IT system glitches cause import delays at UK border
Haulers say they are encountering problems such as shipments not loading on the IT system and reference codes not being accepted by the system
British traders importing goods from the European Union to the UK are facing delays caused by a new IT system introduced on 1st January to police post-Brexit trade with the EU.
As reported by Bloomberg, many trucks are currently stuck at the UK border, with traders reporting obstacles in the first sign of disruption due to a new wave of post-Brexit red tape.
Many haulers said they are encountering problems such as shipments not loading on the system and reference codes not being accepted by the system. Japanese carmaker Honda Motor is among the firms facing delays in their cargos receiving custom clearance. A shipment of the company's power products and parts was held up at the UK border due to some products being incorrectly coded.
Another company facing delays is Angelos Panayiotou's Windfall Logistics, according to Bloomberg. The company has a shipment of Arizona Iced Tea stuck in the EU.
Panayiotou spokespeople said they generated the correct documentation for their products but are getting error messages when they try to log it on the government's system.
"There's no-one to go to help," they said.
"You've just got drivers stuck at port, unable to move."
The UK government introduced the new rules in 2020 after the EU imposed customs requirements on UK exports.
Under UK's new border regime, imports from the EU must now be processed using the HMRC-developed UK Goods Vehicle Movement Service (GVMS), which requires importers to make a full customs declaration on goods entering the UK.
It means that British officials will check most imports from the EU at the border for the correct documentation before products can clear customs.
Previously, British importers could delay submitting declarations for up to 15 days after the goods entered the UK.
The new rules also require that animal and plant products must be pre-registered with the UK's import of products, animals, food and feed system (IPAFFS), which replaces the EU's TRACES system in Great Britain; Northern Ireland still uses TRACES.
IPAFFS is a web-based service which handles documentation including veterinary certificates and permits to move live animals and certain plant- and animal-based products into the UK from third countries. The system has been developed by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) with partners including the Belfast-based consultancy Kainos and Capgemini. Many of the requirements it handles came in on January 1st, while some plant and animal health rules will be added in the summer.
Given the complexity of the new rules and the stop-start nature of the political negotiations, the reported problems are not surprising.
"We've got a whole bunch of lorries that aren't clearing because something isn't working, and it's not incompetence on our part," Steve Cock, director of customs consultancy at The Customs House, told Bloomberg.
"It's going to cheese off a lot of people and have a lot of additional charges for vehicles that aren't getting to the UK."
British trade groups last year warned that the new Brexit-related paperwork would cause more disruption at the border, resulting in higher prices and less choice for British shoppers.
In 2020, imports from the EU accounted for 50 per cent of all UK imports, worth £300 billion.
The Food and Drink Federation recently said that it was "inevitable" businesses will experience issues at the border and that "in some cases, this could result in significant barriers to trade that risk blocking deliveries from EU suppliers altogether, at least temporarily."
HMRC said in a statement that it was aware of a "small amount of user error issues with some of the new customs processes as traders and haulers adjust to the new controls, which we expected and are addressing."