News update on customs

31 October 2023

There’s a lot going on in the customs world. The biggest change this fall is the live rollout of the DMS declaration system. We’re now sharing our initial impressions with you after the first month. We are also dealing with external factors, such as the tightened import ban on Russian-made goods. How do you ensure that your declarations suffer as little disruption from this as possible?

DMS is live!

Until recently, Dutch Customs used the AGS declaration system to process all storage, import and export declarations. The AGS system dates back to the 1980s, so it was time for a change. At the end of September, AGS was replaced by DMS, the Dutch Customs Declaration Management System. This represented a global first for the Netherlands, becoming the first European country where DMS went live.

Team Ritra started working in DMS in late September, exactly on schedule. The transition has been successful. The collaboration between Ritra’s declarations team, led by Customs Manager Randy, ICT expert Theo and with invaluable guidance of Govert from external software vendor Customeyes, has proven to be a golden opportunity. Almost no defects were discovered during implementation.

What can you do?

In the background, our declarants are working in both AGS and DMS until the end of October. As of November, everything is 100% DMS. They are noticing that in DMS there is a stricter focus on ‘name and address’ data and net weights, and the like. But that’s not really so surprising, as the new way of working has given Customs significantly greater insight into all declarations. And that’s a distinct benefit, because it means that together we are making (European) ports just that bit safer.

It does however require a little extra commitment from you. Below are two points of concern that you can influence yourself.

Stricter control of net weights

Customs closely monitors net weights. This stems from the new format of the DMS system, in which Customs bases the unit price of a product partly on its net weight. Net weights should therefore be on the invoice at all times for calculating a fair unit price. If this information is missing, the likelihood of audits is significantly higher.

Correct statement of name and address details supplier/exporter

Another point, partly due to the new format in DMS: additional name and address data. If your Ritra contact asks you for specific information from your supplier or exporter, we rely on your cooperation in this.

Other important news

Since 30 September, 2023, an import ban has applied to steel and iron containing Russian base products. These goods may no longer be imported into the European Union. Read here about the restrictions as well as what you can do to ensure proper handling.

There are also important changes for those trading with Ghana. For example, the EUR.1 Certificate has been replaced by an invoice statement. Read the fine print concerning this on the Customs website.

Any questions or require further information?

Do you have questions or would you like more information on any of the topics? Then contact our customs declarants or check out the articles on DMS and Russian import goods in our news archive.