Having accepted declaration data, CHIEF and the inventory system that is managing the physical movement of the goods communicate (without involving the trader).
Traditionally the reports are automatically printed onto paper at the trader's office, although this is slowly being replaced by entirely electronic storage.
The EU-wide export control system is an arrangement for sharing movement and security and safety data among member states.
Since 1 July 2009, CHIEF sends movement data to ECS but only when box 29, the office of exit, has been completed by the trader.
The objectives of this are to meet HMRC's obligations to have a service-oriented architecture for its applications, to incorporate TARIC 3 specifications and to allow for easier enhancements and changes.
According to the HMRC website:[2] Within the term of the current contract with Capgemini to run the CHIEF (Customs Handling of Import & Export Freight) service from 2010 to 2015, is a requirement for CHIEF to be replatformed to replace the outdated COBOL and VME-based existing system, with a Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) design, which will allow integration with other CSTP and other HMRC business processes.
Once delivered, CHIEF STE will provide a more agile solution, making future business changes easier to accommodate, whilst retaining existing response times and availability.In January 2012, when asked how the department is progressing with the delivery of CHIEF STE, HMRC [3] stated that "HMRC continues to work with Capgemini to establish a way forward, gather requirements and re-plan the delivery.
In March 2012, HMRC stated [4] "it was likely that the CHIEF rewrite project (Strategic Technical Enhancement - STE) would now be put out to tender under a new contract following negotiations with Cap Gemini.
The minutes of the JCCC Customs Change Sub Group Meeting in June 2013 state:[6] Guy Westhead introduced himself to the CCG.
Guy has been appointed as the new Programme Director for the CHIEF replacement project taking over the role from Stella Jarvis.
Any retender will be by Lean Open Procurement, following advice from the Cabinet Office, who will set strict rules on information sharing and timelines to be adhered to.
Ultimately a decision was made by HMRC to remove the name CHIEF from its successor, to reflect that it would be a new ground-up project.
CDS will comprise the core IBM product, also used in the Netherlands, highly adapted to allow the continued use of some of the same concepts used under CHIEF.
The release of CDS is phased, with the first stage going live in August 2018 for a limited number of traders and a very niche set of business scenarios.