#uk cds

If you are wondering whether CDS applies to you, the answer is short: if you trade goods across the UK border, yes.

The System

The Customs Declaration Service (CDS) handles every UK import and export declaration. It replaced CHIEF, the 1994 platform retired in stages between 2022 and 2024, and it is built on structured data elements rather than the old numbered boxes. The background is all in this UK Customs Declaration Service guide.

Who Files Through It

Traders, freight forwarders, and customs agents all use the same platform, whether they file one declaration a month or thousands.

Why There Is No Alternative

CHIEF is fully closed. CDS is the only route for UK customs declarations, regardless of business size or trade volume.

The Takeaway

Understanding CDS is now simply part of trading with or from the UK.

FAQs

Do small traders need to learn CHIEF too? No, it is fully closed; CDS is the only system.

Is there a separate system for high-volume filers? No, everyone uses the same CDS platform.

Quick answer: the Customs Declaration Service (CDS) is HMRC's platform for every UK import and export declaration. Since June 2024, it is the only customs system the UK has.

The Backstory

Before CDS there was CHIEF, launched in 1994. It ran UK customs for nearly three decades, but two things ended it: the technology aged badly, and Brexit multiplied declaration volumes from tens of millions a year to hundreds of millions. The whole story is in this what is UK CDS explainer.

How It Works Now

Instead of filling numbered boxes, you complete structured data elements grouped by parties, goods, transport, valuation, and procedure. CDS validates everything, calculates duty and VAT, and confirms clearance.

Who Uses It

Every trader, freight forwarder, and customs agent filing a UK declaration works within CDS. There is no smaller-scale alternative.

FAQs

Is CHIEF still running? No. Imports closed in 2022, exports in 2024.

Who uses CDS? Everyone filing UK import or export declarations.