and inconsistencies since they are unable to grow with the volume of documents. Cost-effectiveness IDP: IDP software boosts cost-effectiveness and yields a higher return on investment (ROI) over time due to increased efficiency and decreased operating expenses by automating tasks and saving time and resources. Manual data entry: Using human labour alone for data input results in increased expenses related to work, time, and possible mistakes. This can lead to financial losses and a reduction in overall productivity. Security and compliance IDP: IDP uses standards-based data cross-referencing to guarantee accurate trade compliance with laws. It frequently includes strong security features as well to protect private data. Manual data
