The Goods Vehicle Movement Service (GVMS) is intended to allow export trucks to declare goods ahead of reaching the border, allowing for smoother traffic flow, particularly at busier ports such as Dover. Yet HMRC has yet to begin the build of the IT system and fears are growing that it will not be finished before the end of the transition period.
The Goods Vehicle Movement Service (GVMS) is intended to allow export trucks to declare goods ahead of reaching the border, allowing for smoother traffic flow, particularly at busier ports such as Dover.
However, HMRC has yet to begin the build of the IT system, MPs have been told, by the head of EU Exit at the Port of Dover. “We’re still at the stage of making sure the definition and the specification of the system is correct so it’s built with a fighting chance of doing what it’s needed to do.”
“The French customs have tested their system. They’ve done it a couple of times and established that the data flow worked. The challenge is to make sure the lorries go where they’re told to go, but there are ways of achieving that. I am certain that the GVMS system will similarly be tested, but it needs to be built before it can be tested,” he said.
The Goods Vehicle Movement Service (GVMS) is intended to help goods flow across Britain’s borders and cut queues, but industry groups said they were only notified about the system in the past fortnight.
We suspect that it is unlikely that GVMS will be ready in time, but it could be launched with a temporary storage capability, while other works in progress are completed, meaning that you can submit your document references but the system will not, initially, check their validity, which could be completed retrospectively.
An 89-page consultation document circulated by the Government to trade groups said operators would have a choice of a “pre-lodgement” model – where trucks carrying goods could file their paperwork electronically away from the port – or temporary storage where there was warehouse space.
A page for detail on the import process and pre-lodgment model was left blank.
A Government spokesman said it will publish a model for new border operations next month. “We are continuing our preparations for the end of the transition period and the introduction of new border controls, including by providing £84m to grow the customs intermediary sector to encompass EU trade after 2020.
