CDS Exports - MUCR Guidance

Take action now to ensure your exports pass through the border smoothly

HMRC has issued best practice guidance for MUCRs; a summary of the guidance is detailed below. Following this will help to ensure unnecessary delays for your goods at the border are avoided, and will allow continued preparations for supporting your move to CDS.

What do I need to do?

If you are involved in the exports supply chain and are responsible for customs export formalities, please be aware of the following:

• A MUCR should be finalised and closed before arrival at the UK border.
• If your shipment is being exported via a maritime port or Designated Export Place (DEP) where an inventory system is in use (e.g. Destin8), and you are currently providing a MUCR reference to the carrier or DEP operator ahead of creating the consolidation on CHIEF:

   you should not provide the MUCR until it has been finalised and closed.

• For export arrivals at maritime ports where an inventory system is in use (e.g. Destin8), avoid creating a MUCR with a single Declaration Unique Consignment Reference (DUCR) and use the DUCR as a reference instead.
• Your MUCR must contain only one hyphen. If you use a MUCR format with more than one hyphen included, you may encounter delays.
• Arrive your shipment at the UK border in a timely manner.

The above should continue to be observed once you have migrated to CDS. The full HMRC guidance can be found here.

 MCP plc - 8 December 2023