If customs declarations are not corrected prior to arrival, they will be rejected.

We have been advised that CDS will be unavailable from 9.30 pm (27^th September 2025 until 5 am (28^th September 2025)

IMPORT AND EXPORT UPDATE

Authorisation by Customs Declaration (ABD) EORI

Procedure Code 44 or 51, a valid Importer EORI must be declared in DE 3/16 at the header level.

Procedure Code 21 or 22, a valid Exporter EORI must be declared in DE 3/2 at the header level.

If the correct EORI is not present for Authorisation by Declaration for those Requested Procedure Codes, the Declaration will be rejected.

Authorisation by Declaration declarations should also declare AI Code 00100 within DE 2/2.

Authorisation by Customs Declaration Methods of Payment

Authorised-Use (End-Use)

Temporary Admission (TA)

Inward Processing (IP)

Using Authorisation by Customs Declaration, then the Method of Payment Code must be one of the following: M, N, R, S, T, U, V, Z.

Failure to declare one of the above will result in the declaration being rejected.

Amendments to Currency Codes

Currency Codes for Sierra Leone and Venezuela have been updated as follows:

SLE has been introduced for Sierra Leone.

VED has been introduced for Venezuela.

The old codes should no longer be used; otherwise, declarations will be rejected.

If the invoice is declared in the old currencies, the value must be converted to GBP. That is using the appropriate HMRC exchange rate and ensuring that when declared in GBP, the Document Code 9WKS is declared in DE 2/2 for the worksheet showing the calculations.

Duty Relief

Duty Relief Additional Procedure Codes that are declared using Simplified Procedures must be declared with indirect representation.

Additional procedure codes are 0GD, C04, C08, C19, C22, C24, C27, C28, C29, C40, C51, C52, C53, C54, C55.

Should any of these additional procedure codes be declared in DE 1/11 and Representative Status Code ‘3’ is not within DE 3/21, then the Declaration will be rejected.

Simplifying Customs Declarations – Total number of Items

DE 1/9 Total Number of Items is now optional on all Declaration types.

It will be automatically calculated by CDS based on the number of Goods items declared.

Invalid Procedure Code/Additional Procedure Code Combinations

The following procedure code and additional procedure codes are now not allowed within CDS:

• B53 is not permitted with Procedure codes - 2100 or 2144
• 93M is not allowed with Procedure code - 0019
• 2CL is not permitted with Procedure codes - 0100 or 4200
• 1PB is not permitted with Procedure code - 4000
• 1PL is not permitted with Procedure code - 4000

If any of the additional procedure codes above are declared in DE 1/11 with a declaration, and the procedure code is declared in DE 1/10 for the same item, then the entry will be rejected.

The following procedure codes have been removed from CDS  03C, 1AT, 1SE, 50U, 74O, 91L, 91O, 96F

Document Code DE 2/3 - C505

When declaring C505, you must make sure that :

The guarantee Identification that is declared in the Document ID field is a valid electronic guarantee ID, and the EORI of the guarantee owner must match within either the import or export declaration :

Import Declarations: the EORI must be either the:

• Importer DE 3/16
• Declarant DE 3/18
• Representative DE 3/20

Export Declarations: the EORI must be either the :

• Exporter DE 3/1
• Declarant DE 3/18
• Representative DE 3/20

The declaration will be rejected if these do not match.

This change does not affect declarations where document code C505 has been declared to claim a guarantee waiver in DE 2/3.

Office of Presentation DE 5/27

If you declare either one of the following  AI Codes, that is

MORC1

NCSMA

SHNMO

Within DE 2/2 at the item level, then DE 5/27 can now be left blank as no Office of Presentation is required under these AI Codes.

When moving goods into a Customs Warehouse, completing DE 5/27 may still be required.]

Previous Document Type ‘CLE’

When declaring declaration type Z within DE 1/2 for a supplementary declaration following EIDR, then CLE must be entered within the previous document type.

If CLE is not entered when declaring a type Z declaration, then the declaration will be rejected.

