This video shows a Customs agent how to complete or update declarations and/or payments on behalf of the trader they represent.
Note: This video recording is accurate at the time of recording, however please refer to the written guidance on NICTA for the most up to date information.
Transcript of this video:
00:00 – Welcome to this overview of the agent and intermediary functionality available on the Trader Support Service, which allows traders to authorise a customs agent and intermediary to represent them, to submit declarations, and facilitate payments on their behalf. This video is for customs agents and intermediaries and will show you how to submit declarations and facilitate payments on behalf of a trader and raise and handle cases on the Trader Support Service portal. Log into your account on the Trader Support Service portal and select your username on the top right of the banner. From the selection list, click on Represent a Trader. A pop-up window will appear asking you to select the specific trader from those you are authorised to represent. Once selected, click on the Okay button, and a red banner appears at the top of the window, stating that you are now providing direct representation to the selected trader. Whilst in this direct representation mode on the Trader Support Service portal, your account will mimic the trader’s. Please note that you will be restricted from accessing some of the information and pages on the Trader Support Service portal such as their NI to GB movements, cases other than those that you have raised on their behalf, subsidies, and company profile page. You can still view some of their company information on a read-only basis via your account.
01:32 – Both you and the trader must familiarise yourself with and adhere to the Trader Support Service terms and conditions, and a commercial agreement must be in place between both parties. If at any point you would like to end your session in direct representation mode on the Trader Support Service portal and return to your own customs agent account, click on your username in the top righthand corner and select Stop Representing. Please note, this just ends your direct representation mode in the current session of the Trader Support Service portal. When not in direct representation mode for a trader, you are able to complete your own declarations and payments. As a customs agent in direct representation mode, you can complete any declaration type that is supported by the Trader Support Service except Northern Ireland to GB moves. Please note, while representing a trader, the Trader Support Service terms and conditions always apply.
02:34 – Whilst in direct representation mode with the red banner showing, you have read and write access to that organisation’s declarations as if you are a member of the trader’s company. Click on Declarations at the top of the screen to view and filter their declarations. Where applicable, you will be able to edit the trader’s previous and ongoing open declarations. All data fields will appear to you as they would for the trader. To start a new declaration for this trader, navigate to the Trader Support Service home page and select Start a Declaration. You will now be able to complete declarations for the trader through the normal process. Further information on how to create and submit declarations is available in the associated user and data guides or videos on the Northern Ireland Customs and Trade Academy website. Please note, declarations you create will include your name as the submitter for those declarations. Please ensure you monitor your Trader Support Service portal notifications regularly to ensure all declarations are edited and submitted on time for all traders that you represent.
03:47 – As a customs agent, you can also complete payments on behalf of traders you represent. Please note, you must have a commercial agreement in place with your trader, which grants you authorisation to use their DDA where applicable and other methods of payment. You must use these in accordance with the commercial agreement, which should include any repayment terms between you and the trader if applicable. You can submit the declarations in the normal way, and all data entry fields will appear to you in the same way they would for the trader. All payment methods that the trader has at their disposal for this full frontier declaration will also be available for you to select. If the trader has a DDA that you wish to use, select Deferred Payment from the method of payment dropdown list. The relevant DDA details will be auto-populated from that trader’s company profile. If the trader does not have a DDA, or they have not updated their company profile correctly, card payment through TSS will be used as default, but only for pre-lodged full frontier declarations where the goods are being moved by roll-on, roll-off ferry and supplementary declarations only. The relevant account details will be auto-populated into these instead.
05:06 – If you are moving goods through a maritime inventory linked location, you will need to use this company’s DDA, CDS cash account, or make immediate payment by electronic transfer. If you have set up your own DDA or CDS cash account to make payment beyond those trader methods of payments just mentioned, you’ll be able to select from deferred payment agent DDA or CDS cash account agent. Please refer to appendix two of the How to Make Your Duty Payment Guide and the payments video on the Northern Ireland Customs and Trade Academy website for information about how to successfully set up and use your own DDA or CDS cash account to make payments. You also need to have granted a standing authority for the Trader Support Service to use your DDA or CDSS cash account on the HMRC CDS dashboard.
06:02 – To view declarations awaiting payment, navigate to Declarations in the banner and select Pending Payment Full Frontier Declarations. Select the link to open the full frontier declaration. The method of payment will be presented on the page here as read only, and the summary details for the payments will be presented at the bottom of the page. If an adjustment is required to the method of payment, you would need to recall to draft and resubmit the declaration. To make a payment for a declaration pending payment, you can either click on Pay Now from the full frontier declaration form or select Payments in the banner. In the Declarations Pending Payment section, use the checkbox to select the declarations you wish to pay and select the Pay Now button. Here, you’ll be able to input the relevant details to facilitate the payment for the trader that you are representing. Under the Completed Declarations Payment section, you’ll be able to view a list of the payment records for the trader you are currently representing. If you have been deauthorised from representing a trader, and you wish you see details of any payments you have previously made on that trader’s behalf, you will need to raise a case via the Trader Support Service portal on your customs agent account or through the TSS contact center.
07:34 – As a customs agent, the Trader Support Service provides functionality that allows you to raise and handle declaration cases on behalf of the traders you represent. You will not be able to see your traders’ previous or ongoing cases unless it is a case that you have raised on their behalf or it relates to a declaration that you submitted for them. If you would like to raise a case for one of your traders against a declaration that you have submitted for them, you must first be in direct representation mode for that trader. Thereafter, you can raise a case in the same process as a trader would, adding the case details to the comments and then selecting submit. The case will be raised in your account and will only be visible to you and not the trader. If a case is raised against a declaration with input required, and the declaration was submitted by you on behalf of a trader, the case will be tracked against your agent account. If you raise a case against one of your company’s own declarations, the case will only be visible to contacts for that account. If a trader removes your authorisation to represent them on the Trader Support Service, all open cases relating to declarations that you completed on that trader’s behalf will be automatically transferred to the trader’s account. The trader will then be responsible for all the declarations and cases on their account. Select the case number to open the case. Add the details of the message here, and then select send to send any communications back to the Trader Support Service contact center team.
09:13 – That concludes this video demonstrating the new agents and intermediary functionality for how to view, create, and submit declarations as well as create cases when in direct representation mode on behalf of a trader. For more information, view the data and user guides or videos on the Northern Ireland Customs and Trade Academy website or refer to the agents and intermediaries handbook.