Frequently Asked Questions

GVMS — the Goods Vehicle Movement Service — is HMRC's online system for managing the movement of goods through UK RoRo ports and the Channel Tunnel after Brexit. It ties together import, export, transit and safety & security declarations into a single Goods Movement Reference (GMR) that a driver presents at the border.

A GMR — Goods Movement Reference — is the barcode-like ID issued by GVMS for a specific vehicle crossing. It links the vehicle to the declarations behind the load. Without a valid GMR, a truck cannot board the ferry or enter the Channel Tunnel for GVMS-controlled movements.

GVMS is used at almost all major UK RoRo ports that handle unaccompanied and accompanied trailers, including Dover, Holyhead, Harwich, Immingham, Killingholme, Liverpool, and the Channel Tunnel at Folkestone/Coquelles. Exact coverage is published by HMRC and we confirm it per route.

Declarations must be successfully pre-lodged and returned with a valid MRN before the GMR can be generated. In practice that means aiming for at least 2 hours before the sailing to leave room for any query or re-submission; for complex movements we aim even earlier.

Yes. Any business moving goods between the UK and the EU needs a GB EORI, and if your goods are linked to Northern Ireland you may also need an XI EORI. Without an EORI you can't be named on a declaration or appear on a GMR.

At minimum: vehicle registration, trailer ID where relevant, route (departure port → arrival port), expected crossing time, and the reference numbers for all underlying declarations (MRN for imports/exports, TAD/MRN for transit, ENS reference for safety & security).

If the system shows the GMR as invalid at the gate — usually because a declaration has gone into query or not arrived — we work directly with the port, the driver, and the referenced declaration to fix the cause and re-issue, often within minutes. Staying on our 24/7 service means you don't have to phone around looking for someone who can help.

Yes. If your business holds a UK VAT registration we'll select Postponed VAT Accounting (PVA) on the import declaration. Import VAT is then declared and recovered on your VAT return rather than paid at the border, which helps cash flow.

We use transparent flat fees per GMR and per declaration type. Volume-based packages and 24/7 haulier support retainers are quoted once we understand your route mix. There are no hidden per-commodity-line surcharges — if we quote £X for a GMR, your invoice says £X.

Yes. We operate 24 hours a day, including weekends and UK bank holidays. Overnight sailings from Dover and early morning departures from Holyhead are some of our busiest windows.

Yes — this is one of the reasons we exist. A significant share of UK-EU haulage is run by Turkish-speaking drivers and dispatchers. Every shift has a bilingual operator available in Turkish and English. Documents, GMRs and status updates can be issued in either language.

We're a customs team, not a self-service platform. You don't log in to a portal and click buttons — you send us paperwork and we do the declaration, GMR and any port-side firefighting. That's deliberately slower to scale than a SaaS, but it's what hauliers actually need at the gate.

Movements between Great Britain and Northern Ireland have their own rules under the Windsor Framework and, in some cases, different declaration and safety & security requirements. We can prepare the applicable declarations, advise on the UK Internal Market Scheme where relevant, and link everything to the movement reference system used on the crossing.

Yes. For GB imports from the EU the UK now requires a safety & security (ENS) declaration, and we lodge this alongside the main import declaration so both references are ready to pair with your GMR.

Contact us via the form, email or phone with a quick outline of your route, volume and timing. We reply within one working hour with a quote and the next steps. There is no portal to sign up to, no long contract, and no setup fee for ad-hoc movements.