Alternatively, if CLE is declared but Z is not declared within DE 1/2, it will also reject

Country Codes

Country code of the EU is only permitted to be used when you are declaring the country of preferential origin with DE 5/16

It cannot be used with DE 5/15

When the EU is declared within DE 5/16, you must complete DE 5/15 within the country code of the EU member state from which the goods originated.

Country Code PR has been added for Puerto Rico, where a licence has been issued against Country Code PR.

The Country Code' US 'should be used for goods that originated in Puerto Rico; in all other cases, the Country Code' PR' is not allowed on NI Declarations.

Purging of unused AI Codes

The following AI codes have been removed from CDS, they are as follows: CXR01, CXR02, CXR03, CXR06, CXR07, CXR08, CXR09, CXR10, CXR11, CXR12, EXGTE, GBILB, GEN17, GEN38, GEN41, GEN42, NIUNC, PFCLM, and VRN01.

Changes to existing Document Codes

When declaring a  Document Code that covers an electronic licence, if you declare a non-electronic Status Code, the Declaration will be rejected.

The affected Document Codes are:

 9015, 9023, 9031, L100, L139, L142, L143, L144, L146, L148, L838, X802, X805, X806, X807, X808, X817, X819, X823, X824, X830, X831, X832, X834, X835, X836, X837, X838, X838, X839,X840, X841, X841, X842, X990, X992, X993, Y123, Y915, and Y919

Please refer to Appendix 5A for complete instructions on completing these codes.

Goods Location Code amendments

New Goods Location Codes have been added, and some codes have been removed.

4 GVMS Location Codes that have been removed as follows:

• Aberdeen: GBAUABDABDABDGVM
• Cairnryan: GBAUCYNAYRCYNGVM
• Loch Ryan Port: GBAULRPAYRLRPGVM
• Ramsgate: GBAURMGRMGRMGGVM

Only the GVMS Location Codes at these locations are affected as per above. All other Goods Location Codes (GLC) at these locations are still in use.

IMPORT AND EXPORT – INVENTORY UPDATE

Additional Procedure Code - 19Z

When declaring a C21I CCR to move goods into, or using a C21E CCR to remove goods from:

Free Zone or Freeport, when an additional procedure code 19Z is declared in DE 1/11, you must also declare Document Code C600 in DE 2/3.

Failure to do so will result in the declaration being rejected.

Additional Procedure Codes - 14C, 40D, 40P, 50D

When using one of the following additional procedure codes - 14C, 40D, 40P, 50D in DE 1/11

Entered within a C21I or a C21E Customs Clearance Request (CCR), the goods must not be subject to any prohibitions or restrictions.

If prohibited or restricted goods are moved under an additional procedure code of either 14C, 40D, 40P, 50D on a CCR, it will be rejected if any of these Document Codes is also declared in DE 2/3:

9104,9105, 9106, 9107, 9005, 9100, 9101, 9102, 9103, 9111, 9112, 9113, 9114, 9115, 9116, 9118, 9119, 9120, C001, C034, C056, C085, C635, C638, C639, C640, C641, C656, C670, C673, C678, C690, I004, L001, L116, N002, N851, N853, X001, X002, Y915

The prohibitions or restrictions can be found in the Integrated Online Tariff under the corresponding commodity code.

Additional Procedure Codes -11A,12A

When goods are being moved under an ATA Carnet using a C21I or C21E CCR and an additional procedure code of either 11A or 12A is declared within DE 1/11, then the previous Document Code 955 must also be entered in DE 2/1.

Failure to do so will result in the rejection of the goods. Also, when using 12A as an additional procedure code, you must ensure that the commodity code is completed within DE 6/14; otherwise, the declaration will also be rejected.

EXPORT DECLARATION UPDATE

Entry in Declarants Records

When Authorisation Type Code ‘EIR’ is entered in DE 3/39,

DE 1/11 must not contain any of these additional procedure codes:

B51,B52, B53, B54, 0MG, 1CD, 1CG, 1DP, 1MP, 1NO, 1NP, 2CD, 2CG, 2DP, 2ES, 2IE, 46P, 48P

Should any of these additional procedure codes be declared with EIR, then the Declaration will be rejected.

Shipping marks

For MOU traders, when making a declaration under B1 MOU, there is a limit of 99 shipping marks or references that can be entered within DE 6/11. If more than 99 are declared, then the declaration will be rejected.

