How to get your customs data from GOV.UK

A step-by-step guide to downloading your HMRC customs declaration data and getting the most from it with CAT360.

What is HMRC's Get customs data service?

Get customs data for import and export declarations is HMRC's free service for retrieving your own Customs Declaration Service (CDS) data. It replaced the paid MSS reports, so if you used to buy MSS, or you have heard the data called TRE, this is where it comes from now.

You request a report, HMRC emails you when it is ready, and you download it as a CSV. Four report types are available, covering up to four years of your own declarations. What you do with them is the point: the same data that satisfies an audit also shows where duty was overpaid.

Free For GB and XI EORI numbers

4 Report formats available

4 Years of historical data

72 hrs Report delivery time

Rather not do this yourself? You can authorise us to pull the reports for you, so they arrive without anyone downloading a CSV.

How to grant access

What you need before you start

EORI number (GB or XI)

Your Economic Operator Registration and Identification number, beginning GB or XI. Apply for an EORI if you don't have one.

Government Gateway Account

An individual or organisational user ID (not agent credentials). Create an account if needed.

CDS Subscription

An active Customs Declaration Service subscription linked to your Government Gateway account.

CDS Registration (if needed)

If you haven't already subscribed to the Customs Declaration Service, registration takes approximately 7–8 minutes. You'll need:

Business address
Email contact
Unique Taxpayer Reference or National Insurance number
VAT registration details
SIC code (for companies, partnerships, sole traders, charities, public bodies)

Note: The system will automatically create your EORI number if you don't already have one. You cannot register multiple EORI numbers using identical Government Gateway credentials.

How to access your customs data

Go to GOV.UK

Open GOV.UK’s Get customs data for import and export declarations service and select ‘Start now’. This is the service that replaced the paid MSS reports.

The Get customs data service on GOV.UK, showing the Reports, Give Data Access and View Data Access options — The Get customs data service on GOV.UK

Sign in

Select your report type

Choose from four available report types (see table below).

Set your date range

Specify up to 31 consecutive days within the past 4 years (excluding the last 2 days).

Confirm and submit

Review your request details and confirm.

Wait for your report

Reports are typically generated within 72 hours.

Download

Download the CSV reports from the service once the notification email arrives. Save a copy: GOV.UK does not say how long a finished report stays available.

Best practice: Request data aligned with calendar months so every day is covered and it's easier to track your data requests.

Available report types

Report Type	Description
Import Item Report	Item-level details including commodity codes, values, and quantities.
Import Header Report	Declaration summaries with reference numbers and dates.
Import Tax Lines Report	Duty and tax information for financial reconciliation.
Export Item Report	Export declaration data with destinations and goods descriptions.

Filing on behalf of clients? These four reports cover declarations made in your own name. If you are a broker, forwarder or fast parcel operator, the report you want is your declarant data: every declaration you have filed across all your clients in one export. Because it is your own filing data you do not need each client's permission to pull it. See CAT360 for brokers, or book a free review of it.

See what these reports look like inside CAT360: explore dashboards, anomaly detection, and preference analysis with sample data.

Try the interactive demo

Grant third-party access to Barbourne Brook

Instead of downloading and uploading reports manually, you can grant Barbourne Brook direct access to retrieve your customs data on your behalf. This enables:

Automatic data retrieval, no manual downloads
Direct upload into CAT360 for continuous analysis
Always up-to-date dashboards and insights

How to grant access

Sign in

Sign into GOV.UK's Get customs data for import and export declarations service.

Navigate to ‘Give Data Access’

Click ‘Add a third party’ to begin sharing your data.

GOV.UK Add a third party page explaining who can give access to customs declaration data — The ‘Add a third party’ page: click Continue to proceed

Confirm data ownership

Select ‘Yes, I own the customs declaration data’ and click Continue.

Confirmation screen asking if you are the importer or exporter for the data you want to share — Confirm you own the customs declaration data

Enter Barbourne Brook's EORI

Use our EORI number: GB331960313000

EORI number input field showing GB331960313000 entered for Barbourne Brook — Enter Barbourne Brook’s EORI number: GB331960313000

Set reference name

Enter Barbourne Brook as the reference name.

Set access period

We recommend selecting ongoing access so there's no renewal required.

Select data types

Choose Import and Export with all data types selected.

Review and confirm

Check the details and confirm. You can remove access at any time through the same portal.

Important: Access is limited to data retrieval only. No modifications to your account are possible. You can remove access at any time. For help, contact enquiries@barbournebrook.co.uk or call +44 (0)1905 975 399.

Frequently asked questions

Common questions about accessing your HMRC customs data.

What if I don't have a Government Gateway account?

Visit the GOV.UK registration page. You'll need basic personal or business information to create an account.

My report hasn't arrived within 72 hours. What should I do?

Check your spam folder, then sign in to verify download availability. If the issue remains unresolved, contact HMRC directly.

Can I request reports for multiple EORI numbers?

If the EORIs are your own, yes: you sign in separately with the Government Gateway user ID linked to each one. A third party granted access is different, and can request data for several EORI numbers under a single user ID.

Is there a limit on how many reports I can request?

GOV.UK does not publish a limit. Each report covers up to 31 consecutive days, so a year of data means twelve requests aligned to calendar months.

What file format are reports delivered in?

All reports are provided as CSV files, compatible with Excel, Google Sheets, and analytics tools like CAT360.

Is the service free?

Yes. The service is free, and it now covers XI EORI numbers as well as GB. It replaced the MSS reports, which HMRC charged for.

Ready to see what is in your own declarations?

Start your free 14-day trial of CAT360 today and see how AI², the fusion of automation and expert insight, can uncover savings, reduce risk, and give you full control of your customs operations. No card required, just instant intelligence.

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Importers and brokers using CAT360