Geest Line, based in Whitely, near Portsmouth, has since submitted many more ICS declarations using NetFreight, enabling those of its customers who do not currently have the facility to comply with the new regulations governing all shipments terminating in, or transiting, the EU area.
Says Geest Line IT manager Terry Gates: 'We were very happy to be the first Impatex customer to use the new ICS facility. It all went very smoothly, thanks to the speed and efficiency of their support staff. We are now ahead of the game, and able to offer our customers an important new service.'
Meanwhile other Impatex customers are also starting to use the ICS facility in NetFreight. Says Impatex MD Peter Day: 'Although HMRC has said it will be lenient about the use of ICS for the next two months, we are actively encouraging our customers to adopt ICS now, rather than leaving it to the last minute.
'The whole process is going very smoothly, thanks particularly to the hard work of our' NetFreight Development Manager Evgeni Pantchev and Graham Kirby on our Help Desk. There have been just a few teething problems caused by customers not entering the EORI (Economic Operator Registration and Identification) number for the carrier, which is mandatory.'
Impatex staff are now touring the company's growing US customer base to upgrade their systems with the ICS facility. As airlines and shipping lines in the USA are typically charging US$11-20 per shipment for ICS declarations, the NetFreight ICS facility is set to save its customers a considerable sum.
Impatex has also added ICS functionality to its Integrated Customs for Europe (ICE) software aimed at the larger major multi-national forwarders.
