Repost: Digipoort Migration Program: Newsletter 3 (2019-11-15)

Digipoort Migration Program
Newsletter 3, 19 November 2019

Intake phase for connection to Trade & Transport Gateway takes off.

As our earlier newsletters mentioned, Customs is working on a new gateway facility for electronic messaging between the business community and the government, the Trade & Transport Gateway [HTG].
Users of the existing Digipoort Trade & Transport [H&T] and Single Window for maritime and aviation must connect to the HTG in phases in the next six months.
The first companies are expected to make the switch soon. What steps do they need to take?

The migration from the Digipoort Trade & Transport (H&T) and Single Window for Maritime and Air to the HTG is done in phases, so-called plateaus.
At the moment, preparations for Plateau 1 are underway: the conversion from logistical flows for Customs (AGS, CID, EMCS, NCTS).
In order to allow companies to connect to the HTG, they have to complete a number of steps. From December 2019, companies will receive an e-mail, explaining the steps, which are listed below.

• Intake
  The first step is the intake. Customs will be collecting information in order to be able to prepare the technical connection of a company in the best possible way.
  It is, therefore, important for companies to complete the intake form correctly and in full and to return it as soon as possible.
• Final planning
  After the intake, the company will receive an e-mail, saying that a time slot for the technical connection can be selected. Within a period to be set by Customs, the company can schedule in one hour, within which it will start realising its connection, together with the Customs connection team.
  With a view to the large number of connections to be established, a tight schedule is required.
• Technical data
  Companies will then receive an e-mail from the Customs connection team, with interface descriptions and a form on which they must enter the technical data of their connection.
• Technical connection
  After these preparations, the actual technical connection to the HTG is made.
• Functional connection
  The final step in the process is the functional conversion of the connection. This is when messages are exchanged via the HTG and no longer via the Digipoort Trade & Transport (H&T).

The e-mails will be sent from noreply@htg-migratie.nl and they will be processed in a secure environment. We will only use your details to establish and maintain the connection to the HTG.

Community for developers
The Customs website www.douane.nl contains general information about the migration. Companies that make software require more information, which is why Customs recommends companies that offer hubs, supply software to third parties or build their own software to connect to the community for developers, if they are not already a member. They can do so by requesting a community account at www.nhdouane.nl. On this community platform, Customs publishes technical information such as specifications for messages and interfaces, schedules, newsletters and news messages.

More information and contact
We will keep updating you about the progress of the migration from the Digipoort Trade & Transport (H&T) to the HTG. Our next newsletter will be published in December 2019.
Furthermore, on Friday 04 October 2019, Customs, the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority, the Royal Netherlands Military Police, the Seaport Police and Rijkswaterstaat organised a joint webinar (in Dutch language) about the transition from the Digipoort H&T to the HTG. You can still watch this at https://channel.royalcast.com/webcast/douanenl/20191004_1/

If you have any questions about this newsletter or the migration and the connection to the HTG in general, please send an e-mail to douane.dlk.htg@belastingdienst.nl. You can also call the National Customs Helpdesk on +31 (0)88 156 66 55 on workdays from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.