Certified Customs Clearance Agent Training

After five years of preparation, the Customs Declaration Service (CDS) has replaced the Customs Handling Imports and Export Freight (CHIEF) platform - replacing a paper based system with a digital platform.

Customs Agents will need to learn the CDS Data Elements and completion rules, which will completely replace the now obsolete Single Administrative Document SAD form or C88, the Electronic Accompanying document, EAD, and all the old reports such as the E2 or the S8.

More information

The Customs Clearance – Accredited Agent certification has been created by APMG International and ChamberCustoms®. ChamberCustoms is wholly owned by the British Chambers of Commerce and offers customs clearance, training and consultancy to help keep UK businesses compliant and efficient when trading internationally.

Their instructors are hands-on and have been involved in the CDS testing and development since its beginning, working closely with HMRC, software developers and CSPs.

They are proud to be known as CDS trailblazers, amongst the first agents in the UK to submit live import and export declarations on CDS.

Is it for me?

The 4-day CDS Customs Clearance Agent training course is designed specifically for customs agents who need to learn about completing import and export customs declarations in CDS.

There are no formal pre-requisites for the training course, however, we would suggest attendees have a general understanding of International Trade.

Training and certification program

The training is structured into Export and Import modules covering:

• Theory Framework of Customs Declarations

• A full explanation of all Data Elements of the CDS declaration

• Post clearance activities

• Export declaration demo and 4 in-class workshops

• Import declaration demo and 4 in-class workshops

It is structured interactively, with plenty of space for practical application. Candidates will have the opportunity to practice inputting declarations on the training system, working from set scenarios with the instructors’ support.

The customs declaration software grants candidates direct access to HMRC's Trader Dress Rehearsal service, presenting response messages in a simulated 'live' environment.

Although ChamberCustoms use commercial software in the training sessions, the course is agnostic to a specific supplier. Candidates will be able to use any commercially available software to file their declarations.

Learning outcomes

Successful candidates will be better prepared to:

• Understand the systems and actors involved in a Customs Declaration.

• Understand the different customs regimes.

• Apply the correct customs procedure to a given scenario.

• Understand the data element requirements in a customs declaration.

• Explain the impact of different representation types on the parties.

• Apply the correct tariff treatment to a given scenario.

• Use the tariff to understand the measures applicable to a commodity.

• Declare a measure on a declaration.

• File a customs declaration as per a given scenario.

• Amend incorrectly filed customs declarations.

Exam Format:

• 60 questions

• 90 minute exam

• Pass mark – 75% (45 marks)

• Open book