Understanding the New Computerised Transit System (NCTS)

EDIFACT and NCTSThis page explains how to interact with the New Computerised Transit System (NCTS) using Electronic Data Interchange For Administration, Commerce and Transport (EDIFACT) messaging.

If you have a big business that tends to make a high number of transit declarations, EDIFACT is an ideal system to use.Benefits of EDIFACT EDIFACT message to NCTS using your own trader software, your software will need to translate your declaration into an EDIFACT coded message that NCTS can read. NCTS will then accept or reject the declaration in EDIFACT, which your trade software must also be able to translate.

The benefits of EDIFACT include:improved security,greater accuracy in data entry - you don't have to enter data twice into the system,improved financial planning,the ability to enter up to 999 items onto a transit declaration so if yours is a smaller business it may be more cost effective to use NCTS web channel. See the page in this guide on web channel and NCTS.


The EDIFACT system sends and receives messages as email attachments, or in the body of the email, via Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) or the ISO standard for electronic mail (X.400), and is useful if you want to integrate your own internal systems with NCTS. If you send an EDIFACT message to NCTS using your own trader software, your software will need to translate your declaration into an EDIFACT coded message that NCTS can read. NCTS will then accept or reject the declaration in EDIFACT, which your trade software must also be able to translate.