A Legacy System Finally Switched Off
CHIEF processed UK customs entries for decades, which in government technology terms makes it ancient infrastructure. HMRC decommissioned it in two phases: imports moved to the Customs Declaration Service on 30 September 2022, and exports followed on 4 June 2024. Since then, CDS has been the single production system for all UK declarations.
Phased Cutover, Real Consequences
Phased migrations sound gentle, but the end state is absolute. There is no fallback route, no legacy endpoint, no filing outside CDS. Any business that trades through the UK must complete registration before it can submit anything, and that onboarding takes real calendar time. The complete onboarding sequence appears in this guide to CDS registration for freight agents.
What Changed for Users
One digital platform for imports and exports alike
Identity anchored to the GB EORI rather than any CDS-specific number
Payment methods integrated into the platform: duty deferment, cash account, or immediate payment
The Takeaway for Teams
Every migration transfers work to the users. Here, that work is registration done in the correct order, with most teams completing it inside two weeks. Plan for it the way you would plan any dependency with a lead time.
Modern platform, modern tooling: iCDS files UK import declarations in around three minutes with 99% accuracy. Watch a demo
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