Webinar: preparing for the next phase of the Trader Support Service - 19 May 2026
Recording of a webinar where we shared an update on the next phase of TSS and what users can expect from TSS, as well as taking questions from participants.
Preparing for the next phase of the Trader Support Service (TSS)
Transcript
William Barns-Graham
Good afternoon everyone and thank you for joining us today for this webinar about preparing for the next phase of the trader support service, which is being hosted by the Chartered Institute of Export and International Trade on behalf of Netcompany. Netcompany being the company delivering the next phase of the trader support service on behalf of HMRC. My name is William Barns-Graham, the head of content at the Chartered Institute and I will be your host today. And on the next slide. There I am, yeah. I'm going to be, I am, so yes, sorry, I lost my place on the script. So yeah, I'm Will Barns-Graham, I've been Head of Content at Charter Institute for a number of years. I've hosted lots of trade-focused webinars in that time, so hopefully you're in safe hands today. Just to let you know, this webinar is about understanding what's changing, what's staying the same, and how businesses should prepare for the next phase of a trader support service, which we're now shortened to TSS. We will be running for approximately 45 minutes and we'll be including a live Q&A at the end. Please make sure to submit questions via the Q&A function in Teams rather than the chat room as we are only going to be reviewing questions submitted in the Q&A section. Please also note we have limited time today so we won't necessarily be going and be able to get to all of your questions and we will only be answering questions that are relevant to today's topic which is preparing for the next phase of TSS. If we don't get to your question and it is relevant to the topic, we would like to factor your questions into our future content development and communications. The session is also being recorded and will be shared afterwards. Let me quickly walk you through today's agenda. As you can see on the slide, there will be an HMRC update on the next phase of TSS first before an introduction to Net Company, which is delivering this next phase. There will then be a presentation from the Chartered Institute on what users can expect from TSS. before some time for your questions. And the overall aim for this agenda will be to build a clear picture of what the transition will mean for you in practice. Now on the next slide, I'm pleased to be able to be joined by three excellent speakers today. Simon Pettigrew, the head of strategy and stakeholder engagement for NI Customs at HMRC, Navar Faek, Partner and Head of HMRC Engagement at Netcompany, and Kevin Shakespeare, Director at the Chartered Institute of Export and International Trade. Without further ado, on the next slide, though, I'd now like to hand over to Simon from HMRC to provide an update on the next phase of joint support service. Over to you, Simon.
Simon Pettigrew
Thank you, Will, and good afternoon, everyone. Thank you very much for taking the time to join us today. A quick update for me before we get into the main content of the agenda. As you all will no doubt be aware, the Trader Support Service was set up in 2021 to support the continued movement of goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland following the implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol and that has continued since then to continue to support the movement of goods under the Windsor framework. The I think if we can move on just to the next slide, sorry, the then the Trader Support Service continues to be a key part of that government support to continuing the smooth flow of goods within the UK's internal market. As you'll also be aware, last year HMRC ran a procurement exercise for the supplier of the next phase of the Trader Support Service. And on the 17th of December last year, we confirmed that Net Company were selected to deliver that phase. That is what we're aiming to sort of talk through more today in terms of what that transition will look like and make sure everyone's aware of who Net Company are and what the plans for that transition are. I think the important thing to note is that there is no immediate changes to the current service for the trader support service so businesses can continue using the current service to move goods into Northern Ireland and there is no change to do so, no changes required to do so now. Where changes are required, HMRC and net company will make sure businesses have adequate notice to ensure they know what actions they need to take and allow them to do so when we need to move to the new service in due course. I think important to note that we and HMRC are working very closely with both the current provider and net company to ensure a smooth transition to the new service over the course of this year. If we can move on just to the next slide. So as I said, today we're going to be hearing a bit more from colleagues involved in the next phase of the trader support service from net company outlining the plans for the next phase. and timelines from transition from the current service to the new service. I think important to note there are a programme of ongoing communications and engagement throughout this year. This has been the first webinar that we are looking to run. We'll be using sort of various routes to communicate with yourselves as users of the Trader Support Service, including the current TSS bulletin and other sort of engagements. So I would really encourage people to Make sure you're both looking out for that and taking note of any comms that do come out in case there are any important actions noted within that you have to take. You may also note some communications coming from net company directly. I want to reassure that these are legitimate comms and please do sort of action anything that comes directly from net company in relation to the new service as well. You'll hear a little bit more today as well about opportunities to be involved in the development and the testing of the next phase of the service. So if you are interested in that, please do make sure that you sign up for that. A number of users have already signed up and have already given us some really good insights. So we're looking to continue on with that and make sure we are hearing from users on how that can be the next phase can be developed. As I say, there is no current changes to the provider that's running the current service. So one thing I would really want to note is if you do have any questions in relation to live goods movements or anything you have in terms of ensuring you're sort of complying with the customs processes at present, then please do make sure that you use the existing channels to speak with the trader support service. They are still in place and they will be able to make sure that they give you the adequate support. to follow those arrangements for moving the goods into Northern Ireland. If there are broader questions that you would like answered, you can also contact myself and my team in HMRC. Our mailbox is on the slide there. But I said if you do have any questions, very happy for anyone to contact us directly. I think, well, I am passing back to yourself just now.
