From July 2021, we are introducing mandatory changes to our Transit process on our North Sea routes, which will improve the current process by reducing the amount of paperwork.
If you currently ship goods with P&O Ferries under ‘Transit’ from Zeebrugge or Europoort, to Hull, Teesport or Tilbury, the new pre-lodgement process will apply. This relates to both Driver Accompanied (SDV) and Un-accompanied bookings.
WHAT WILL YOU HAVE TO DO?
You will need to obtain a Goods Movement Record (GMR) from the GVMS system to move your goods via Transit from Europoort & Zeebrugge for shipment to our UK ports of Hull, Tilbury and Teesport.
Your Transit MRNs will need to be linked together within the single Goods Movement Record (GMR).
Each GMR contains details for a single crossing and can be used only once.
STEP BY STEP GUIDE TO THE PROCESS
Before arrival at the EU Port
- Create a GMR and link the unique references for all transit declarations in the GVMS system
- Send P&O the GMRid (Goods Movement Reference) and confirm customs status using the P&O Freight Portal prior to sending your vehicle to the port. Instructions on how to do this can be found on the portal on the link above. (EDI customers can do this through EDI).
- Ensure your driver has copy of the GMRid and Transit Accompanying Document (TAD) on arrival at the terminal, where they will be required to present it to gate staff in either Europoort or Zeebrugge
On arrival at EU port
On arrival at the port, the GMRid will be validated at the entry gate, and if successful, the vehicle will be given permission to board by HMRC and will be checked-in for shipment by P&O.
Note – the vehicle details entered in the GVMS system must be the same as the vehicle which arrives at the port, or the GMR will not be able to be validated. For Self-Drive this is the Vehicle Registration (cab/plate number), for Unaccompanied this will be the Trailer Id or Container Id.
Vehicles which cannot be successfully validated will not be able to board and may be refused entry to the terminal.
To help avoid validation issues at the port please verify the GMRid on the portal, this will check that everything is in order and that validation will be successful when it arrives.
Upon arrival at the UK Port
During the crossing the HMRC risk assessment will be completed and GVMS will be updated with a Free to Proceed or Hold message. Destin8 will be updated to show a Release Note when GVMS provides a Free to Proceed message. Customers are able to view the status of the GMR via the same method it was created. Vehicles/units without a release note will not be able to leave the terminal.
Through-Transit bookings will no longer need to have Office of Transit activities completed by Border Force at the arrival port (unless they are selected for inspection/document inspection). These are EX status in Destin8.
Vehicles that disembark with goods with Office of Destination (OoD) Tilbury, Hull or Teesport will still be required to complete Transit (OoD) formalities before they leave the port under T1 status.
Any units which are carrying a mix of Transit goods, or Transit and non-Transit goods will only be cleared to leave the port when all of the formalities for the whole unit are completed.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
All of the abbreviations and terms used above have become commonplace in our sector since the Brexit requirements went live in January. However, if you require more guidance please refer to our Brexit Help Centre, our step by step guides for all of our routes and our Brexit glossary.
For more detailed guidance about GVMS, GMRid and to register, please visit www.gov.uk/guidance/register-for-the-goods-vehicle-movement-service.
If you do not currently have a P&O Freight Portal account, you can register for one by contacting us on FreightSupport@POferries.com. This account will be required for shipment if you are not an EDI user.
