Trucks carrying perishable goods such as meat, cheese and fresh cut flowers from the European Union are facing delays of up to 20 hours at the UK's busiest Brexit border posts due to a failure in government IT systems.
These delays have led to significant disruptions, reducing the shelf life of products and prompting retailers to reject some orders.
Businesses have described the new border control checks, introduced as part of the post-Brexit import regime, as a “disaster”. The government's Automatic License Verification System (ALVS) has seen multiple outages since checks were implemented at the beginning of this month, leading to lengthy detentions at border posts.
The worst glitch occurred last weekend, when dozens of lorries were held at the Sevington Center in Ashford, Kent, for periods of between eight and 20 hours due to a system failure that triggered a manual document check. An Italian goods importer reported that 18 out of 23 trucks were delayed, with some waiting between nine and 20 hours.
One company manager, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “We were expecting maximum detentions of four hours, and if they were not screened by then, they would be released. This is much longer.”
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has confirmed that a technical issue affected its digital services, including ALVS, over the weekend. In response, importers had to manually submit documents for verification. Despite Defra claiming there were no major delays, many companies reported severe disruptions and lack of communications.
The managing director of a Polish transport company described the weekend as a “disaster”, with many customers expressing frustration over the delay. Marius, a driver who was detained in Sevington for more than eight hours, reported that about 25 other trucks remained similarly stuck, some for up to 15 hours, with little information about their release times.
Customs agents and importers also reported difficulties reaching Defra officials by phone during the unrest. One company, which sends 70 lorries to the UK every week, saw 40 lorries delayed in Sevington, resulting in some customers refusing deliveries of fresh produce from Poland and eastern Europe.
Nigel Guiney, chief executive of the Fresh Produce Federation, highlighted recurring issues with the government's IT systems since the start of the new checks, pointing to the significant costs and disruption experienced by the sector. “There have been several incidents like this in the past two weeks, and many other minor issues. This is not only causing major disruption, but represents a huge cost to the sector.”
A Defra spokesman acknowledged the power outage affected import processing systems, saying: “For the majority of vehicles at the border there were no significant delays, but we immediately activated emergency arrangements for the affected vehicles, working alongside HMRC and Border Force. We are working at a fast pace to resolve the issue and expect the systems to be back to normal soon. Since the introduction of scans, our teams have been working closely with traders to ensure scans are completed efficiently and quickly.
Ongoing IT issues at Brexit border posts underscore the challenges businesses face in dealing with new import regulations, highlighting the need for robust and reliable systems to support smooth trade.