HMRC has confirmed a new regulation on imports due in January applies to fresh produce, and that it is the carrier who is responsible for lodging the ICS declaration.

The entry summary declaration (ENS) will be brought in across the EU and has raised fears it will duplicate information submitted to the Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight (CHIEF) system.

EC legislation requires that an electronic ENS must be lodged before arrival - before loading in the case of maritime deep sea containerised shipments - at the first point of entry into the customs territory of the EC. The relevant Member State will carry out a risk assessment and after successful validation issue a Movement Reference Number (MRN).

It is the carrier’s responsibility to present the ENS to customs as ‘the person who brings the goods, or assumes responsibility for the carriage of the goods into the customs territory of the Community’. Someone other than the carrier may lodge the ENS, however it is the carrier’s responsibility to ensure that it is submitted and it must only be done with the carrier’s knowledge and consent.

Depending on the mode of transport there are different time limits for the submission of the ENS:

- Maritime containerised cargo - at least 24 hours before loading at port of departure

- Maritime bulk/break bulk cargo - at least 4 hours before arrival

- Maritime sea voyages of less than 4 hours’ duration - at least two hours before arrival

- Short-haul flights - less than 4 hours’ duration - at the time of actual take-off

- Long-haul flights - at least four hours before arrival

- Rail and inland waterways - at least two hours before arrival

- Road traffic - at least one hour before arrival.

According to BusinessLink, as long as traders can show they have followed certain criteria, which are yet to be decided, the individual customs administrations may waive the need for an ENS, provided that they have access to all the necessary electronic information in the trader’s records or they are able to carry out full risk analysis for safety and security purposes.

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