The Spring Budget 2023 introduced a package of measures aimed at simplifying customs import and export processes for traders while upholding the UK’s high regulatory and security standards at the border.
I will discuss some of the measures in the customs package, their impact on businesses, and the government’s plans for their implementation. The UK government intends to make importing and exporting as easy as possible for traders, which complements the wider transformational changes at the border.
The government plans to engage with stakeholders on each of these measures in the coming months to ensure sufficient lead time for stakeholders to adapt their own systems ahead of any policy changes coming into force.
As a transformational customs technology provider, iCustoms will collaborate closely with partners, stakeholders, and the government to make imports and exports simple for traders.
The government is reviewing customs declaration requirements and will engage stakeholders later in the year. The review will assess the potential scope for simplifications to customs declaration requirements while ensuring that declarations continue to facilitate the essential functions of the UK’s customs system. It will focus on export declarations and ensure that customs declarations do not impose disproportionate burdens on small and less experienced UK businesses.
The iCustoms team is working relentlessly to simplify customs procedures. It has already reduced by 70% the time required to make customs declarations. We will collaborate closely with the administration to further simplify it based on their direction.
The government will deliver a number of improvements to the Simplified Customs Declaration Process (SCDP) in response to stakeholder input to the 2022 Call for Evidence: An Independent Customs Regime.
Traders will now have more time to submit their supplementary declaration for imports and exports, increasing from the fourth working day of the month to the 10th calendar day of the month.
The final supplementary declaration deadline also increased from the fourth working day of the month to the 11th calendar day of the month. Traders can now submit one supplementary declaration for goods imported over the course of a month, known as aggregation, reducing the total number of declarations. iCustoms is way ahead of the curve and already has aggregator functionality.
The government will consult in Summer 2023 on introducing a voluntary standard for customs intermediaries/ agents, aiming to improve the quality of service provided across the sector. The proposal follows feedback indicating that service quality varies across the customs intermediary market.
As a technological enabler, the iCustoms team will collaborate with intermediary customers and other stakeholders to improve and standardise service quality.
The government plans to simplify the transit facilitation package in response to user feedback.
These measures will improve processes for both outbound and inbound movements and improve the offer to authorised importers/ exporters.
For outbound movements, authorised consignors can start a movement at a client’s premises by replacing the current paper-based approval process with a digital notification process.
Reducing costs for authorised consignors by making a 100% guarantee waiver the default position during the authorisation process and signposting applicants to the possibility of operating without a financial guarantee in place.
For inbound movements, the unloading process for authorised consignees will be modernized.
The Modernising Authorisations project will streamline and digitize the government’s customs and excise authorization processes to improve HMRC’s offer to traders. Traders will only have to make a single application to access all the facilitations within the group. Modernising Authorisations will reduce the administrative burden and remove duplicate processes, making it easier for traders to identify and access the most suitable authorizations for their needs.
In conclusion, the Spring Budget 2023 customs package measures aim to simplify customs import and export processes for traders, making it easier to conduct business while upholding the UK’s high regulatory and security standards at the border.
The government’s plans for implementation involve engaging stakeholders and ensuring sufficient lead time for stakeholders to adapt systems like iCustoms ahead of any policy changes coming into force. These measures are expected to boost the UK’s competitiveness and promote economic growth.
Contact us at info@icustoms.ai to learn more about the budget and how iCustoms team can help.
