TRE Reports: What UK Traders can Learn from Their CDS Declaration Data

HMRC’s Trade Reporting and Extracting service, often called TRE, is now live.

The service allows UK importers and exporters to download their CDS declaration data directly through the Government Gateway. The reports are free and data can be extracted going back up to four years.

TRE makes it easier for traders to access their CDS declaration data directly from HMRC. That alone makes it useful, but the real value appears when companies start looking at the data in more detail.

What typically appears in TRE reports

When companies review declaration data at item level, certain patterns tend to show up quickly.

For example:

• Errors in commodity codes or customs procedure codes
• Missing supporting declaration documents
• Differences in how customs brokers complete declarations
• Duty or import VAT amounts that deserve a closer look

None of this is unusual. Customs declarations contain a large amount of data and most companies rely on several systems, partners and customs brokers. TRE simply makes the data easier to access.

Learn more about the TRE reports and how to access them at gov.uk: Get customs data for import and export declarations.

Access to customs data is becoming easier

The introduction of TRE is part of a broader shift in customs administration. Authorities are making more declaration data available directly to traders. At the same time, expectations around internal control and audit readiness are increasing.

Once the data is accessible, companies are also expected to understand what it shows. That means looking beyond individual declarations and identifying patterns across imports and exports over time.

Using TRE reports together with Emma Compliance

In Emma Compliance, TRE reports can be uploaded and compared with the customs declarations and supporting documents stored in the platform.

This makes it possible to compare the declarations recorded by HMRC in CDS with the declarations and documentation held internally.

In practice, this helps verify that:

• All declarations are accounted for
• Supporting declaration documents are available
• The data submitted to HMRC matches your records

TRE reports can therefore be used alongside the real time declaration monitoring already available in Emma Compliance.