Customs software for Northern Ireland in peril
There are doubts whether the necessary customs procedures after Brexit in Northern Ireland will be available on time.
Agency Sector Management (ASM), a customs clearance software provider for freight forwarders, has written to Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC), stating it will not be offering or supporting a software solution that uses the Customs Declaration Service (CDS) for shipments in and out of Northern Ireland (NI).
Jim Harra, chief executive and first permanent secretary HMRC, underlined that the schedule till September 2020 was "totally unachievable and a realistic, albeit challenging date, was the end of 2021 and even this was likely to slip. Furthermore, he added that "there are significant sectors of trade that will not be ready for 1 January." (sh)