Truck and Track Autumn 2023 www.truckandtrack.com 32 DESCARTES™ timelines to be aware of too across the industry in preparation for this. According to Gov.uk the industry needs to be mindful of the following key deadlines. ■ 31 October 2023: The introduction of health certification on imports of medium risk animal products, plants, plant products and high risk food and feed of non-animal origin from the EU will come into play. ■ 31 January 2024:The introduction of documentary and riskbased identity and physical checks on medium risk animal products, plants, plant products and high risk food and feed of non-animal origin from the EU will become effective. At this point, imports of Sanitary and Phytosanitary goods from the rest of the world will begin to benefit from the new risk based model. Existing inspections of high-risk plants/plant products from the EU will move from destination to border control posts. 31 October 2024: Safety and Security declarations for imports from the EU will come into force from 31 October 2024. Alongside this, UK government will introduce a reduced dataset for imports and use of a UK Single Trade Window (STW) will remove duplication where possible across different prearrival datasets – such as Safety and Security, Sanitary and Phytosanitary, and pre-lodged customs declarations. While ICS2 is driving change in Europe, BTOM is evidently driving change in the UK. For UK organisations - especially hauliers, freight and the maritime sector – it’s useful to appreciate what the UK Single Trade Window is trying to achieve too. At its core, it is trying to create a single entry point for border data that results in reduced duplication of data. The idea would be that submitting data only once through the single portal is enough to communicate with all relevant concerned border authorities. For example it would be the interface between the trader/intermediaries and HMRC, DEFRA and the Home Office. A vital cog in the digitisation of UK customs, and also an enabler of security filings effectively in due course. Regardless of the progress of the STW, though, the need to submit Safety and Security declarations for imports from the EU will become a reality after the immediate post Brexit hiatus. Conclusion It’s obvious that the UK and EU customs systems are on a golden path towards digitisation. ICS2 is, essentially, an IT system – and, so is the UK’s BTOM and UK Single Trade Window. Carriers need to accept that regardless of whether or not they like this change, it will take place whether they act on it or not. Therefore, they have a choice: they can ignore it and fall behind and lose revenue – or, they can embrace the evolutionary state the industry is in, collaborate with peers and experts, and develop their own most efficient strategy to take advantage of this new approach to managing customs and security filings. What is important to add here, too, is that cloud-based supply chain management technologies can enable teams and support them with effective customs and security filings. Many of these technology providers offer the expertise and knowledge required to support and guide organisations through the various upcoming deadlines set out by EU and UK regulators. They can advise on the best strategies to implement when dealing with ICS2 or the UK’s BTOM and Single Trade Window – and their technologies are designed to streamline and automate the laborious entry of data traditionally associated with security filings. What is more, they enable organisations to truly increase organisational productivity, achieve compliance and drive revenue. They integrate with key supply chain systems and are, ultimately, purpose-built to enhance and improve customs management for the industry. By combining innovative technology, powerful trade intelligence and the reach of our network, Descartes deliver the industry’s most complete offering of cloud-based logistics and supply chain management solutions. Ready to see the Descartes Customs & Compliance solution in action. Schedule a noobligation demonstration today. info@descartes.com or visit https://www.descartes.com/uk-customs Descartes Software solutions - Improving Logistics and Supply Chain Productivity, Performance, and Security.
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