The Institute of Export and International Trade’s (IOE&IT’s) senior trade and customs specialist Anna Doherty has been elected as industry chair of the Joint Customs Consultative Committee (JCCC).
The JCCC
The JCCC is sponsored by HMRC and is designed to enable discussion on customs procedures as well as documentation on goods and clearance.
Over 40 organisations – including IOE&IT – are represented at the committee as members. HMRC describe it as “the main forum for the department to consult trade on imports and exports”.
‘An important forum’
Speaking to the IOE&IT Daily Update, Doherty said that she is “very much looking forward to taking on the role of industry chair”.
“JCCC is an important forum where trade and cross-border industry can provide their views and input to HMRC around any border and customs issues, [as well as] feedback and suggestions on practical implementations.”
She co-chaired her first in-person meeting yesterday alongside the chair of HMRC (24 October).
She added that she is hoping in her new role to “facilitate conversation between members”, alongside pitching their “views and concerns” in collaboration with HMRC.
HMRC said of Doherty's election:
“We welcome Anna as the new industry chair for the JCCC.
“We look forward to collaborating closely with her and maintaining our strong working relationship with IOE&IT through involvement in JCCC and as valued industry stakeholders.”
Consultation
Member organisations of the JCCC consult their own members before relaying their views to the committee, and passing on key messages from its meetings back to members.
This information is used for departmental decision-making, including its decision to move the 30 November 2023 deadline for migration from the Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight (CHIEF) to the Customs Declaration Service (CDS) for export declarations back to 30 March 2024.
The CDS has been among the focuses of the committee in recent times, but it has also looked at the border target operating model (BTOM), ecosystem of trust pilots and other themes, including a customs simplification consultation from HMRC.
It has been running since 1969.