External Temporary Storage Facilities (ETSF)
Reduce exposure to border delays and congestion by moving customs clearance away from the port and into your own approved ETSF.
Managing your ETSF with confidence
Reduce border delays and gain greater control over your supply chain by moving imported goods from the port to your approved inland ETSF for customs clearance.
More control and less disruption
- Reduce border delays
- Protect valuable and time sensitive goods
- Simplify customs processes
Simplify temporary storage and inland clearance
Temporary Storage
Hold eligible goods under temporary storage while completing the required customs formalities up to 90 days before they must be released to free circulation, placed under another customs procedure or re-exported.
Inventory Visibility
Detailed inventory visibility helps operators identify goods, manage movements, respond quickly when customs intervention is required and creates the records needed for customs control and audits.
Designed for road transport
Designed specifically for road movements and businesses involved in just-in-time delivery of goods such as fresh produce, parts for manufacturing and service, medicines, luxury and time sensitive goods and large groupage loads.
Valuable and sensitive goods
Move luxury goods, fine art, antiques and time sensitive cargo to a more controlled setting for storage, inspection and customs processing, giving customers greater confidence in how their goods are handled.
A smarter way to manage an ETSF
- Accurate inventory control – maintain a clear record of goods held under temporary storage
- Electronic customs connectivity - interface with HMRC’s Customs Declaration Service
- Improved operational efficiency - reduce manual processes involved in managing incoming road consignments
- Clear audit trail - Maintain the information needed to demonstrate control of goods under customs supervision.
External Temporary Storage Facility FAQ
An ETSF is a customs-approved inland warehouse or depot often located away from border ports or airports where goods can be stored temporarily before formal customs clearance. At these sites, customs declarations can be conducted quickly, which helps to avoid unnecessary delays.
Many operators are choosing to move clearances away from the border to their own inland facilities – an ETSF. The approval process for these sites requires an Inventory System to be in place. The Pentant ETSF system is uniquely truck-based, and a good fit for these operators.
An inventory site is a port, airport, inland clearance site or an ETSF where goods are managed through a customs inventory system. For sites operating the temporary storage model, an approved inventory-linked system is required to record and track goods while they remain under customs control.
The process is broadly the same across inventory-linked ports, airports, clearance sites and temporary storage facilities, and can be summarised in three steps:
- Create the inventory record: An inventory record is created for each expected consignment, with declarations able to be pre-lodged through the CSP inventory system. This can be done manually or using software.
- Arrival of the goods: When the goods arrive, the shed operator records their arrival in the inventory system. The system then updates CDS with the relevant customs entries.
- Clear and release the goods: Once the customs declaration has been cleared through CDS, the inventory system receives the release message, and the goods can be released. A gate pass or removal authorisation can then be issued where required.
A community service provider (CSP) is a company that provides the inventory system used to manage and track goods moving through an inventory-linked customs site, such as a port, airport or temporary storage facility.
Community service providers provide unique codes to traders or agents, who then submit applications to CDS. The unique code acts as an identifier and, upon approval from CDS, the connection is estabished, and the individual or entity is officially recognised within the system.
Paid CSP: A paid CSP provides a more managed service, including connection management, 18 monthly badge renewals and direct support if issues arise. CSPs have privileged access to CDS and most agreements include defined service levels, helping reduce the risk of disruption to operations.
Free option: The free option can reduce costs, but businesses take greater responsibiltiy for manageing their own connection and renewal, with less immediate support available if problems occur.
Why Descartes?
Descartes is an approved Community Service Provider, with an accredited interface to HMRC’s Customs Declaration Service, specifically developed for road transport operations into inland temporary storage facilities across the UK.
Compliance Filings per Year
Control of Compliance Operations
Customers in Europe
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