Authorisation by Customs Declaration for Outward Processing Procedures  

When you are declaring under Procedure Code 22, one of the following must be present:

Additional Information code (AI) ‘ABDIN’ in DE 2/2 (OP using Authorisation by Declaration),

(AI) ‘OPVAT’ in DE 2/2 (VAT-only Outward Processing, which doesn’t require an OP Authorisation)

C019in DE 2/3 Outward Processing covered by an OP Authorisation

Should none of the above ABDIN, OPVAT, or C019 be present, the Declaration will be rejected.

You must also ensure that the AI code of 100 is entered within DE 2/2 for any Authorisation by declaration declarations.

Simplifying Customs Declarations – for Full Export Declarations

The data elements below have been amended to be optional for certain Declaration Categories under the B1, B2, and B4 Declaration Categories.

Note that these amendments do not apply to NI Declarations.

The Data Elements are as follows :

• DE 3/19: Representative Name and Address
• DE 4/15: Exchange Rate
• DE 5/14: Country of Dispatch/Export
• DE 5/26: Customs office of presentation
• DE 6/13: CUS Code
• DE 7/5: Inland Mode of Transport (This may cause a temporary conflict with CSE requirements for this DE. This will be rectified in a future update.)
• DE 7/14: Identity of Active Means of Transport Crossing the Border
• DE 7/15: Nationality of Active Means of Transport

Please note that other areas may still require some of these Data Elements of the Declaration Completion Instructions.

Simplifying Customs Declarations – Export Simplified Declarations

The data elements below have been amended to be optional for certain Declaration Categories under the C1 B&E or C1 C&F Declaration Categories.

Note that these amendments do not apply to NI Declarations.

The data elements are as follows :

• DE 3/19: Representative Name and Address
• DE 5/26: Customs Office of Presentation
• DE 5/27: Supervising Customs Office

Please note that other areas may still require some of these Data Elements of the Declaration Completion Instructions.

Simplifying Customs Declarations – Export Supplementary Declarations

The data elements below have been amended to be optional for certain Declaration Categories under the B1 or B4 Declaration Categories.

Note that these amendments do not apply to NI Declarations.

The optional Data Elements are:

• DE 3/19: Representative Name & Address
• DE 4/15: Exchange Rate
• DE 5/14: Country of Dispatch/Export
• DE 5/26: Customs Office of presentation
• DE 5/27: Supervising Customs Office
• DE 6/9: Type of Packages
• DE 6/11: Shipping Marks
• DE 6/13: CUS Code
• DE 7/2: Container
• DE 7/10: Container ID NO
• DE 7/14: Identity of Active Means of Transport Crossing the Border
• DE 7/15: Nationality of active means of transport

Please note that other areas may still require some of these Data Elements of the Declaration Completion Instructions.

Additional Procedure Code - 3RI

When you are declaring the additional procedure code 3RI on an export declaration, you must also declare the document code.

C507 within DE 2/3

If this is not declared, the declaration will be rejected.

Outward Processing: Additional procedure codes

For exports under declaration Category B2

Additional procedure codes 46P and 48P cannot be used in combination with either of the following additional procedure codes.

B53 or B54

Should they be declared together, then the Declaration will be rejected.

Additional procedure code 3PM

3PM cannot be used in conjunction with a CPD Carnet.

Should 3PM be declared within DE 1/11, and either :

CPD- is declared in DE 2/1

9CPD- is declared in DE 2/3

CPD- is declared in DE 3/39

The Declaration will be rejected.

Customs Supervised Exports (CSE)

When a CSE authorisation holder is declared in Data Element (DE) 3/39, then a valid Inland Mode of Transport Code must also be declared in DE 7/5.

Should CSE be completed and no valid inland mode of transport be completed, then the Declaration will be rejected.

EXPORT DECLARATION INVENTORY UPDATE

Guarantees on Export Customs Clearance Requests

Customs Comprehensive Guarantees have been expanded to be allowed on C21E CCRs.

Document Code C505 is to be entered in DE 2/3 at the item level on a C21E CCR. Authorisation Type Code CGU must also be entered in DE 3/39 at the header level.

