ENS/GMR before departure: missing GVMS data from carrier

This is an illustrative scenario showing a typical problem and the data needed to solve it. It does not describe the result of a specific client case.

Industry / goods

E-commerce / groupage — several consignments from different senders on one lorry.

Route

Poland → Great Britain, roll-on roll-off through a port that uses GVMS.

Problem

The driver is about to depart, but the haulier does not yet have the declaration references for every consignment on the lorry, so the GMR cannot be completed. GOV.UK guidance says the GMR must include declaration references for all goods carried and must be presented at the port of departure.

What needs to be done

1. Collect the commercial data for each consignment (invoice, packing list, consignor and consignee, GB EORI of the importer).
2. Make the UK import declaration in the Customs Declaration Service (CDS) for each consignment, which produces an import MRN — or, if the goods travel under T1 transit, use the NCTS transit MRN instead (import references are then not entered in the GMR).
3. Make sure the ENS is submitted before arrival — the carrier is responsible, even if a customs agent submits it.
4. The haulier enters the vehicle registration and all declaration references in the GMR, and the driver presents it at the port of departure.

Checklist: data to prepare before departure

• Vehicle registration number (accompanied movement) or trailer or container number (unaccompanied movement).
• Declaration references for every consignment — import MRN from CDS, or the NCTS transit MRN for goods under the Common Transit Convention, or ATA/TIR carnet references.
• ENS data — transport and commercial documents (CMR, invoice), where the goods come from, who sends and receives them, and where and when they will arrive in Great Britain, including the S&S GB location code for the port of entry.
• Crossing details agreed with the carrier, so the GMR can be presented at the port of departure.