Policy & Compliance
The Front End Credibility message is something that can assist the Customs agent in detecting and avoiding serious declaration errors. It should be investigated and not ignored Front End Credibility checks
statement in response. This is a system weakness in BIFA’s opinion. The crucial point is that Members must not ignore the FEC message. The declarant may amend the declaration, confirm that the data is correct or choose to do nothing – in which case the declaration will move to the next stage. Legal declaration The reader must remember that a Customs entry is a legal declaration and there are penalties for submitting an incorrect one. These include financial consequences and the potential for HMRC to set aside a Customs agent’s direct empowerment, increasing the latter’s liabilities. The FEC message is something that can assist the Customs agent in detecting and avoiding serious declaration errors. BIFA’s guidance is that such messages should not be ignored by Members but investigated and the outcome recorded as evidence that the agent has taken the matter seriously.
T here are certain recurring themes in the work of the BIFA Secretariat regarding Customs formalities – the three most common questions we receive relate to representation, establishment and valuation. What is interesting is that on occasion additional information becomes available which, when provided to and followed by Members, assists them to be Customs compliant and thus avoid penalties. Growing awareness Feedback from Members in response to previous articles and communications highlights a growing awareness of these issues, and a desire to prevent them in the first place. Some Members are tightening up their checks and compliance- related activities and there is an
“ The crucial point is that Members must not ignore the FEC message. The declarant may amend the declaration, con fi rm that the data is correct or choose to do nothing...
increasing willingness to question the importer as to the accuracy of the declared value and to decline to enter certain consignments if the Member is not satisfied with the responses received. When a Customs declaration is submitted to HMRC in CDS, there are complex behind-the-scenes system checks, examining the relationship between the declared value, the net weight and item quantities to establish the credibility of the supplied data. If the entry fails the above checks, a Member may receive a CDS message entitled CDS 13000 Credibility Validation Results – Credibility check: incredible value found – Value fails credibility check as too high or too low. Unlike in CHIEF, these Front End Credibility (FEC) checks will no longer inhibit Customs clearance because CDS does not require the trader to make a positive
10 | October 2024
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