Jo Cloherty, Senior Commercial Manager at Customs Support Group, explores the 2025 Safety and Security Protocols that have come into force at the border with Europe
The UK’s safety and security have dominated recent headlines as seismic global events have unfolded. Geopolitical instability has driven insecurity and insularity, creating a febrile atmosphere of tension with many territories reviewing their defence spending and border protocols.
Completely surrounded by water, the UK has existentially viewed itself as an island race punching above its weight, both in terms of its territorial and trade reach and possessing the confidence to project and protect itself.
It means knowing what crosses our borders in terms of legal or illegal items has never been more critical to our safety as a nation. Since Brexit, the UK can no longer count on being part of the EU’s Safety and Security Zone, allowing all goods to pass across European borders without verifying their risk.
Now, all goods travelling between the UK and Europe must be accompanied by a new Safety and Security Declaration (S&SD), a requirement which enables border control to detect high harm items and facilitate the flow of legitimate traffic. This supports the fight against illicit goods such as illegal drugs and weapons and will help ensure interventions at the border are based on risk.
Failure to comply can lead to significant delays, fines and disruptions to supply chains. The responsibility for the S&SD falls on the carrier to ensure digital paperwork is in order, to guarantee a frictionless movement without costly delays.
This change has been a long time in the making. Goods from the EU were initially exempt from controls until July 1, 2021. This was extended to January 1, 2022, then to October 31, 2024. Following a further temporary waiver, the new Safety and Security Declarations (S&SD) finally came into force on January 31, 2025.
Because of the ever-shifting deadline, businesses have had time to consider their options. We have long advised customers and prospects to review and update their existing systems to ensure they can handle the new requirements, as well as considering working with technology providers or customs experts to streamline their operations.
Most importantly, we encouraged dedicated expertise, people within their organisation or third-party specialists to regularly consult government guidance and industry resources to stay updated on any changes or additional requirements.
We have also been at pains to point out that the new S&SD need not be seen as an additional process, if companies bolt on the new regulation element to their existing centralised date exchanges to ensure ongoing compliance.
It is now essential for hauliers or freight forwarders to follow the example set by short sea maritime carriers, to have the right systems and processes in place to meet these requirements efficiently and accurately. As the movers of the goods, it is their responsibility to provide the S&SD.
In addition, the owner of those goods needs to confirm the third party they have engaged has provided the S&SD, to ensure the free flow of trade between the UK and Europe.
Since October last year, HMRC and Border Force have been supporting carriers to prepare for the change, along with industry bodies such as the Chartered Institute of Export and International Trade.
This includes the 20 mandatory fields which must be completed – from reference numbers, routing codes, the nature of the item and its size, to whom it has been sent and by when, as well as the mode of transport and its due date of delivery.
Working for a business specialising in On-Time Delivery (OTD) with efficient customs processes, I understand time is money and that optimising customs procedures helps businesses meet delivery deadlines, boosting customer trust, loyalty, cost-efficiency and legal compliance while enhancing logistics and partnerships.
We have been working with businesses to ensure they have understood the requirements, helping signpost them to assistance such as the UK Government, which has been engaging with a range of border industry stakeholders in the UK and the EU.
That advice has included early submissions to avoid any last-minute panics and encouraging businesses to collaborate with all supply chain partners to ensure everyone understands their obligations.
Over the next few months, we will know the impact of the declarations on trade and our all-important GDP. There will inevitably be teething problems, but help is at hand and there is even a conciliatory light-touch pledge from the UK Government to take a ‘supportive approach’ and work with carriers to deliver.
Moving freight is a risky business. Moving potentially hazardous product is an even riskier and costlier proposition if your papers are not in order at the border, particularly if they are stopped in their tracks or seized as a result of a foreseeable sea change – one that has been looming on the horizon for the last four years.
