Export Declaration Services
Export entries filed into CDS, the accompanying document in the driver's hand, and the exit confirmation that lets you zero rate the sale. Most declarations are submitted within minutes of your paperwork reaching us, and most clear on submission.
An Export Is Not Finished When the Lorry Leaves
It is finished when customs confirm the goods left and you hold the evidence that says so. These are the pieces that get you there.
Export Entries Into CDS
Every UK export entry has gone through the Customs Declaration Service since CHIEF closed to exports on 4 June 2024.
Export Accompanying Documents
The EAD carries the movement reference as a barcode and travels with the goods to the office of exit.
Arrived and Pre-lodged
Two ways to present a declaration, and the wrong one at a RoRo port stalls the movement.
Proof of Export for VAT
Zero rating a sale depends on holding valid evidence of export inside HMRC's time limits.
Licences and Controlled Goods
Dual-use items, military goods, waste, excise and CITES species need clearing before the entry is filed.
Transit After Export
Where goods carry on under a T1, the export and the transit have to be raised together.
The EU Entry Side
Your export is somebody's import. ICS2 needs a valid entry summary declaration before the goods arrive.
Out Through the Short Straits
Dover, Folkestone and Sevington, where most of what we file for exporters crosses.
How an Export Moves Through CDS
Three stages, and the last one is the one exporters most often never see completed.
Declaration Accepted
We file the entry with the commodity code, the destination, the value, the parties and the procedure code that matches the reason the goods are going. CDS accepts it, returns a movement reference, and permission to progress can then be granted.
Goods Presented
Customs need to know the goods are physically at the place they are leaving from. At an inventory linked port that happens through an arrival message. At a roll on roll off location there is no inventory system, so the declaration is presented as arrived instead.
Departure Confirmed
Once the goods leave, CDS records the departure and the export closes off. That record is your official evidence of export. We chase the ones that do not appear, because an entry that never departs looks to HMRC like goods that never left.
The Parts Exporters Get Caught By
Filing the entry is the straightforward part. These are where we spend most of our time on behalf of exporters.
Zero Rating and Proof of Export
An export sale is only zero rated if the goods leave and you can prove it. HMRC expects the export and the evidence within three months of supply, six where the goods are processed first. Miss that and the sale becomes standard rated, which is a VAT problem long after the freight is forgotten.
- Official evidence taken from the customs record of departure
- Commercial evidence such as the CMR or signed delivery note kept alongside it
- Filed against the sale, not just the shipment, and kept for your VAT records
Licences and Controlled Goods
Control follows what the goods are and where they are going, not what they are worth. Machine tools, chemicals, encryption and drone components catch people out, and so do goods that are entirely ordinary until the destination changes.
- Commodity code screened against control lists before the entry is drafted
- Destination and end user considered, not just the item itself
Where the Export Meets Transit
If the goods travel beyond the first EU country, or duty needs suspending until they reach an inland destination, the export is only half the job. A transit movement opens where the export ends and the two references have to be linked. The UK moved to NCTS Phase 6 on 1 June 2026.
- Export and T1 or T2 transit raised together, against the right office of departure
- Guarantee cover arranged where you do not hold your own, and discharge monitored at the other end
Getting the Vehicle Onto the Boat
At the short straits the driver carries references rather than a folder. The export reference has to reach the haulier in time for the goods movement record on the UK side, and for the French logistics envelope, mandatory since April 2026, at the other end.
- Movement references issued to the haulier and the exporter at the same time
- Road freight to the EU from the same team if you would rather one supplier did both
One Set of Documents, Everything Raised From It
Exporters send the invoice and the collection details, and we build the entry, the accompanying document and any transit paperwork from that one source rather than asking you to restate it. Where you sell the same lines repeatedly we hold the classification on file, so a repeat order is a check rather than a rebuild.
- Tell us the sale. Invoice, packing list, destination, buyer and the agreed terms of delivery.
- We screen the goods. Code, controls, licences and whether the destination changes the answer.
- We file into CDS. Presented correctly for the port it is leaving from, arrived or pre-lodged.
- References go out. To you and to the driver or haulier, so the vehicle is never held at a barrier.
- We close the loop. Departure confirmed and the evidence sent to you for your VAT records.
Exporters, Hauliers and Forwarders All Use Us
Some send one pallet a month, some send everything that leaves the yard. We file both the same way.
Straight to the Driver
The movement reference goes to whoever is at the wheel, not just the office that booked it.
Nights and Weekends
Sailings do not wait for Monday, so entries are filed whenever the load is ready.
Offices, UK and Ireland
Ashford in Kent and Dublin, so a movement is handled at both ends by one team.
HMRC Authorised
AEO Authorised for customs simplifications, and members of BIFA and FIATA.
Export Declaration FAQs
Do I need an export declaration for goods going to the EU?
For goods leaving Great Britain, yes. The EU is a third country for customs purposes, so a sale to Rotterdam needs a declaration in the same way a sale to Riyadh does. There are limited exceptions for some low value and personal movements, and Northern Ireland follows different arrangements, so tell us the route and we will confirm.
What is an export accompanying document and does the driver need a paper copy?
The EAD is produced once the declaration is accepted, and carries the movement reference as a barcode so customs at the point of exit can call the entry up. What usually matters now is the reference itself, held electronically by the haulier, but drivers still get asked for a copy, so we send both.
What is the difference between an arrived and a pre-lodged export declaration?
A pre-lodged declaration is filed in advance and needs an arrival message once the goods reach the place of export. An arrived declaration tells customs they are already there. At roll on roll off locations there is no inventory system to send an arrival message to, so the entry is presented as arrived instead.
What counts as proof of export for zero rating?
HMRC wants evidence the goods physically left, not that you intended to send them. The customs record of departure is the strongest piece, supported by the CMR, the transport invoice and proof of payment. Between them they need to identify the goods, the parties and the destination, and arrive inside HMRC's time limits.
Who checks whether my goods need an export licence?
The legal duty sits with the exporter, but nobody expects you to read control lists alone. We screen the commodity code and the destination while preparing the entry and tell you if the goods look like they fall under dual-use, military, waste, excise or species controls. Where a licence is needed we do not file without the reference.
What happens if my export is never confirmed as departed?
The declaration stays open, you have no official evidence of export, and zero rating rests on commercial documents alone. Usually an arrival or departure step was missed, or the goods went out under another reference. We monitor the entries we file and follow up the ones that stay open.
Get the export filed and the evidence back
Send us the invoice and the destination and we will tell you what the entry needs, what it costs and how fast it goes out.