What do you know about the new customs declaration system DMS?
28 November 2022
Customs are currently working with the AGS declaration system. In 2023, Dutch customs will switch to a new European declaration system: DMS. This system will allow declarants have more control over declarations, and it is expected to experience fewer outages. There will also be some changes for you as a shipper. How exactly does this work and what impact will it have on how your declarations are processed?
How does it work now?
Dutch Customs currently uses AGS to process all its storage, import and export declarations. The AGS system was developed in the 1980s and so it’s high time for an update. The Netherlands will be the first country where the Europe-oriented declaration system DMS will go live.
The current AGS system has proven to be a sensitive application that sometimes causes outage and disruption. When this happens, they revert to the emergency procedures, causing delays. This process can take twice as long and the risk of errors is high. What’s more, follow-up checks are often carried out retrospectively. In short: arranging fast and faultless customs documentation has become increasingly challenging. This has probably not escaped your notice either.
Why DMS?
DMS (Customs Declarations Management System) will fully replace AGS from 2023. Unlike customs-focused AGS, DMS is customised and will start integrating with declarants’ software applications. Main premise here is: (European) declarants work in the application themselves, allowing for faster feedback, which should lead to smooth(er) declaration processing.
DMS is originally a Brussels project. It has the important role of achieving a unified, electronic, European Customs department. What’s more, it should make international trade easier and improve security within the European Union.
DMS in a nutshell
Fast, real-time feedback and checks.
In DMS, declarants are to check and correct the declaration themselves. This means more insight into the customs process. In addition, this obviously ensures that shipments are quick and easy to monitor.
Fewer outages.
As there are no more connections to other applications, there will be fewer outages. Soon, everyone will be working with the same software.
Less risk of errors.
The new data technology means the system will recognise errors. In this case, the declaration is returned to the submitter and the erroneous field must be amended before the declaration is processed.
Information becomes more detailed and less susceptible to fraud.
The declarant has to complete extra fields. These include commodity codes, values and country of origin. Items present per container number must also be listed. More fields require more input from you, the shipper. It is important that you send these details to the declarant in advance, to prevent unnecessary delays to your declaration.
Customs schedule 2023
Customs had originally scheduled the switch to the new system for 2022, but this was not achieved. There are lots of snags in the new application. This is partly due to a mismatch with the tax authorities’ collection system. What’s more, the project is proving to be more complex than expected, and the software must comply with the legal requirements of the DWU (Union’s Custom Code, UCC).
A lot of hard work is taking place behind the business community scenes, with customs managers and ICT staff making sure that the existing software can integrate seamlessly into DMS. Everything will have a different name and function. The Tax Authorities are now working with a start date of 1 July 2023. Whether this deadline can be met is currently unclear.
If you have any questions after reading this item, please do not hesitate to contact customs@ritra.nl.