William Barns-Graham
Brilliant. Thank you, Simon, for sharing that update. Some key points just to underline for the audience then. The service continues to be supported by HMRC. Net company has been awarded for contract of next phase delivery. There's going to be plenty of clear communications to direct directly to users. So delegates should definitely look out for these. And importantly as well, businesses should continue using current channels for inquiries. Just before we move on to the next section, Simon, a few people have been asking ahead of this webinar, as head of strategy and stakeholder engagement for NI Customs, have you had much or any engagement with TSS users yet about the next phase?
Simon Pettigrew
Yeah, a really good question, and yet we certainly have. So, within HMRC, we have a number of routes to engage with industries through what is known as the Joint Customs Consultative Committee, the JCCC and the NI subgroup, which is where we engage with a number of trade bodies and then into their sort of wider membership. So that includes both businesses who use the current service and businesses who are interested in using the service moving forward. That started when the contract was announced in December and that's been continuing since then and will continue over the course of the year. And we are continuing to support sort of one-to-one engagement for any businesses that have any questions. And I say, I would really encourage anyone that does have any questions or would like a bit more information, even particularly following today's webinar, to make sure you're either contacting our mailbox or through the sort of the net company routes that you'll see further in the slides.
William Barns-Graham
Great, thank you. Thank you, Simon. Just a couple of quick housekeeping notes before we move on. Just to Karen's question in the chat. Yes, there will be a chance to Q&A at the end, but please ask your questions in the Q&A as part of Teams rather than in the chat. And secondly, some people have said they've been having a bit of an echo. If that's the case, it sounds as though Teams has opened up twice for people. So just make sure to close one of the windows and you should be able to allay that issue. But I'll now hand over on the next slide to Nawa from Net Company for our next section, which is going to introduce Net Company, outline its plans for the next phase of TSS, as well as what businesses can expect from this next phase. So over to you, Nawa.
