Commenting after the publication of a report by the UK's House of Commons Public Accounts Committee, BIFA director general Robert Keen said that the issues concerning customs matters is probably the biggest concern currently among its members, reported London's Air Cargo News.
"We are actively involved with HMRC [HM Revenue and Custom] and have always recommended that there needs to be wider engagement with all who are engaged in processing international trade to give them as much time as possible to prepare and to allay fears," said Mr Keen.
"We agree that our members and the trading companies that they serve need better and more regular information about the development of the Customs Declaration Service (CDS), which is scheduled to replace the current Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight (CHIEF) system.
"We are looking forward to receiving further reassurance from HMRC that the CDS system and the CHIEF contingency option are capable of managing the likely huge increase in the number of Customs declarations every year, if no trade deal between the UK and EU is concluded.
"We share the Committee's concern that HMRC does not yet have the necessary funding and resources to produce the infrastructure that will be required to facilitate Customs processes post-Brexit."
Mr Keen added: "It is clear that there will be many problems if the new customs system is not in place and functioning efficiently by the scheduled date that the UK is set to leave the European single market and the Customs Union in March 2019.
"Any failure in the new customs system would most likely lead to huge disruption for businesses, with significant delays at ports and airports of entry."
"We are actively involved with HMRC [HM Revenue and Custom] and have always recommended that there needs to be wider engagement with all who are engaged in processing international trade to give them as much time as possible to prepare and to allay fears," said Mr Keen.
"We agree that our members and the trading companies that they serve need better and more regular information about the development of the Customs Declaration Service (CDS), which is scheduled to replace the current Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight (CHIEF) system.
"We are looking forward to receiving further reassurance from HMRC that the CDS system and the CHIEF contingency option are capable of managing the likely huge increase in the number of Customs declarations every year, if no trade deal between the UK and EU is concluded.
"We share the Committee's concern that HMRC does not yet have the necessary funding and resources to produce the infrastructure that will be required to facilitate Customs processes post-Brexit."
Mr Keen added: "It is clear that there will be many problems if the new customs system is not in place and functioning efficiently by the scheduled date that the UK is set to leave the European single market and the Customs Union in March 2019.
"Any failure in the new customs system would most likely lead to huge disruption for businesses, with significant delays at ports and airports of entry."