Guidance

Setting up your temporary storage facility's inventory system

Find out how to link your temporary storage facility to Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight (CHIEF) or the Customs Declaration Service using a Community Systems Provider.

• From: HM Revenue & Customs
• Published: 19 April 2018
• Last updated: 31 December 2020 — See all updates

If you have approval to operate a temporary storage facility you must equip it with a customs approved IT record keeping or inventory system that has an approved anti-smuggling net.

What your system must be able to do

Your system must provide an electronic:

• entry of all temporary storage goods entering into the facility’s stock account records
• inventory control of all goods originating from outside the UK whilst they’re in storage
• record of all activity relating to temporary storage goods, particularly:
  • arrival
  • outturn (the total goods unpacked from a trailer or container)
  • discrepancies
  • examinations
  • sampling
  • movement within and between facilities
  • any other authorised activity
• notification and receipt of removing goods after customs clearance
• log of the actual time goods are in temporary storage

It must also:

• transmit electronically, all customs declarations for cargo in the temporary storage area within 90 days
• be able to produce a system generated hard copy clearance advice and unit releases

The customs approved IT record keeping or inventory system must be within the facility and customs authorities must have access to these records.

Where to get an inventory system

To link your computerised inventory system to HMRC systems you’ll need to join an approved Community Systems Provider. These are the approved providers:

• Cargo Community Systems UK
• Community Network Services
• Maritime Cargo Processing
• DHL
• Pentant

If you want to use your own system to link to an approved Community Systems Provider, or develop your own system, contact:

HMRC’s Cargo Systems and Development Team by email: [email protected].

You can use as many Community Systems Provider as you need for your commercial operations, but you can only use one provider as the facility stock account or inventory record.

Remote Community Systems Provider systems

If you use a Community Systems Provider system that’s not in use at the port or airport where most of your goods arrive, you may be asked to give Border Force a pre-arrival manifest giving details of:

• the vessel or flight number
• container numbers or airway bill numbers
• the date or time of expected arrival of goods at your premises

Moving goods to your facility

Unless your facility is included in the port’s temporary storage system, you must also make a UK Transit declaration for moving the goods to your premises at the port or airport your goods arrive at.

Moving goods between temporary storage facilities is usually restricted to movements within the same Community Systems Provider unless your systems can send, receive and share data with each other.

Making Transit declarations when the New Computerised Transit System is not available

We will not accept manual or other system declarations unless the system is not available. You must submit the New Computerised Transit System declaration at the office of departure. The transit accompanying document and other supporting paperwork must be with the goods.

Submitting the transit accompanying document at the office of destination

You must submit the transit document to Border Force at your supervising office immediately your goods arrive unless you apply to be an authorised consignee to take control of these movements yourself.

If the New Computerised Transit System is not available, all traders must submit the accompanying paperwork to Border Force to get permission to unload the goods.

Record keeping

Stock account record

When your goods arrive at your premises, you must record all their details in your stock account record. The record must include:

• reference to:
  • the temporary storage declaration for the goods you’re storing
  • the corresponding end of temporary storage declaration
• air waybill or shipping number, its origin and destination if goods arrive by air
• the date and details of the customs paperwork for the goods stored
• any other paperwork relating to their temporary storage, including the date and time the goods arrived at the premises
• details of:
  • any identifying numbers
  • number and kind of packages
  • the quantity and usual commercial or technical description of the goods
  • the identification marks of the container to identify the goods and weights (gross and net)
  • the goods (an accurate description, for example, general terms like groupage are not acceptable)
• registration number of vehicles carrying goods to the premises
• location of goods and details of any movement
• customs status of goods for example, in free circulation
• details of any handling, such as:
  • making sure your goods are preserved
  • improving their presentation for the market
  • preparing them for distribution or resale
• movement of goods in temporary storage between temporary storage facilities, details about the arrival of the goods at the destination storage facilities
• details of when you got the authority from customs to move goods
• the date and time you assign the goods to a customs procedure or re-export and the customs procedure code you used
• the days remaining from the 90-day time limit

What to record about any irregularities

You must record any irregularities found following checks and comparison of the manifest and temporary storage declaration, such as details of:

• when and who you reported the irregularities to
• detained, banned, suspicious or un-entered goods
• when you assign the goods to a customs procedure or re-export, for example, seized goods
• when you get the authority to remove the goods from customs (and a copy of the authority)

Records to keep

You must keep records and accounts of the goods for a minimum of 4 years.

You must keep all:

• receipts for community transit paperwork and a detailed log of receipt of all such movements
• paperwork relating to the removal of the goods from the temporary storage premises, including reference to customs declaration and the removal note or system generated release message

During any compliance audit, your records should be available to customs authorities at that time. But if you cannot supply a document at the time, you must produce it within 10 working days.

Published 19 April 2018
Last updated 31 December 2020 + show all updates

1. 31 December 2020

   This page has been updated because the UK has left the EU.

2. 19 April 2018

   First published.