Pull your CDS statements into your own systems

What you can build on CDS

• Get a postponed import VAT statement

  Build this

  Opens Postponed import VAT statements and reads one month's statement: the total per port and each entry under it.

  Takes

  Month

  Returns

  Month, VAT registration number, EORI, total per port, date of import, entry number, declarant reference, declarant EORI, import VAT, grand total

• Check duty deferment and cash accounts

  Build this

  Reads Your import duties and VAT accounts: each duty deferment, cash and general guarantee account with its number, status and the balance shown.

  Takes

  Nothing

  Returns

  Account type, account number, status, balance or limit shown, Northern Ireland account or not

• Get cash account transactions

  Build this

  Reads Your transactions for the last 6 months on the Cash account page, for the dates you choose.

  Takes

  From date, to date

  Returns

  Date, transaction type, declaration MRN, UCR, declarant EORI, importer EORI, duty, VAT, excise, credit, debit, closing balance

• Request older duty deferment statements

  Build this

  On Duty deferment statements, uses Request a statement that's older than 7 months for one account and the period you give.

  Takes

  Duty deferment account number, from month, to month

  Returns

  Account number, period requested, confirmation shown

Automate CDS with a workflow

A workflow runs your methods as one process, with nobody at the screen. A schedule or a call from your own system starts it, the steps run in order, and the result arrives in your inbox or in the systems you already use.

• Postponed import VAT entries, handed to accounting

  Build this

  Starts

  Every month on the 16th at 8:00, after the 10th working day

  Step 1

  Get last month's postponed import VAT statement.

  Step 2

  Stop if the statement is not there yet.

  Step 3

  Post the grand total and every entry, with entry number and import VAT, to your accounting system's webhook.

• Duty deferment and cash accounts, each morning

  Build this

  Starts

  Every weekday at 7:00

  Step 1

  Read every duty deferment, cash and general guarantee account on the dashboard.

  Step 2

  Keep the accounts whose status or balance changed since the last run.

  Step 3

  Email you the list with account number, status and balance.

• New cash account transactions, posted to finance

  Build this

  Starts

  Every weekday at 18:00

  Step 1

  Get the cash account transactions for the last 7 days.

  Step 2

  Keep the transactions that were not there on the last run.

  Step 3

  Post each one, with MRN, duty, VAT and closing balance, to your finance system's webhook.

You can run a workflow by hand on every plan, Free included. Schedules and webhook triggers come with the paid plans, from $29 a month.

Once built, one call from your code

Once you have built a method, it is one POST to /v1/runs from your backend, or a tool an AI agent calls over MCP. This is what “Get a postponed import VAT statement” would look like.

curl https://api.fous.com/v1/runs \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $FOUS_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "method": "tax.service.gov.uk/get_postponed_import_vat_statement",
    "input": {
      "month": "2026-10"
    }
  }'

{
  "status": "completed",
  "data": {
    "month": "2026-10",
    "vat_registration_number": "GB 000 1234 56",
    "eori": "GB000012345600",
    "ports": [
      {
        "port": "Felixstowe",
        "total_import_vat": 18420.6,
        "entries": [
          {
            "date_of_import": "2026-10-06",
            "entry_number": "26GB00000000AB1234",
            "declarant_reference": "ACME-IMP-0912",
            "declarant_eori": "GB000098765400",
            "import_vat": 11250.4
          }
        ]
      }
    ],
    "grand_total": 18420.6
  }
}

An example with invented data, not a ready-made endpoint. The method exists in your organization once you build it, and its name, inputs and fields follow your request.

CDS’s own options

HMRC's Developer Hub documents a Customs Declarations API that submits and cancels declarations and uploads supporting documents. It does not cover the financial accounts. Your statements, certificates and account balances are in the online service, where you view and download them, with cash account transactions and lists of account authorities as CSV.

Read on November 12, 2026: Manage your import duties and VAT accounts, Customs Declarations API, HMRC's customs financials service (source).

Signing in to CDS

CDS signs you in with the Government Gateway user ID and password you used when you subscribed, and that user ID must be the one linked to your EORI number. Colleagues get access as team members of your HMRC business tax account. With Fous you sign in through the service's own sign-in with your own account, and the login is sealed with AES-256 and never returned by the API.

Worth knowing

Statements stay online for a limited time

Postponed import VAT statements can be opened for 6 months from publication, and the service shows duty deferment statements for the last 7 months. Older duty deferment statements are requested and stay downloadable for 10 days.

Postponed VAT is usually out by working day 10

Each month's statement is usually available by the 10th working day of the next month. VAT group members each have their own EORI and read their own statement.

Duty deferment comes in several statements

A month's duty deferment statements are listed as Week 1 to Week 4, Supplementary end of month and Excise summary. HMRC collects duty and VAT mid-month and excise near the end of the month.

A top-up takes time to count

A duty deferment top-up paid by bank approval can take up to 2 hours to show, CHAPS or Faster Payments by the next working day and Bacs within 3 working days. Check balances before declaring.

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