Nawar Faek
Thank you very much, Will, and good afternoon, everyone. Thank you so much for joining us today. In the next few minutes, I would like to share with you a brief introduction to who Netcompany is and who we are teaming up with to deliver the next phase of TSS. After that, I will share with you more information about the next phase of TSS. If you move to the next slide, starting with a brief introduction to Netcompany, We are a fast-growing IT business consultant firm that is heavily invested and involved in large European transformation programs, and that goes especially in the areas of tax and customs slash borders and trade. We originally started in Denmark in the year of 2000, and we have expanded our engagement to a large part of Europe, as you can see in the map with the red dots, and that is including UK, multiple offices in UK such like London, Leeds, Birmingham and Edinburgh. And we are definitely planning to open office in Northern Ireland, both related to our engagement in TSS and future business opportunities. It's also important for me to mention that NetCom many has an existing relationship and deliveries within HMRC and TSS is a continuation of a long and successful relationship For instance, we have been delivering the transit, the NCTS system together with HMRC for both GB and NI over the last few years. And any upcoming changes and upgrades will be a collaboration between us as well. And we are delighted to be here together with our partners, with HMRC and with yourselves in order to achieve the objective of TSS2. or the next phase of TSS. Moving to the next slide, I would like to give you an idea who are the partners teaming up together to deliver the next phase of TSS. And that is very briefly will be Netcom and collaborating together with McKinsey. McKinsey is providing the value, assurance and innovation. So there will be our partner enabling that over the next few years. We are also teaming up with the Chartered Institute of Export and they will be providing the education and trade engagement. We're also partnering up with SGS who will be delivering the contact center. The similar thing between the three partners here is all of them have been previously involved or currently involved in the current TSS service. and they are part of the overall team to deliver the next phase of TSS. We have also partnered up with additional partners. At the bottom of the circle, you see there is another broker, which is the custom broker, which is Derry Bros, which is an NI-based custom brokers, who is a part of our partnership. And we have also Digicom, who provides education and trade engagement as well. On top of that, we are also engaged with a number of SMEs, such like Clear Borders and Trader and Borders, in order to add that level of expertise to the joint partnership. My last comment on this slide before we move forward is that our partners have been mutually selected and agreed from 2 points of view. The first one is, of course, to provide the existing experience and continuity, but at the same time introducing a fresh approach for the benefit of the service and its users. That was a short introduction of Netcom Near partners. In the next few slides, I will share with you more information about the next phase of TSS. As mentioned before, HMRC has informed the TSS users early in the year that following a competitive procurement process, Netcompany has been chosen and appointed to deliver the next phase of TSS. And the development of the next phase of TSS is now underway with the transition planned for the second-half of the year of 2026. is working very closely with HMRC and the users to deliver the modernized digital experience for TSS users. And that means that the next phase of TSS will introduce improved accessibility. There will be updates to the design and navigation and there will be enhancement introduced to the user journeys as well as additional features that is shaped by the user feedback. Further guidance, timelines and materials will be shared with you as the program progress. If we can move to the next slide, please. A question might beg itself is what is changing with the new service? And I would like to start by stating what is staying the same and I will explain what will be looking different. So what stays the same as the core custom processes will remain the same. There will be no changes to these. The service will remain free to use both for new and existing users. There will be no fees to be charged to use the service. And the Winsome framework will continue to apply. All the legislations or regulations behind that will still be supported and will be unchanged. And joining the pilot does not mean learning new custom processes. The underlying service and core functionality and custom processes remain the same. The co-pilot will offer learning to learning how the new service to interact with the new service. So this is what the part that stays the same, like to explain to you what will look different. So the portal will have a new look and feel. There will be an updated interface and an updated digital journey. This look and feel will be very similar to other government online services, such like the self-assessment, the DVLA and the pay as you earn services. So we are adapting to this look and feel and making TSS look familiar to this as well. There will be some screens and navigation and online steps that will look different and not only looking different, but will be having an increased usability, prompting users and helping the users to make the service clearer and easier to use. And the pilot, as mentioned before, is meant to allow the users to get familiar with the new service with the digital experience that introduced and help shape the improvements before the wider rollout later in the year. So that's what is changing. Would like to move to the next slide to explain what is the pilot and what does it mean for you. And by taking part in the pilot, your organization will benefit from having the chance to test, get familiar and try out the service early in the process. And that means by completing real end-to-end movements with your supply chain. It will also enable you and your organization