Resolving “no matching…” X00 error messages 

This guide covers action to take where Defra’s Automatic Licence Verification System (ALVS) is unable to link customs declarations submitted to the Customs Declaration Service (CDS) to prenotifications submitted to Defra’s Import of products, animals, food and feed system (IPAFFS). 

If you have a customs declaration under a Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) hold and have received an X00 error of any kind from ALVS, you should take the following steps: 

Check that you have completed your customs declaration correctly:

1. Check in data element 2/3 of the customs declaration:

• The correct document code has been used on your customs declaration(s) for the type of pre-notification required (see table in Annex A for Common Health Entry Document (CHED) types). The UK’s Integrated Online Tariff (https://www.tradetariff.service.gov.uk/find_commodity) provides information on which commodities require which type of pre-notification. 
• The correct pre-notification reference has been input on your customs declaration(s) and in the correct format. Please note that the CDS and CHED reference codes will be formatted differently. You will need to copy the reference code in the correct format from IPAFFS. IPAFFS will provide the correct format for CDS so it can be copied and pasted. The correct format for CDS is: GBCHDYYYY.NNNNNNN where Y stands for the year and N for a number. 

2. Check the commodity code (data elements 6/14 and 6/15) on your customs declaration(s) is the same as the commodity code on your pre-notification. 

ALVS only matches according to how many digits there were on the pre-notification.

3. Check the net mass (data element 6/1) or where required supplementary units for live animals (data element 6/2) on your customs declaration(s) exactly matches that entered on your prenotification.

ALVS can successfully apply data matching on multiple pre-notifications declared on a single customs declaration and against multiple items on a single customs declaration. 

ALVS can also match where a single pre-notification is applied across several customs declarations. 

If you are using a single pre-notification across multiple declarations or across multiple items on a single declaration, the information above must be correct on all declarations or items. 

ALVS cannot match where multiple pre-notifications are covered across multiple customs declarations.                   

To fix any of the above errors: 

If you can amend your customs declaration

You should use your software to amend the customs declaration to correct it in the usual way. 

If you cannot amend your customs declaration

• You must submit a cancellation request to CDS for the original incorrect customs declaration. 
• If the customs declaration has been arrived, you must also contact the National Clearance Hub (NCH) to approve this request.
• Once cancellation is confirmed, submit a new entry with the correct details.

The error will not be resolved if you re-use the Declaration Unique Consignment Reference (DUCR) or the original CHED reference on your new customs declaration before the original declaration has been cancelled. ALVS will be unable to process the clearance request as there will already be a live customs declaration trying to link to the same pre-notification. 

Once the original declaration is cancelled, you will need to submit a valid amendment to the replacement declaration to clear the error or cancel both the original and first replacement declarations and submit a new one.

If no error message is received, the CHED status is showing in IPAFFS as “Valid” and inspection status as “Not Required” but your goods are still held. 

You should check the goods description and free text fields for the special character “\” (backslash). If a backslash (“\”) is present your declaration will need to be invalidated and resubmitted without backslashes.

You should check that you have included the country of dispatch in data element 5/14 at header level. If you have not included this data at header level your declaration will need to be invalidated and resubmitted with the country of dispatch at header level. 

If after checking all of the above you remain unable to clear the SPS hold despite all required CHEDs showing as valid in IPAFFS please contact the Port Health Authority for animal products or food or feed under additional controls (HRFNAO) or the Animal and Plant Health Agency for plants and plant products (APHA) at the point of entry for further assistance.

In your email, use ‘SPS hold not clearing’ in the subject line and provide the CHED reference number and the customs declaration Movement Reference Number. 

Annex A: Table of pre-notification types and document codes 

Kind regards,

Trader Engagement & Readiness Team
Biosecurity, Borders and Trade Programme
Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs

*Defra Personal Information Charter: here