Research and analysis

Customs intermediaries wave 7: executive summary (2022-2023)

Updated 15 July 2025

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This report was commissioned under the Conservative administration (2010 to 2024), and conducted between 2022 and 2023.

1. Background and methodology

This report presents findings from the seventh wave of research with customs intermediaries, conducted on behalf of HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). The seventh wave was commissioned as a supplementary wave following wave 6 of research. Wave 7 was commissioned to specifically focus on better understanding intermediaries鈥� experiences of changing customs procedures and onboarding to HMRC systems, pricing of services, and perceptions of quality, training and education across the sector. For findings covering a broader set of themes within the intermediary sector, please refer to prior reports.

The Wave 7 survey took place between 14 November 2022 and 11 January 2023. In total, 369 interviews were conducted with intermediaries and all had taken part in previous waves of this research. A qualitative phase was undertaken between 23 January and 1 February 2023, comprising depth interviews with 15 intermediaries that had participated in the survey. The findings presented in this report were correct at the time of the research but may not reflect the situation at the current time.

2. Key findings

  • access to the CDS system has grown significantly, with around 7 in 10 (68%) customs intermediaries now having access to CDS, compared to 5 in 10 (50%) at Wave 6.

  • more than three-quarters of customs intermediaries said they felt confident about the transition (79%) and intended to increase their usage of the CDS (77%). This has continued to climb since Wave 6, where both these figures were 72%.

  • a set of pricing scenarios confirmed that the cost for completing different declarations were in line with previous research findings, with full import declarations continuing to have the highest average cost compared to full export declarations and safety and security ENS.

  • training opportunities across the sector are generally seen to be good quality. However, there is still demand for higher quality training, as well as step-by-step guidance for transitioning to CDS and a HMRC helpline to get quicker responses to queries.

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