to contribute and give feedback that help shape the service now and for the future. And it will also enable you to identify any improvements that you see and feed that back to us, to Netcom many, to the partners and to HMRC in order to improve the service as well. And at the same time, it's also important to note that you will continue to have access to the current service if needed, when needed. And we can expand and explain that on that more in the next sessions. What does that mean for you? It also mean that we will agree with each organization which of the journeys or movements will be operating throughout the pilot. The system from the pilot starts will support all the journeys, but we would like to have a dialogue together with you to understand how we support your journeys and your movement in the best way possible. And that also means that we will support you and support your supply chain and the whole group will be onboarded together to ease the use of the service. And together with you, we will understand and define the level of support that your organization need in order to support you through the pilot and beyond. If you move to the next slide, there are a few more points to make. And that is also related to the transition. So what is happening and when? It's important to note that the transition is planned for the second-half of 2026 starting from beginning of July. The new service, as mentioned before, will remain free to use for both the new and existing users. The core custom processes will remain the same. There will be no changes to it. And there will be a full migration of all users to the new service. in the period of the private to the public beta. I think there was a question regarding the migration of users and yes, the migration of users is in scope and that is to ease the migration from the current service to the new service so the user does not have to register, re-register again. So your profile information will be migrated as well. So what does that mean for you? As mentioned before, there will be a pilot to try to get familiar with the new service and that will run from the 9th of July to the 21st of October. And with that, we are giving you a chance to try the new service ahead of time before the current service gets retired. And we will start by onboarding small groups of users in phases in a phased approach and scale that number of users as we go forward. And today, part of why we are here is we would like to both answer any questions you have, any concerns, but also invite you to participate in the next step of potential participation in the pilot. I have one more slide to end my part of the presentation and that is just to give you a visual representation of the plan. Most of the information has already been said, but I would like to just go through the plan one more time to explain things to you. So the plan today is following a following AGDS approach, which is a government digital service approach. And that means the project, the program will go into multiple phases to prove its readiness for the 9th of July that we are aiming for. We have already passed discovery and alpha and we are in the process of preparing the private beta for the 9th of July, where all the journeys will be supported and we will be onboarding the first number of users. From July till end of October, as you can see, that will be the time the service will go from private beta until the end of October, that will be the public beta. And our hope and our aim is together with you that we can scale the number of users as we go from July to end of October. One thing that is very important to mention before I end this slide is that there is at least 15 months of transformation that is meant to improve the service upon the feedback we will be getting from the users. So from July to October and beyond, the largest part of the program is actually to listen to the users, to apply the GDS approach, and to do user research together with you to deliver an increment and ongoing improvements to the service, listening to your pains and your wishes and requests. And I think with that, I will end my part of the presentation and hand back to you, Will.
William Barns-Graham
Brilliant. Thank you. Thank you, Nawal, for that overview there of the next phase of TSS and also for introducing Net Company as well. I mean, some really key points, I mean, for transition as being back. The timeline slide was really useful, I think, for visualizing the transitions taking place in the second-half of 2026, also to focus on improved accessibility, the better digital experience, and also about improvements. being intended to be made without disruption and that participants can shape the service too. So hopefully that's been really useful for folks on the line today. We're getting lots of great questions coming through as we're getting through the webinar. Just a reminder everyone to please use the Q&A function for questions rather than the chat and to use the chat more for just any observations or concerns about sound or anything like that. Now just before we move on to Kevin's section, we had a question sent in advance by Steve and a few people have been asking this. Steve is an API user of the existing TSS service. Can you reassure users like this that there will be no changes to the API?
Nawar Faek
Yes, we are definitely working to achieve that. So there will be no changes to the API. It will be lifelike. And that is part of the reason is we want to give the users the possibility to not make any changes to their systems. So they will. be no changes. There is no intended changes and the API specifications has already been published. I'll happily link it in the chat if someone has missed it and you can go in and look at the presentation and you should hopefully see it is like for like.
William Barns-Graham
Brilliant. Thank you, Noah. I hope that's reassuring for Steve. If we can now move on to the next slide and on to the last presentation, I will now pass the mic over to Kevin Shakespeare, Director at the Charlton Institute of Export and International Trade, for a presentation on the real world application of the next phase of TSS. So over to you, Kevin.
