HMRC has published information related to the Business Continuity Plan (BCP) in situations when ICS2 is unavailable

Members have asked for assurance, given the recent ICS2 system performance issues. Following feedback from the UK and Member States, the European Commission has revised their BCP and implemented an upgrade to its software to deal with outages.

• The EU has published BCPs for ICS2 – guidance on these can be found here. This includes information on how to interpret the EU’s ICS2 unavailability emails to economic operators and what to do when ICS2 is not working. The EU BCPs advise that:
  • In the event that ICS2 is unavailable, Economic Operators and Community System Providers should continue to send messages to the ICS2 service until it is available again. These messages will be queued until the system is restored.
  • If you cannot send messages to the ICS2 service during the outage, you should send an entry summary declaration retrospectively when the service is restored.

• HMRC is also developing robust Business Continuity Plans to support businesses:
  • You can find out about service availability and any issues affecting the Import Control System 2 (ICS2). In the event of an outage, this page will be updated with information about what steps you should take until the service is available again.
  • HMRC may also contact stakeholders to provide additional advice on the steps to take during the outage if required. To be added to the distribution list for ICS2 outage comms, you can contact customsliveoperations@hmrc.gov.uk.

• For those experiencing issues with ICS2:
  • TSS users should report these to the TSS help desk in the first instance on 0800 060 8888.
  • Businesses that don’t use TSS should report any ICS2 issues, including performance issues, to the icshelpdesk@hmrc.gov.uk (including MRNs and timestamps) so that a report can be raised with the EU on your behalf.
  • Anyone requiring urgent advice regarding an impending movement outside of office hours can contact the Customs & International Trade Helpline on 0300 322 9434.

In addition, please see the attached Member State fact sheet with the contact details for GB-EU issues.

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