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26 Customs’ unstoppable band wagon rumbles on


Oh, what a long, hard slog this is. And no, I’m not referring to writing technology copy for FBJ: I am thinking about the replacement for Chief, HMRC’s customs entry computer system, and the forthcoming introduction of central clearing and single window. HMRC has been talking for


some time about the need to replace Chief, which is now around 10 years old. Chief runs on a proprietary platform, for a start, which means it is inflexible and hard to adapt to changing requirements, and does not use Internet-based technology. Add to that the fact that the HMRC contract with Cap Gemini to run Chief expires in 12 months and it is plain that, in short, it has to go. But when? And what will


it be replaced with? “There is concern among everyone in the industry that there will be inevitable pain, risk and change when Chief is transferred from one supplier to another,” emphasises


Gordon Tutt,


chairman of the Association of Freight Software Suppliers. “The pain would be worse if there has to be a temporary supplier bridging the gap until a new system is developed. “However,” Tutt continues,


“we have had good news because HMRC has decided to bring Chief back in-house. It will continue to use the existing


system for the next two years while it develops a new one. This also means it will be easier to add new modules or change requirements to meet new legislation - such as the UCC. “ The UCC (Union Customs


Code, otherwise known as the single window) remains a “real concern”, adds Tutt. David Cameron may have been telling the world about the ‘UK’s’ single customs window, but there are so many unresolved issues and questions from users that no one believes it will become reality any time soon. Take the ‘point of sale’


provision. At the moment, an exporter shipping goods to a country without having a guaranteed


buyer for those


goods can still make a customs entry; with UCC, entries will only be accepted if the consignee’s details are included. And while most shippers would prefer to have a firm order before committing to the expense of transport, there are companies in a number of industries that do ship to a country where they know there is a market, without knowing for sure who will buy their goods. The ‘single transport


contact’ is potentially more troublesome. Currently, when goods move by scheduled carrier, the point where the goods exit the EU is deemed to be the point at which they


are loaded onto the ship or aircraft. If goods are made in Germany and put on an aircraft from Frankfurt to London for transshipment to New York, Frankfurt is considered the point of export. The UCC changes that: the point of export is the last place the goods actually leave the EU, so in the above scenario, it would be London.


“If this change is


implemented, the German forwarder would have to ensure all data about all consignments was notified to HMRC, rather than German customs,” explains Tutt. “This is not at all practical. If HMRC wanted to check a consignment in a ULD, the forwarder in London would have to empty the container to find it.” Which leads us to central


clearing. The EU is still undecided how to implement the proposed ability for forwarders (or shippers) to clear all their import goods from one country in Europe, regardless of the country of import. Finally,


there’s the issue


of guarantee management, what Tutt calls ‘a big technical challenge’. The existing system allows shippers (or their forwarders on their behalf) to ‘guarantee’ the tax owed based on the value of goods shipped in Europe by an operator’s customs guarantee; if there


are any losses en route, the money in the guarantee pays the tax levied in the destination country. Authorised Economic Operators (AEOs) do not have to pay this money up front, but non-AEOs have to prove they have set aside the necessary sums, just in case. UCC changes will require


companies to record when the goods enter this guarantee procedure (that is, they have left their point of origin) and when they come out of the procedure (when they have been safely delivered). Customs may at any time ask the value of goods in guarantee now, over the past month or six months or the value of goods that have come out of guarantee. “A lot of additional cost is involved in providing this information,” warns Tutt. The uncertainty is perhaps


the most frustrating part of the whole thing: nothing has been decided and - despite the probability of standards being introduced and the EU calling for one system for everyone - each country is already saying it will have to implement any new processes to suit itself. As Lothar Moehle, director air


By Marcia Macleod


security standardisation at Schenker points out, there are 28 customs authorities to deal with - but, he adds, “although nothing has been decided,” he says, “at least we are all talking and there is a will to cooperate”. No doubt many of these issues will be resolved, but


don’t bet on when: I can see this EU customs wagon rumbling on into infinity. And, as usual, it’s the little guy - the shippers and forwarders who don’t have a huge amount of resource at their fingertips - who will suffer most.


CHASING AWAY THE LAST OF THE PAPER


There is also a project underway to modernise freight management in the UK to improve the movement of goods at frontiers for access by all government bodies: for example Defra, Port Health, HMRC. Amazingly, a number of ‘non- inventory’ ports and airports – for example, Farnborough, Southend and Inverness airports or Brixham Harbour - still operate as paper-based facilities and are not connected to Chief. As UCC will require all entries to be electronic, HMRC has to find a way to help these facilities comply. Even if there is just one shipment per month, the port or airport will have to implement an IT system capable of connecting with HMRC and hence the EU.


Joined up thinking in the ports industry


European hauliers are set to benefit from a new intermodal system facilitating the connections between drivers and ports. Part of the EU’s EcoHubs project, ecoTAURuS, will enable hauliers to enter their vehicle and driver details once in order to access any number of terminals at one port.


“Historically, companies have


had to provide driver details and vehicle registrations to each separate terminal the haulier wants to access on


one visit,” explains Dr Takis Katsoulakos, director of Inlecom Systems, which has launched ecoTAURuS. “Now they will be able to deliver to one terminal but collect from another without having to re- key details. The details would be sent to both shipping and port rail terminals, speeding up intermodal operations.” The system has been written


for use on a smartphone, too, so that drivers can upload information about delays or changes to its cargo - such as a


different container number. Katsoulakos adds that


ecoTAURuS, as part of EcoHubs, “will reduce carbon emissions because lorries won’t have to wait around at the port to deliver or collect cargo and drivers can operate more efficiently.” It has already been


piloted in Antwerp and the Adria Kombi inland


port


at Ljubljana, but is now being trialled


at Patras,


Alexandroupolis and Piraeus in Greece.


Issue 8 2014 - Freight Business Journal


///IT


In her farewell column, our special correspondent Marcia Macleod sums up the latest state of play in freight information technology. As ever, it’s two steps forward, one step back.


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