Customs has announced that the pilot phase for DMS imports cannot start. The main reason being that an underlying system that reports to the Commission in Brussels is not completed. The system will not be operational until mid-September. Efforts to create an interim solution have not been successful.

https://www.belastingdienst.nl/wps/wcm/connect/bldcontentnl/berichten/nieuws/douane/planning-aansluiting-op-dms-4-0-gewijzigd

What does this mean in practice?

Firstly, that the rollout of phase 1 will be postponed until September. An exact schedule for this will be published by Customs.

Secondly, this could mean that Customs will try to merge different phases of the rollout, which may mean that several of the declaration flows will go live at the same time.

Thirdly, this does not mean that the end date of the whole project will be pushed back; be alert to publications about this.

In the meantime?

Stream Software will continue testing on the Customs systems for the time being to ensure that you can make the transition from AGS to DMS as smoothly as possible, at a later date. At this moment the test systems of Customs are not yet complete and it is difficult to complete test scenarios. For the time being, Customs' testing capabilities are limited to imports only, so as for now we cannot comment about the phases of DMS that will follow later this year.

If there is any news, you will of course hear from us again!