Businesses to be issued Common User Charge (CUC) invoices from 5 August
Businesses that imported Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) goods on or after 30 April 2024, which were eligible for checks at Sevington Border Control Post (BCP), will receive their first digital CUC invoice by email from 22.00 on 5 August from Shared Services Connected Limited (SSCL).
The first digital invoices will be issued by SSCL from 10pm on 5 August for charges incurred between 30 April 2024 (the date of introduction of the new SPS controls as part of the UK’s Border Target Operating Model (BTOM)) and 31 July 2024. Subsequent digital invoices will be issued and emailed monthly, in arrears, for common user charges covering the previous month.
Organisations will receive their invoices from this email address [email protected] with “Defra invoice” as the email subject heading. Shared Services Connected Limited (SSCL) will manage CUC billing, payments and payment recovery processes on behalf of Defra.
The invoice will state payment is due "IMMEDIATELY". We encourage immediate payment because the charges are applied in arrears.
However, billpayers, including agents who are acting on behalf of businesses, will have up to 30 days from the date on the invoice to pay the common user charges. Payment for the invoices on 5 August, will be due by 4 September 2024.
Detailed and updated guidance on CUC including how to set up payments and ways to pay the CUC invoice is available at GOV.UK.
From 9.00 on 6 August, SSCL should be the first point of contact for any CUC invoice-related queries, including where there is a query about the amount businesses have been charged and their ability to pay on time.
Details of how to contact SSCL will be included in your invoice.
CUC Invoicing and Compliance Webinar
Defra will host a CUC webinar for businesses on 13 August 2024. The webinar will cover:
- invoices and the information included in them
- how to set up payments
- ways to pay the invoice
- who to contact with invoice queries or payment issues; and
- compliance
Authors
James McCulloch
Rose Riby
Rose Riby is Head of Combinable Crops and Seed. Having worked across these sectors for many years, she has a depth and breadth of experience in roles in grain trading, plant breeding and knowledge exchange at AHDB.
