Research and analysis

Customs Declaration Service communications research

Research to understand customers’ views about transitioning from CHIEF to the new CDS system.

Documents

Details

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) introduced a new customs declaration system, Customs Declaration Service (CDS), to replace the existing Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight (CHIEF) service. CDS was introduced gradually between August 2018 and March 2019.

During the migration period, HMRC ran a communications campaign aimed at CHIEF users to raise awareness of the changes, provide reassurance of a smooth transition, and to inform them of any action they need to take to prepare for CDS.

This qualitative research study explored the views of existing CHIEF customers to help HMRC ensure a smooth transition to the new CDS system. The research was commissioned to Ipsos (formerly Ipsos MORI), and in total 50 telephone interviews with customers and third parties were conducted. This included: 25 with businesses and 25 with customs agents and freight forwarders (third parties.)

The research fieldwork took place in August and September 2018.

Updates to this page

Published 15 July 2025

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