The Declaration will be rejected if C505 and CGU are not completed as above.

When guarantee details are entered at the header level in DE 8/2 on a C21E, the Guarantee Type Code must also be entered in that DE; otherwise, the CCR will be rejected.

Please note that this would trigger a rejection in cases where the XML message contains an XML tag for the guarantee, but the tag is empty.

The only Guarantee Type Codes that can be completed within DE 8/2 on a C21E CCR are as follows: 0, 1, 5, 8, C, D, E, F, G.

Should any other Guarantee Type Codes be completed, the declaration will be rejected.

Previously, one of the Guarantee Type Codes, which is either 0 or 1, was always mandated when CGU was declared in DE 3/39. This caused potential situations where more than one Guarantee type Code was required.

There will be only one Guarantee Type Code from the above list that is needed.

IMPORT DECLARATION UPDATE

Invalidation of Declarations

When submitting a request to invalidate an entry if DMSROG or DMSCLE has been received, then the request to invalidate will be rejected.

Authorisation by Customs Declaration for Outward Processing and End Use/Authorised Use Procedures

Re-import of goods previously exported for Outward Processing (OP)

When declaring under procedure code 22, one of the following must be present:

Additional Information code ABDOU in DE 2/2 (OP using Authorisation by Declaration)

Document code C019 in DE 2/3 (Outward Processing covered by an OP Authorisation) or

Additional procedure code B06 in DE 1/11 (VAT only Outward Processing, which doesn't require an OP Authorisation).

End Use/Authorised Use

When declaring under procedure code 44 with Additional Information code (AI) in ABDIN in DE 2/2, the Document Code N990 must also be declared.

Ship-Work Authorised-Use (End-Use) is not permitted by Authorisation by declaration, so Document Code ‘C990’ is not allowed on these Declarations.

The declaration will be rejected if ABDIN and N990 are omitted.

Any Declarations involving authorisation by declaration should also declare an AI Code 00100 in DE 2/2.

Document code 9023

Document code 9023 has now been added to the CDS code list; this is due to future tariff measures for firearms import licences.

At present, this code should not be used; however, further information will be provided in advance of the tariff measures from the Department for Business and Trade.

FLEGT licences

For document Code C690 to indicate a FLEGT licence applies to the shipment, Document Status Code XW is no longer valid.

The waiver Document Code listed against the commodity code within the online tariff should be used instead of XW.

Additional Procedure Code - D07

When using additional procedure code D07 in DE 1/11

DE 2/2 must also contain a GEN30 AI Code.

Additional Procedure Code - C48

When using additional procedure code C48 in DE 1/11

Additional procedure code F45 must also be declared

Failure to declare both will result in the declaration being rejected.

Simplified Declaration on an Occasional Basis - I1 B&E

When declaring a simplified declaration under I1 B&E declaration category, the preference code of 118 will no longer be allowed in DE 4/17

The following preference Codes

115119 and 140 are now permitted with I1 B&E Declarations.

Should any preference code other than 100, 115, 119, or 140 be declared under an I1 B&E declaration, then the declaration will be rejected.

Note that if the Preference Code on an I1 B&E Declaration is either ‘115’ or ‘140’, then APC 2MO must also be declared in DE 1/11.

Additional Procedure Codes -1GP and 1PN

The following additional procedure codes, 1GP and 1PN, can only be used under indirect representation, and ‘3’ must be entered in DE 3/21.

If this is not completed with a '3' in DE 3/21 to indicate indirect representation, then the Declaration will be rejected.  

UKIMS-EIDR using SPIMM

When a Declaration or C21I EIDR NOP is made to import goods into Northern Ireland (NI) using UKIMS-EIDR under SPIMM, only the following additional procedure codes may be entered within DE 1/11:

 1SG or 1EN must be declared

Only the following additional procedure codes may also be declared :

1CO, 1EN, 1GO, 1GP, 1NR, 1RD, 1RM, 1SC, 1SG, 1SP, 1SR, 1TB, 1VW, 1XW, A04, A10, F44, F46, or F47.

The declaration will be rejected if the above additional procedure codes are not completed.

