Impact assessment

New Computerised Transit System Phase 5: Screening Equality Impact Assessment

Published 8 April 2025

Project objectives

The core project driver is to meet Common Transit Convention (CTC) obligations for a phase 5 of the New Computerised Transit System (NCTS) for both Great Britain and Northern Ireland (under the Windsor Framework). NCTS5 is the next iteration of an existing CTC IT service (NCTS4).

Customer groups affected

This is likely to affect:

• Border Force
• software developers
• traders and intermediaries
• carriers
• hauliers

What customers will need to do

What customers need to do as a result of the change.

The customer will need to move from the current NCTS4 service to NCTS5. This will require purchase of updated software from a chosen third party Software Developer or by enrolling to the new free-to-use web portal. The customer will need to be aware of, and understand, new functionality such as changes to required data fields, new Office of Incident role and amendments to Guarantee Balance information. They will have the option to amend their business processes to accommodate the change from printing/receiving a paper Transit Accompanying Document (TAD) to presenting an Electronic Movement Reference Number (MRN) for the transit movement instead.

How customers will access this service.

Customers will need to enrol via the government gateway to obtain credentials to access this service via a new digital front end, or access via a commercial software product.

When customers need to do this.

NCTS5 went live on 28 June 2024 for Northern Ireland and 1 July 2024 for Great Britain with NCTS5 phase 1.

On 21st January 2025, the UK started using NCTS5 phase 2 for Great Britain and Northern Ireland .

Assessing the impact

We have assessed the equality impacts on all the protected characteristic groups in line with the Equality Act and Public Sector Equality Duty and section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act. There is no evidence to suggest there are any specific impacts on customers within the following protected characteristic groups:

• race
• sex
• gender reassignment
• age
• religion or belief
• sexual orientation
• pregnancy and maternity
• marriage and civil partnership
• people with dependants and those without (carers)
• political opinion (in Northern Ireland only).

Disability  

Impact on customers

During our stakeholder engagement and research, we have not identified any customers who are digitally excluded – since the implementation of NCTS Phase 5. HMRC has not received any customer requests for an alternative process (from digital) due to digital exclusion.

From an accessibility perspective we are assessed against legal requirements (WCAG2.2), to ensure the service works with assistive technologies (screen readers, zoom, JAWS, DRAGON etc).

The following activity will ensure we are able to identify any future impacts.

• continued engagement with traders, intermediaries, carriers, hauliers
• ongoing communication through trade forums, GOV.UK and direct external communications
• user research will continue with the digital web service

People who use different languages (Including Welsh Language and British Sign Language)

Impact on customers

HMRC is obliged to provide Welsh versions of many documents, publications, and services, however due to no identified demand this has not been supplied for NCTS5.

Opportunities to promote equalities

We have considered opportunities to promote equalities and good relations between people in each of the protected characteristic groups and those outside of that group. None have been identified.

A full Equality Impact Assessment is not recommended.