Some of the changes were major, like the migration from CHIEF Imports to CDS Imports, the cancellation of the 2022 border control changes, and high on the agenda were Russian Sanctions. Whereas others seemed to slip by but could still have a major impact on many businesses, like the use of Importers knowledge, withdrawal of notice 252 valuation rules, and the first plastic packaging tax return.   

Our own Tim Hiscock will be pleased to see FTA’s were one of the areas shaping International Trade in 2022, putting export development back on the map! 2022 saw talks with multiple countries on developing numerous Free Trade Agreements, with many hopefully coming into force this coming year. The Digital Trade agreement with Singapore came into force in June 2022, and off the back of this, talks for a similar deal to be struck with the Ukraine. 

Through our own helpline, we saw a huge increase in questions around Incoterms®2020, perhaps the new requirements for CDS Imports have brought the importance of these to the surface, similarly with the rules of Valuation. But the one that took us most by surprise was Drop Shipping. The change Covid19 brought through the use of technology and altering the way we do business has perhaps made this more accessible for exporters, and for some it is a more profitable option than the more traditional way of trading. 

So, what’s on the horizon for 2023? you may ask. Well, we don’t need a crystal ball to know that CDS Exports is coming (at some point). We know that the UK’s Single Trade Window will feature highly on the agenda for the government this year (although the aim is 2025), we expect to see more Free Trade Agreements coming our way, the UK’s current Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP) will be replaced by the Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS), and we hope to see a decision made on the Northern Irish Protocol, cementing the terms for trading with NI. In early 2023, the Government will publish a draft Target Operating Model (TOM), setting out how it intends to deliver the 2025 Border Strategy, for consultation with businesses and the border industry. The final TOM will be published later in early 2023 which will hopefully hold many of the answers.

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Valuation Rules - Withdrawal of Customs Notice 252 HMRC recently withdrew Notice 252 and replaced it with a series (a comprehensive collection) of guidance documents which the Department has published on gov.uk.

UK to adopt EU CN for 2023 We have confirmed with HMRC that the UK will be following the 8-digit code changes introduced in the 2023 EU Combined Nomenclature and will be publishing a table showing the 8-digit correlations for 2023 in the UK Integrated Online Tariff in due course.

What would traders really like a Single Trade Window to do for them? An international sale of goods transaction still requires a plethora of documents and procedures across the commercial, transport, regulatory and payment processes and, yes, the same information, or data elements, is repeated over and over again. This, of course has a very negative time and cost impact on exporters and importers. 

First Plastic Packaging Tax Returns due by 29th July 2022 Plastic Packaging Tax (PPT) was introduced on 1 April 2022. If your business manufactures or imports plastic packaging into the UK you may need to register for PPT, submit a PPT return and pay any tax due. Spain introduced their tax 1 Jan 2023 and other EU countries like France and Italy are planning to implement similar taxes that will affect UK exporters to these markets.

Government announces the cancellation of Border Control Changes due later in 2022 The import of phytosanitary goods from the EU into GB has been subject to planned change in border processes for implementation 2022, the first stage of import procedures having been implemented in January 2022 as planned. However, the government has announced that further planned implementation of controls to imports due to be implemented between 1^st July and November 2022 will not take place, and procedures for imports of phytosanitary goods will remain as implemented on 1^st January 2022. This change includes imports of affected phytosanitary goods from Ireland into GB.

Importers’ knowledge If an import declaration is made to Importers Knowledge and the evidence is not seen to have been in place at the point of import during HMRC audit, the liability for duty and any penalty will fall to the importer.

Customs Declaration Service Exporter Deadline Extended HMRC have announced that Exporters will have more time to move across to the Customs Declaration Service. Exporters will have until the 30th November 2023 to move across from CHIEF to CDS

The Global Misuse of Incoterms® This is not a new topic and, of course, that is the big frustration – despite Incoterms® reviews every decade there is still a huge problem, globally, with the misuse of Incoterms®.