ASM happy with SADH U-turn

ASM happy with SADH U-turn Agency Sector Management (UK) Ltd., a not-for-profit freight industry representative body and software organization, has welcomed the decision by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to revise its plan to implement the European Union’s harmonized Single Administrative Document (SADH) in one step.
   SADH is due to come online July 1 as a precursor to allowing declaration data to be passed between member states’ computer systems. ASM had previously warned of major disruption if U.K. Customs didn’t switch over to the new system in a phased approach.
   Peter MacSwiney, chairman of ASM, said: “We have had a number of meetings with HMRC and made the point that plans to implement new regulations, based on the new SADH, would have led to a disaster as freight forwarders and their staff would have had to grapple with completely unfamiliar customs declarations and largely untested software.
   “During our lobbying of HMRC, we have encouraged them to think again. So, we are extremely pleased that our efforts have appeared to pay off, as we understand that instead of moving the industry en masse to the new system on July 1, a phased approach will be adopted.
   “That will mean communities will be able to migrate to the new system when they are satisfied that the new software is working properly and that staff have been properly trained and familiarized with the new procedures.
   “By allowing a phased transition, we believe that many difficulties will be avoided and the risk of failure greatly reduced,” MacSwiney said.