Kevin Shakespeare
Thank you Will and thank you to Nawar and Simon for going through some slides already and thank you for everyone for attending today. Very appreciative of the fact that we'll have different attendees with different roles in the supply chain, different actors from the GB suppliers, Northern Ireland buyers, hauliers, logistics providers, groupage operators and customs intermediaries. So very much appreciate that you'll have different needs and different questions. If we have the next slide, please. So I'd just like to start by reflecting on the roles and responsibilities for the GB to NI trade journey and sometimes referred to under the guise of Incoterms, but this is really, really important for the GB supplier and Northern Ireland buyer. because it really in co terms define who's responsible for arranging the transport, whether it's a GB supply and Northern Ireland buyer, but also who's responsible for completion of the customs processes as well. So some of the examples of Incoterms used would be likes of DAP delivered at place, DDP delivered duty paid and EXWX works. So it's very important to understand Incoterms and guidance will very much be available on Incoterms to understand your role in the supply chain and what responsibilities you have. Clearly, you may use the services as a GB supplier and I buy of a customs broker or customs intermediary as it's to authorise to complete the customs processes on your behalf. But it's important to note that unless the customs intermediary is operated in an indirect rep capacity, that responsibility is yours in accordance with the INCO terms. So it's very important to note that and to obviously work closely with customs intermediary if a customs intermediary is used. Clearly there's a key role, an essential role of hauliers and logistics providers and normally the transport operator will be responsible for the safety and security declaration. We very much appreciate the likes of subcontracting palletized goods could apply as well. So in summary, really important here to know your supply chain. Who is responsible for what actions in moving the goods? And certainly also around permissions that apply for use of your EORI number. Again, a really important aspect here that if you're using an EORI number, it's important that you have permission to do so. really important in that regard that the correct EORI number is used as well. And also in summary, the responsibility, who is responsible for completing the customs processes. If we have a next slide, please. So about new service, as we said, but just to reiterate again, the service remains free to use for new and existing users. The core customs processes will remain the same. All user journey and declaration types in the current service will be available in the next phase of TSS. And as Navarre has indicated, API interfaces will be available and there is a program and engagement taking place for API users. If you haven't been engaged yet as an API user, please let us know. But there is a strong program of engagement taking place. Again, also to reiterate, users remain responsible for customs processes. So that can include obviously closure of post movement image for use of the internal market. Clearly important to mention if you have image that you're registered for UKIMS, the UK internal market scheme authorised to use UKIMS. and also supplementary declarations by the 10th calendar of the following month. So really important to note that the supplementary declaration must be closed by the 10th calendar day of the following month. As has been indicated, the service will feel similar to government online systems. The portal will have a new look and feel. So some screens navigation online steps will look different, but there will be functionality around on-screen prompts to make the service clearer and easier to use. That can help all types of businesses, but also we're very keen that it helps small and medium-sized businesses as well by having those on-screen prompts. Contact centre support will be providing the next phase of TSS and that includes the availability of specialist support as currently applies in the current TSS. And we will be providing further guidance, timelines and support materials as we move shared, as we move closer to transition. So for example, user guides, explainers and other elements. If we have the next slide please. So really, I just want to really cover here now the enhancements being considered following user research. So as Navarre indicated, we're very happy to take user research and because it's your view that's really important. And user research so far has been really important, really valuable. So please don't hesitate to get involved there. So further updates and enhancements will be introduced post-transition and very much informed by extensive user research. So enhancements being considered, for example, include likes of CSV file upload and AI intelligence pre-filling as well. So also there will be increased or looking at increased validation following user research on user and movement data as well, very much based on your feedback. So the increased validation of the user and the movement data. And important to note that we will continue our engagement with traders, trade associations, logistics providers and intermediaries to help design and inform the service. So a program of engagement has taken place. that it will continue to take place. And if you are, if you're interested in taking part, I'll call up the next slide now which has further information. So ongoing engagement to register your interest, there's a QR code there, simply scan or just e-mail the e-mail address on screen. So thank you very much indeed and thank you again for joining.
William Barns-Graham
Thank you, Kevin, for the really good practical advice there. My main takeaways from that, it's really important to everybody to understand your supply chain roles and responsibilities, including who's responsible for declarations. And this can often depend on your logistical arrangements, but also Inca terms, which I know, Kevin, we've spoken on many webinars about down the years as well. So let's start to move on to questions. And that slide, Josh, just before we do, that slide there is important. It's very much going to be an iterative and user-informed development of the next phase of tiers. So please do scan that QR code or make note of this slide if you'd like to take part in this, whether that's in user research by providing feedback or engaging with design and functionality inputs. So yeah, please do engage with us on all that. But as you can see, we're now going to move on to the Q&A session of the next slide. I'm glad to welcome back Simon, Nava and Kevin for this. A reminder that you need to ask your questions in the Q&A area of Teams, not for chat, and that we will be only answering questions that are relevant to today's topic, which is preparing for the next phase of TSS. If we don't get to your question in the limited time remaining, please rest assured that we will look to factor in any of your inquiries into our future content development and communications. But if I may start with a question to Simon, a couple of people were asking this, anonymous users, but this question is about why is the current TSS service being replaced? So Simon, do you want to just speak to that quickly?
