Category: Customs

The UK government launched a new preferential trading scheme, The Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS) last year, to provide tariff concessions for developing countries exporting to the UK market. The DCTS replaces the Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP) and extends tariff cuts to hu... Read more

2023 was supposed to be the year that global supply chains bounced back from pandemic lockdowns and factory shutdowns, trade wars, tariffs and war in Europe, but now container shipping is disrupted by attacks in the Red Sea and restrictions on the Panama Canal. The COVID pandemic and its after... Read more

With the deadline fast approaching for export declarations moving to the Customs Declaration Service HMRC are highlighting a worrying trend at the border, with misuse of valid documents leaving innocent exporters potentially non-compliant and exposed to penalties.  In their latest Customs... Read more

The Institute of Export & International Trade has issued a report highlighting the volume of regulatory change facing UK traders over the next 18 months and called for support for businesses through this turbulent period. The report – The Border Target Operating Model and Beyond: Navigat... Read more

The Windsor Framework was agreed in February to ease post-Brexit trade between Northern Ireland (NI) and the rest of the UK, but concerns remain about a continuing lack of clarity over the details of the Windsor Framework - which begins to come into force from the 1st October. Prior to the Win... Read more

On the 1st March 2024, the European Union is launching the 3rd and final part of its pre-loading and pre-arrival safety and security programme, which requires pre-advice of mandatory information and failure by shippers to comply may lead to goods being rejected by the airline, shipping line, rail... Read more

The UK was set to roll out new health certification requirements for medium and high-risk goods originating in the EU, such as meat and dairy, from October, but there is now official confirmation from No 10 that last week’s Financial Times report was correct and the government is postponing bor... Read more

HMRC announced last week that after listening to industry leaders they had decided to move away from the planned hard start on the 30th November 2023, in favour of a phased transition to the Customs Declaration Service (CDS) from the current Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight (CHIEF) p... Read more

Metro provide customs clearance services at all UK airports and ports of arrival and departure, including inland border points, with import and export entry processes completed within two hours. Simply provide us with your commercial invoice, packing list and any other supporting documents and... Read more

The Financial Times has reported that Brexit checks on food and food products coming to the UK from the EU, that were due to start at the end of October have been delayed by the government for the fifth time, due to fears over inflation. The decision to suspend plans to enforce the controls, w... Read more

Our trade body, the British International Freight Association (BIFA) has advised members, including Metro, to be cautious while acting as ‘indirect representatives’, as HMRC have been taking action against UK intermediaries in relation to valuation issues, under-paid duties and VAT since 2021... Read more

Time-poor SMEs are being forced to outsource their post-Brexit paperwork, which is adding cost and time pressures, but Metro’s digital CuDoS platform offers an easy solution. The  Federation of Small Business (FSB) Customs Clearance report found SMEs are often forced into using high-cos... Read more