Customs and excise processes are becoming increasingly digital and data-driven. Manually entering the same information into different systems not only takes time, but also increases the risk of errors and inconsistencies.
D+TB therefore develops its own Automatic Customs System (ACS): a modular software system for the automated or semi-automated processing and electronic exchange of data in connection with customs, excise and other related formalities.
ACS can be integrated with your existing business software, allowing data already available in your ERP, WMS or other systems to be reused wherever possible.
ACS provides the technical link between your business data and the electronic systems used to complete formalities relevant to your goods flows.
Depending on the agreed configuration, ACS can, among other things:
This creates an integrated data flow in which duplicate data entry is reduced as far as possible while your business retains control over the data used in its customs and excise processes.
The principle behind ACS is straightforward:
Your ERP / WMS / business software → ACS → competent authority → ACS → your system
Your own systems remain the starting point for operational data. ACS processes that data in accordance with the configuration implemented for your business and handles the supported electronic data exchanges.
The specific setup is aligned with your goods flows, your systems and the electronic environment of the authorities concerned.
ACS has been designed as a modular system. This means that your business only needs to use the functionalities that are relevant to its own processes.
Depending on the supported configuration, automation may include the following areas:
The modules, data flows and functionalities that are actually available and appropriate are always determined on the basis of the processes concerned and the applicable technical environment.
ACS is not intended to become yet another system in which the same information has to be entered manually. The objective is precisely to reuse existing business data wherever possible.
Depending on your technical environment, ACS can be integrated with, among other things:
D+TB works with you to determine the technical setup best suited to your processes.
Effective automation does not start with software. It starts with a proper analysis of the underlying goods flows and data flows.
An ACS project will therefore generally involve several stages:
This approach helps ensure that an automation solution is not merely technically correct in theory, but actually fits the operational reality of your business.
What makes ACS different is that the system is not developed in isolation from customs practice. D+TB combines software development with legal, customs and operational expertise.
Our software engineers work alongside legal professionals and customs specialists who deal with customs and excise processes on a daily basis. We therefore understand not only how a technical integration should work, but also the legal and operational processes behind it.
Using ACS does not prevent you from calling on our customs expertise. Where additional substantive assistance, advice or customs representation is required, D+TB can be engaged separately for those services.
More information about our customs representation services is available on our customs representation page.
Electronic systems used by customs and other authorities are constantly evolving. The way in which businesses provide or make data available to authorities, and the way authorities process that data, is changing as well.
ACS has therefore been designed as a modular system in which data models, interfaces, message structures and technical connections can be adapted where D+TB decides to support a new or modified government environment.
We deliberately avoid an architecture built exclusively around a single type of customs declaration, a single government platform or a single technical format. This allows ACS to evolve alongside the continued digitalisation of customs and excise processes.
Your business data remains an essential part of your own processes. ACS is designed to technically process and exchange that data without you losing control over your underlying information.
Specific arrangements regarding data, data portability and switching also apply to the ACS service. More information is available in our ACS Data Portability Register .
Automation is particularly relevant for businesses with recurring goods flows, larger volumes of formalities or structured data that is already available in ERP, WMS or other business systems.
We therefore begin by reviewing your existing process and then determine which data flows can usefully be automated.
Would you like to know whether ACS can be integrated into your customs or excise processes? Send us an overview of your goods flows, volumes and current IT environment. Together, we will assess where automation can provide genuine technical and operational added value.