Official Statistics

Customs Importer and Exporter Population 2022: methodology notes

Published 6 April 2023

Data sources

From 31 December 2020, the free movement of people and goods and services between the United Kingdom (UK) and the European Union (EU) ended. This meant the way HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) had been collecting trade in goods data was revised.

The source for the Customs Importer and Exporter Population is the Customs declarations data submitted to CHIEF (Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight) and CDS (Customs Declaration Service). The publication therefore reports on the number of businesses engaging in the movement of goods between Great Britain (GB) and the EU, or the UK and non-EU countries in 2021 and 2022.

Businesses moving goods to and from EU countries

From 1 January 2021, goods moving between GB and EU countries have required an import or export customs declaration, made in accordance with the requirements of the Taxation (Cross Border Trade) Act. EU trade is therefore compiled from Customs declarations collected by the CHIEF system and the CDS. From this data, the unique number of businesses named as the importer or exporter on the declaration have been counted for movements between GB and the EU.

Customs declarations are not required for movements between Northern Ireland (NI) and the EU; this data is collected using the Intrastat survey and VAT return data. This data is therefore not included in this publication as they are not part of the Customs process.

Businesses moving goods to and from the non-EU countries

Non-EU trade is compiled from Customs declarations collected by the CHIEF system and CDS From this data, the unique number of businesses named as the importer or exporter on a declaration have been counted for movements of goods between the UK and non-EU countries.

Businesses that are Non-VAT registered

GB movements to and from the EU have been sourced from Customs declarations, which are required for all businesses regardless of VAT registration status. The Customs Importer and Exporter Population therefore contains non-VAT registered businesses moving goods between GB and the EU, alongside businesses moving goods between the UK and non-EU countries. For data on movements of goods before 2021, the UK Importer and Exporter publication was unable to include non-VAT registered businesses moving goods to or from the EU as these businesses were not required to submit this information to HMRC.

Businesses below the low value threshold

For movements of goods before 2021, the UK Importer and Exporter population publication used the Overseas Trade Statistics (OTS) data as its source. A limitation of this data was that all items of trade with both a weight and value less than the annual low value thresholds were rolled up into one aggregated group. As a result, businesses who only moved goods of this nature were not counted.

From 1st January 2021, the source data for the new Customs Importer and Exporter Population has become the Customs declarations data. Using this data has removed this limitation as it allows for sight of businesses moving goods between GB and EU countries and the UK and non-EU countries, who trade exclusively within this low value group.

Exclusions

Goods movements between NI and the EU

Customs declarations are not required for movements between Northern Ireland (NI) and the EU, this data is collected using the Intrastat survey and VAT return data. This data is therefore not included in this publication as they are not part of the Customs process.

Movements between NI and the EU are defined as goods leaving or entering an NI port when moving to or from an EU country.

Goods movements between GB and NI

Goods movements between GB and NI are excluded from this publication. These movements are defined as goods leaving or entering an NI port when moving to or from GB

Methodology

Customs declaration data for the movements of goods between Great Britain (GB) and the European Union (EU), or the United Kingdom (UK) and non-EU countries is extracted for the relevant period. This data is extracted from CHIEF (Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight) and CDS (Customs Declaration Service).

Each declaration is classified based on the goods location (the port the goods have arrived at or left from), the partner country (EU or non-EU) and the direction of the movement (import or export). Any declarations where the movement is between GB and NI or NI and the EU or where the partner country is left blank are excluded.

The declaration data is then aggregated to the business level, enabling each business to be categorised based on the combination of movements they have undertaken within a given year. This label will be a combination of up to four letters:

A = Arrivals (EU Imports)

D = Dispatches (EU Exports)

I = Imports (Non-EU Imports)

E = Exports (Non-EU Exports)

Aggregated tables are produced detailing the number of businesses in a given year, split by direction of movement and/or partner country combination. In this process, businesses using generic identifiers such as ‘PR’ (denoting a private businesses) can only be counted as one business, as there is no way of knowing how many individual businesses have used a particular identifier.

Relationship with other statistical publications

UK Importer and Exporter Population

Prior to the UK’s Exit from the EU on 1 January 2021, the UK Importer and Exporter Population was the source for population statistics from 2015 to 2020. We do not advise that any comparisons are drawn between the UK Importer and Exporter Population and the Customs Importer and Exporter Population. They differ in terms of:

• Definition of a Business
• Geographic area covered
• Inclusion of non-VAT registered businesses trading with the EU, and Low Value businesses
• Data sources for EU trade in goods

This means the figures contained in this release will not be comparable to those in the UK Importer and Exporter Population releases.

UK trade in goods by business characteristics

Data in this release will not match the published HMRC UK trade in goods by business characteristics publication data. This is due to different production methods:

• This publication counts businesses at the level of ‘Economic Operator Registration and Identification (EORI) registration’, whilst the Business characteristics publication counts businesses at the level of ‘enterprise’.
• This release includes low value traders (exclusively trading goods below £873 and 1,000kg net mass). The counts reported in the Business characteristics release do not capture those businesses that have solely engaged in low value trade.
• The source data for the UK trade in goods by business characteristics publication is the Overseas Trade Statistics data set, whilst the source data for Customs Importer and Exporter publication is the Customs declarations admin data set, covering movements between Great Britain (GB) and the European Union (EU), or between the United Kingdom (UK) and non-EU countries in 2021.

Regional trade statistics

Data in this release will not match the published Regional Trade Statistics (RTS) business counts. This is due to different production methods:

• This release counts businesses at the level of ‘EORI’. The RTS counts primarily at the level of ‘VAT-registration’.
• The RTS excludes business undertaking movements of non-monetary gold.
• This release includes low value traders (exclusively trading goods below £873 and 1,000kg net mass) however RTS business counts do not capture those businesses that have solely engaged in low value trade.
• The source data for the RTS is the Overseas Trade Statistics data set, whilst the source data for Customs Importer and Exporter publication is the Customs declarations admin data set, covering movements between Great Britain (GB) and the European Union (EU), or between the United Kingdom (UK) and non-EU countries in 2021.

Definitions

EORI number

An EORI number (Economic Operator Registration and Identification Number) is a registration number given by HMRC to identify businesses (including sole traders that move physical goods to/from EU and non-EU countires. This number is required for businesses to submit a customs declaration to HMRC.

Business

An organisation or individual using an EORI number to engage with customs procedures in the movement of goods between GB and the (EU, or between the UK and non-EU countries in 2021.

Importer

A business moving goods into GB from the EU, or into the UK from non-EU countries.

Exporter

A business moving goods from GB to the (EU, or from the UK to non-EU countries.

Importer and exporter

A business engaging in both the import and export of goods between GB and the EU, and / or between the UK and non-EU countries.

Customs Declaration

An electronic submission of data which provides legally required information about the goods being imported/exported, including the customs procedure which the goods are being entered to EORI.