Simon Pettigrew
Yeah, thanks, Will. So there's probably a couple of reasons here. Firstly, there was the contractual reasons. So the current service was on a specific contract. and that was to be replaced. So the decision was taken by government to re-procure. Part of that also was that we've heard from industry that we want to ensure that improvements are being made to service and we look to then to use that re-procurement to help with that and drive the improvements that industry have asked for. So I think those are probably the two main reasons why sort of re-procurement was the decision of the government. over the last, we've been working on that over the last year or so to come to the announcement at the end of December.
William Barns-Graham
Great, thank you. Thank you, Simon. And we've had another question in which it might be best for you. And this is about ICS 2. So someone was asking if any fixes are being made to ICS 2 prior to the launch of the next phase of TSS, what will happen in our situation? They're saying there's almost daily issues with ICS 2. So how are the two systems interlink?
Simon Pettigrew
Yeah, thanks, Will. And this is very much something we're definitely aware of and really conscious of the impacts that a number of TSS users have experienced relation to ICS to either where the system is performing poorly, i.e. running slowly, or there are system outages. I think the one thing I would note is that the issue itself is not caused by the current service, so the TSS does not have the issue with ICS 2 as the system itself. But we are obviously aware of the issues that causes in relation to goods movements, particularly creating GMRs and obviously ensuring that the goods continue to move smoothly. We at HMRC and TSS are working with the relevant authorities to make them aware of the issues that their businesses are facing currently and we are looking to ensure that improvements are made to that to contain the smooth flow of goods into Northern Ireland. What I would say is if you are experiencing any difficulties currently, very important if you have any eminent movements that you do speak with the current service to flag that. There are routes in place to protect those movements. So if you are experiencing any issues, please do speak with the current service. They can also report the issues on your behalf to HMRC and then we can then use that to build a picture with the relevant authorities to drive those improvements that are needed.
William Barns-Graham
Great, thank you. Thank you, Simon. A question for Nava, you did touch on this earlier, but a lot of people were asking this and it was upvoted quite a lot in the Q&A. So a question from Andrew, which is, how will traders migrate to the new system? Will existing logins and accounts migrate?
Nawar Faek
Yes, so it's part of the program scope to migrate the users and the user profiles. That means all the information that is in the current service will be migrated from a profile point of view. But it is a different service. So in terms of login, e-mail will stay the same, username will stay the same. But the password, a new password will be issued to you and will be in close collaboration, guiding you and guiding your team in order to obtain the new password. So the users will not need to re-register. The information will be migrated. The only thing that you need to obtain is the new password and we will be guiding you to do that.
William Barns-Graham
Thank you. Thank you, Nara. And thank you, Andrew, for the question. A question for Kevin. We had a few people say that they were, that they had thought that the new service there might be a charge for it. Is that correct? And if that is correct, how do people know about the charges? Is it being charged for Kevin?
Kevin Shakespeare
No, I can confirm and I think we sort of indicated that the service remains free to use for both existing users and new users as well.
William Barns-Graham
Brilliant. Thank you, Kevin. A question has come through. Are there any plans for Excel or CSV bulk upload functionality, particularly for high volume groupage ENS submissions? Ava, would you be best to take that one?
Nawar Faek
Yes, so in regard of the CSV file upload, it is definitely something that we are aiming to implement. There are current plans to implement it and introduce it in 2026. The thing that we need to do together is to have user research together with you to understand how specifically that feature resolve your problems. Also, there are different segments of users and groups and we just want to understand that in fullness in order to resolve it. So definitely the plan is to support it and the plan is already to support it in this year in 2026. But at the same time, I just want to emphasize that. that we will not just implement it, we will listen to you, we will have user research together with you to understand exactly what is being requested and avoid any chance of misunderstanding and misalignment and ensure that it's really to the point.
