Customs abbreviations glossary: CDS, GMR, GVMS, T1, EORI and the rest of the border alphabet

Customs abbreviations are the alphabet of the border: CDS is the British declaration system, GVMS manages ferry traffic, GMR bundles declarations into one movement, T1 is transit, EORI identifies the company and MRN is the number of each declaration. Below we define the key abbreviations that appear in transport to the United Kingdom and inside the Union, grouped into systems, documents and procedures.

The Polish-language version of this article is the reference one. This is an informational translation.

IT systems

• CDS (Customs Declaration Service): the British system for handling customs declarations on import and export. It replaced the older CHIEF system, which the British administration phased out in stages; today declarations to GB are lodged in CDS.
• CHIEF (Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight): the previous British customs system, withdrawn in favour of CDS. The name still appears in older guides, but no new declarations are made in it.
• GVMS (Goods Vehicle Movement Service): the British system for managing vehicle movements across the border under the pre-lodgement model. It is where a GMR is created and declaration numbers are linked to it.
• AES / AIS (Automated Export/Import System): the EU systems for handling export and import declarations, rolled out across member states in place of older national solutions. In Poland the declarations are handled by the PUESC platform.
• NCTS (New Computerised Transit System): the common system for handling transit, where T1 and T2 declarations are created.
• ICS2 (Import Control System 2): the EU system for receiving ENS safety declarations before goods are brought into the EU customs territory.

Numbers and documents

• EORI (Economic Operators Registration and Identification): the EU number identifying operators in customs trade; for trade with the United Kingdom a separate EORI number with the GB prefix is needed. We write more about it in the article on the EORI number, what it is and how to get one.
• MRN (Movement Reference Number): the unique number assigned to every accepted customs or transit declaration. It identifies the declaration in the system and is entered into the GMR.
• LRN (Local Reference Number): a local number by which the declarant marks a declaration before the MRN is assigned.
• GMR (Goods Movement Reference): the British goods movement number created in GVMS, which gathers the declarations for the whole shipment on a single vehicle. Without a valid GMR the vehicle cannot board the ferry or the Eurotunnel; we describe it in the article on ELO, ENS, GMR, what and when.
• ENS (Entry Summary Declaration): the entry summary declaration lodged for safety reasons before goods are brought in; details in the article on safety and security ENS declarations.
• EX / EAD (Export Declaration / Export Accompanying Document): EX is the export declaration, and EAD is the accompanying export document with the MRN that travels with the load.
• C88 / SAD (Single Administrative Document): the single administrative document, the classic customs declaration form; in the United Kingdom it was known under the code C88.
• TAD (Transit Accompanying Document): the document accompanying transit, printed after a T1 or T2 procedure is opened, which travels with the vehicle.

Procedures and transit statuses

• T1: an external transit declaration for non-Union goods or goods carried through a third country without paying duties on the way. On the landbridge through Great Britain Union goods travel exactly on a T1.
• T2: an internal transit declaration for goods with Union status carried through certain territories.
• EIDR (Entry in the Declarant's Records): a British simplified procedure where the declaration is made by an entry in the declarant's records, without a full declaration at the moment of crossing the border.
• CFSP (Customs Freight Simplified Procedures): the British set of simplified import procedures, streamlining the handling of repeat shipments.
• Regime 42: the EU import procedure with deferred VAT on an intra-Community supply; we describe it in the article on regime 42, EU import clearance.

Classification, origin and carnets

• HS (Harmonized System): the international six-digit system for designating goods, the shared basis of customs tariffs worldwide.
• CN (Combined Nomenclature): the EU combined nomenclature extending HS to eight digits for the tariff and statistics; how to read it is explained in the article on the customs tariff code CN and HS.
• EUR.1: a movement certificate confirming the preferential origin of goods, thanks to which, if the origin rules are met, the duty can be zero.
• REX (Registered Exporter system): the EU system for registering exporters, in which an authorised operator certifies the origin of goods itself with a statement on the invoice, instead of applying for a EUR.1.
• ATA (Admission Temporaire / Temporary Admission): the ATA carnet is an international document for the temporary export of goods, for example to trade fairs, without paying duties in the destination country. It helps with exporting goods to trade fairs in London after Brexit.

Why know all this

The stake of a mistake is measurable: a wrong CN code means a miscalculated duty and a correction, a missing GMR means the vehicle turned back from the port, and an expired transit MRN means stranding at the border. We run these abbreviations for the client within our customs clearance service, but it helps when the other side understands what the agent's email is about.

Sources

• GOV.UK: Customs Declaration Service (CDS)
• GOV.UK: Goods Vehicle Movement Service (GVMS, GMR)
• European Commission: customs transit (T1, T2, NCTS)
• European Commission: the EORI number
• ICC: the ATA carnet (temporary export of goods)

Lost in the abbreviations on the transport documents? Describe the shipment in the contact form and we will translate the alphabet of the border into concrete declarations for your transport.