From 1 January this year, new changes and new rules came into force affecting the transport of goods to England, Scotland and Wales.
As foreseen, all goods bound for the UK and Great Britain will be subject to full customs controls, with the exception of those originating from Ireland.
In line with these changes you have to perform new actions such as registering with the Goods Vehicle Movement Service (GVMS), to prevent detention at the border. But before this you need a user ID on the Government Portal and the Economic Operator Registration and Identification Number (EORI) starting with “GB”. Once you complete the registration you will get access to the GVMS within a couple of hours.
In addition, the GVMS can be used for both accompanied and unaccompanied goods, always with pre-filed declarations. This gives the operator the opportunity to store the goods for 90 days before they are declared.
On the other hand, the GMR (Goods Movement Reference) document is mandatory, being a unique reference number per vehicle for drivers to board the ferry or railway line and is linked to the goods.
Goods exported through border crossing points will be subject to additional customs controls and for these, random on-the-spot inspections are carried out in accordance with HMRC instructions and failure to follow these instructions will result in a penalty of up to £2,500.
