Policy wins – September 2021

INTRASTAT REPORTING REQUIREMENTS         

Government has announced that reporting requirements for Intrastat declarations will cease in 2022, following Logistics UK’s engagement with HMRC. Traders with an international trade turnover of over £1.5 million for EU imports (arrivals) and/or £0.25 million for EU exports (dispatches) were faced with a requirement to make complicated Intrastat declarations. Intrastat is the EU-wide trade statistics database; reporting is required monthly and adds a significant burden to traders.

We have consistently raised this issue with government, first writing to HMRC in July 2020 to stress that this reporting would be an unnecessary and costly admin burden on business. Following our interventions with government and in the media, government has accepted that this is unnecessary and has changed its policy.

LONGER SEMI-TRAILER (LST) TRIAL

The Department for Transport (DfT) has adopted Logistics UK’s suggestions in the revised proposal for the LST trial, with LSTs now expected to be in general circulation by the first quarter of 2022. DfT has taken a slightly lightened approach, amending the administrative procedures with the Traffic Commissioner and incident notifications. 

LSTs are up to two metres longer than standard length trailers, allowing for more pallets to be transported and fewer overall journeys. DfT’s trial consultation, starting in 2012, found that the vehicles are safer, more economical and better for the environment than standard HGVs. Up to the end of 2019, the trial result indicated that LSTs reduced journey numbers by one in twelve, resulting in a saving of more than 54 million vehicle kilometres, 48,000 tonnes of CO₂ and 241 tonnes of NOx.

In the LST consultation, DfT had included a number of requirements that we challenged the necessity of, arguing that they were administratively unnecessary and overly bureaucratic. We outlined where some areas are already covered in other administrative and legislative requirements and additionally, wrote to Minister Baroness Vere to voice our challenges. DfT's response to the consultation acknowledged, and quoted, a number of the comments made by Logistics UK.

Those who participated in the trial can still operate under trial conditions for a further 12 months from 2022. There will also be a set of operators’ guidance documents produced that will help operators to run these trailers safely.

48-TONNE INTERMODAL TRIAL

DfT is in the process of developing its propositions to implement a trial which would allow an increase in gross train weights up to 48 tonnes for vehicles used on intermodal transportation, allowing containers to be moved up to 50 miles from the intermodal transportation hub. 

During the consultation, DfT sought views on whether a trial would be beneficial. Our positive response in support of a trial, which included outlining the benefits this would bring to transportation modal shift and the associated environmental benefits, has led to DfT pursuing its implementation.

*www.logistics.org.uk/campaigns

Published On: 09/09/2021 16:00:18

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