Shipping yard

Sir, Your article on AEOs (10 November) correctly states they are not the golden ticket that will somehow allow trucks to bypass any queues.

For importers looking at how to maintain EU flows similar to today, Customs Freight Simplified Procedure is far more relevant. CFSP is hardly new, yet few have heard of it or are aware of its significance. This is an oversight.

There are more than 50 million non-EU customs entries today. The vast majority of these are done via CFSP, with garment importers, parcel carriers and e-commerce traders in particular using it extensively.

In practice, it works a little like Intrastat. Import vehicles only require a simplified frontier declaration - a promise to do an entry later, if you like. The final, consolidated, customs declaration does not have to be in until the fourth working day of the next month.

We often say AEO is for the finance director and CFSP is for the supply chain director. CFSP is slick, it works and it’s available today.

Robert Hardy is commercial director of Oakland Invicta and will be a panellist at our Brexit webinar on 29 November. To find out more, visit thegrocer.co.uk/reports/webinars

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