Report a problem using the Customs Declaration Service

Question

Accepted Answer

Due to scheduled maintenance, you will be unable to access our online form for reporting a problem using the Customs Declaration Service from 7:30pm on Friday 29 November 2024 to 7am on Saturday 30 November 2024.

For urgent enquiries, email cds.operations@hmrc.gov.uk with the following information:

the type of organisation that’s reporting the problem
the business name of the agent or agency
a contact name and phone number
an email address to reply to
the business name of the trader
the type of problem you’re experiencing
if the problem is related to imports or exports
the type of goods involved
if the goods are stuck at the border

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

If you find a problem when using the Customs Declaration Service (CDS) to move goods across the border, check:

If you cannot solve the problem, use the online form to report this to HMRC CDS Operations.

Who should use this form

You should use this form to report a problem when using the Customs Declaration Service if you’re:

an importer or exporter
an agent of an importer or exporter
a software house
a Community System Provider (CSP)
a government department
a Loader or Carrier

Who should not use this form

You should not use this form to report a problem with:

registering for the Customs Declaration Service — contact Imports and exports: general enquiries
the Customs Financial Account — select the ‘Get help with this page’ link at the bottom of the screen where the problem occurs and provide details of what you were doing and what went wrong
a declaration submitted in the test environment (Trader Dress Rehearsal) — email tdrcommunications@hmrc.gov.uk

What you’ll need

Before you start the form, for imports you may need:

your Local Reference Number
your Movement Reference Number
the error code you’ve received
a description of the problem you are experiencing

Before you start the form, for exports you may need:

your Declaration Unique Consignment Reference
your Master Unique Consignment Refence
your movement details, such as the date of movement, location and details of goods, commodity codes and country of destination
the inventory details status message
the conversation ID from your software
the error code you’ve received
a description of the problem you are experiencing

Submit the form

The online form will ask you a series of questions to understand the problem you’re having and urgency of the issue.

Follow the instructions on each page to submit your responses and complete the form.

You’ll be able to:

save your application and return to it later
check your answers at the end of the online form before submitting
print out a copy of your completed form

The form will not remain available online after you have submitted it.

Start now

After you submit the form

After you’ve submitted the form, you’ll receive a confirmation email with a reference number.

If your problem is considered urgent, you’ll receive a response within 2 hours. All other problems will be responded to within 24 hours.

Report a problem using the Customs Declaration Service

Who should use this form

Who should not use this form

What you’ll need

Submit the form

After you submit the form

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Report a problem using the Customs Declaration Service

Who should use this form

Who should not use this form

What you’ll need

Submit the form

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