Budget 2023 | Digitalisation of Trading Authorisations

23 Mar 2023 02:01 PM

Following techUK’s ongoing calls for greater Government support in streamlining digital customs facilitations and trade documentation processes, the Spring Budget 2023’s Business investment and tax policy provisions includes an important HMRC policy project; Modernising Authorisations (MA), delivery a digital platform for simplifying and streamlining customs and exercise authorisations for companies trading internationally

Seen within the UK Government's Spring Budget 2023, policymakers within the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) and HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) will outline plans to streamline and digitise HMRC’s customs and excise authorisation processes through the MA project, which will simplify authorisations for customs facilitations and deliver a new digital self-serve portal for trading companies.

The Project seeks to;

Streamlining authorisation groupings; Rationalise and simplify customs authorisations by reducing them from 42 to 5 new groups of authorisations.
Paperless authorisations; Make all customs and excise authorisations digital/paperless.
Interoperability; Hold all customs related trader information in one place within a single customer record.
Reducing data collection administration; A 'once and done' approach to data collection so traders don't have to repeat information already provided.
Digital Platform; Produce an ease-of-use, self-service platform named Single Trade Window.
Guidance; Develop a new guidance platform to make it easy for all traders to find this information. This includes technical manuals and notices, enabling experienced trading companies share expertise to intermediaries, developing further support to complex customs systems.

The Project’s wider context includes;

The programme covers five auhoritisation groupings, including Authorised Economic Operator (Customs Simplification (C), Safety and Security (S)), Ports and Wharves (Seaport/Wharf Approvals, Fixed Transport Installations (FTIs) approvals), and Transit (Auhorised Consignee, Transit Declarations).
The Project and its findings will also integrate within the cross-Government Target Operating Model 2023 review, which was outlined within DEFRA’s (Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs) 2025 UK Border Strategy; utilising the experiences of policymakers and relevant trading companies to determine wider Government invest and policymaking within digitisalition of trading processes and documentation.
The TOM looks to influence DEFRA’s final border controls regime, including extensive application and regulation of digital platforms and data-flows, making best use of real-time data and better target risk to reduce friction and costs for businesses and consumers and create a simpler and secure experience for companies trading IT goods, including plants and plant products, across the UK border.

While delivery of this policy project is set to take place between 2023/2024 and 2024/2025, techUK welcomes the Government’s ongoing commitments of digitilisation and streamlining complex trading bureaucracy, including specific authorisation groupings for internationally trading companies across the UK economy.

More details of this Budget inclusion can be found here.