UKIMS-EIDR (non-SPIMM

When UKIMS-EIDR is used to import goods into Northern Ireland (NI) on a non-SPIMM Declaration or C21I EIDR NOP, then only the following additional procedure codes are allowed within DE 1/11

000, 1CL, 1DP, 1EB, 1ES, 1MO, 1NC, A04, A10, 1NO, 1PP, 1SC, 1RD, 1RM, 1VW, 1XW, C06, C09, C10, C11, C12, C13, C14, C16, C17, C20, C21, C23, C25, C26, C30, C31, C32, C34, C35, C36, C37, C38, C45, C46, C47, C49, C50, C56, C57, C58, C59, F44, F45, F46, F47, 1NR

The declaration will be rejected if the above additional procedure codes are not completed.

Currency Limits

Some additional procedure codes are subject to currency limits. When using the following APCs in DE 1/11, you must ensure the values meet the following rules :

• F48 is declared, the item price in DE 4/14 must not exceed £135
• C07 is declared, the item price in DE 4/14 must not exceed £135
• C08 is declared, the item price in DE 4/14 must not exceed £39
•  

Should these be declared and the item price in DE 4/14 is entered in a currency other than GBP, CDS will convert the value into GBP.

If the declared value exceeds the limits, the declaration will be rejected accordingly.

Licence Document Codes on SPIMM Declarations

When importing licensable goods into NI using SPIMM APCs, 1EN or 1SG must not be used.

Should 1EN or 1SG be entered on a SPIMM Declaration, then the Declaration will be rejected if one of the following Document Codes is entered in DE 2/3 on the same goods item:

I001, I004, X843, X844, X845, X847, X848, X849, X850, X851, X852, X853, X854, X855, X856, X857, X858, Y100

Simplifying Customs Declarations – Full Import Declarations

The data elements below have been amended to be optional for certain Declaration Categories under the H1, H2, H3, H4, and H5 Declaration Categories.

Note that these amendments do not apply to NI Declarations.

The optional Data Elements are:

• DE 3/19: Representative Name & Address
• DE 4/11: Total Amount Invoiced
• DE 5/26: Customs Office of Presentation
• DE 5/27: Supervising Customs Office
• DE 6/13: CUS Code
• DE 7/5: Inland Mode of Transport
• DE 7/15: Nationality of Active Means of Transport

Please note that other areas may still require some of these Data Elements of the Declaration Completion Instructions.

Simplifying Customs Declarations – Import Simplified Declarations

The data elements below have been amended to be optional for certain Declaration Categories under the I1 B&E and I1 C&E Declaration Categories.

Note that these amendments do not apply to NI Declarations.

The optional Data Elements are:

• DE 3/17: Declarant Name & Address
• DE 3/19: Representative Name & Address
• DE 4/11: Total Amount Invoiced
• DE 5/36: Customs of the Office of Presentation
• DE 5/27: Supervising Customs Office
• DE 6/13: CUS Code

Please note that other areas may still require some of these Data Elements of the Declaration Completion Instructions.

Simplifying Customs Declarations – Import Supplementary Declarations

The data elements below have been amended to be optional for certain Declaration Categories under the H1, H3, H4, or H5 Declaration Categories.

Note that these amendments do not apply to NI Declarations.

The optional Data Elements are:

• DE 3/19: Representative Name & Address
• DE 4/11: Total Amount Invoiced
• DE 4/15: Exchange Rate
• DE 5/26: Customs Office of Presentation
• DE 5/27: Supervising Customs Office
• DE 6/9: Type of Packages
• DE 6/11: Shipping Marks
• DE 6/13: CUS Code
• DE 7/2: Container
• DE 7/5: Inland Mode of Transport
• DE 7/9: Identity of Means of Transport on arrival
• DE 7/10: Container ID no
• DE 7/15: Nationality of active means of transport

Please note that other areas may still require some of these Data Elements of the Declaration Completion Instructions.

IMPORT INVENTORY DECLARATION UPDATE

Additional Procedure Code 74A

Additional procedure code 74A has been withdrawn and should not be used.

Any CCRs where 74A has been declared within DE 1/11, the declaration will be rejected.