Kevin Shakespeare
I'll just come in there. Thank you as well. I think to add there, we have had some feedback there and obviously including from the logistics community. Also, if you're a small business, an SME, there could be benefits as well. So encourage any SMEs, small businesses on the call if you feel that it's important to use, take part in the user research and help phrase it. And that goes for small businesses as a whole. We're very keen to hear feedback from SMEs around what you would like in user research. Thank you.
William Barns-Graham
Thank you. Thank you, Kevin. We've had a question come through from Donna. I think this will be for Kevin. Will there be a facility to have template declarations so that we're not manually inputting the same information over and over?
Kevin Shakespeare
So again, in answer to that, we had feedback around the use of templates, could call it cloning. So it is something very much being looked at, very conscious in the current service that the information is mapped across to the supplementary declaration, but there is a potential requirement for template facility. So again, very much encourage you to take part in user research there and also to determine which types of declarations you would want in terms of the template facility. So for example, but not just supplementary declarations, but as an example. So very keen if you can take part in the user research to reinforce that requirement. Thank you.
William Barns-Graham
Great. Thank you, Kevin. We've got time for a couple more questions. I'll put this one to Mala. It comes from Kirsten. Just A clarification really. So the TSS service, it remains in use until 21st October 2026, which I think that means the first TSS. Is that correct from Kirsten?
Nawar Faek
So correct. So the current service will be. available to use until we have done the cutover from the current service to the new service. We are just a bit careful on the timelines. This is something that involves both the new supplier and the incumbent and we are working together with HMSE to make these firm. And once these are firm, we will make it available for you. The dates that we have shared in the presentation are the indicative dates that we are working on. However, we are only communicating to you the pilot part of these dates and the retirement of the current service will be followed by more information. So it is the plan, but we need to confirm it and we will be communicating more on that.
William Barns-Graham
Thank you. Thank you, Nala. A question for Kevin. Our customs broker deals with all movements of goods, including in export and import documentation. Does this affect me?
Kevin Shakespeare
So again, I would say in any arrangement, unless the customs broker stroke customs intermediaries operate in an indirect rep capacity, that you, depending on the INCO terms, are responsible for customs processes. So that doesn't change from current TSS to next phase of TSS. It's still the same. So it's certainly important to note that. And I say to reiterate, unless the customs intermediary is operating in an indirect rep capacity, you still are responsible for the customs processes.
William Barns-Graham
Thank you, Kevin. I'll do one last question, which could go to potentially Nara or Kevin. This question is, what guidance, training, or onboarding materials will be provided before I choose to use the new service as part of the pilot? And Nara, do you want to start on that one?
Nawar Faek
I can start and I can pass it to you, Kevin. It is an area much more about. So as part of the approach we are taking at the moment, which is a GDS UCD approach, which UCD stands for user centred design. We are interviewing a lot of users to understand what guides they need in order to complete the goods movement and the declaration. So the plans is to have the training material available to the extent that we define together with you. And our first, our current impression is that it will be similar in terms of coverage, that meaning that how many topics and how many areas to be. But we are also in the process of simplifying this. So simplifying some of the materials and the communication and the wording of it to make it easier to understand and digest. And on top of that, we are also making it available in the same portal. So you don't have any longer to have two portals to navigate to these training materials. All of them will be available in the same portal. They will both the trade report itself and the training material have the look and feel similar to other Gov UK services. And the training material and guidance will actually be promoted to the users as they fill their declarations in the user interface. I'll pass it to you, Kevin.
Kevin Shakespeare
Yeah, thanks Navar, and it's a really good question. So yeah, just to confirm, you say, users will have access to webinars, live training drop-ins, and also a dedicated sandbox test environment as well. So we will provide system walkthroughs, guidance on user journeys and provide you with the opportunity to ask questions as well. And finally, for API users, the sandbox will also support integration testing. So important to note about the sandbox environment and the fact that guidance and support will be available.
William Barns-Graham