Custom software for customs declarations in DMS
Anyone still talking about AGS is talking about a system that no longer exists. Declarations now go through DMS, and that is not just a new screen but a different data set, different message traffic and a different process after submission. Since May 2026, the documents accompanying a declaration must also come in directly via DMS rather than by email.
What has changed and what it means for you
The AanGifteSysteem has been replaced by the Douane Aangifte Management Systeem, because European customs legislation prescribes different data and different processes. Since 1 July 2024, declarations can no longer be made in AGS; companies that had registered in time were granted a short transition period beyond that. DMS is being introduced in phases for import, storage and export declarations.
The difference is not in the buttons. The data set is broader and stricter, the message exchange is structured differently, and what happens after submission has changed: different statuses, different feedback and a different way the Customs authority communicates with you.
In 2026 there is something else that many companies have underestimated. Since mid-May, documents accompanying a declaration must be submitted directly via DMS and no longer by email. That sounds like a channel change, but it affects your process: someone who used to forward a scan now has to be in a system and attach the right document to the right declaration.
If you work under a simplified procedure, the sharpest point lies not in the message but in your own administration: the entry in it is the declaration. What that demands of your system is covered under software for customs procedures and entry.
How we build this
The declaration with its documents and licences is the unit here. If it is right at the front end, handling afterwards is simply a matter of tracking statuses.
Item details, goods codes, value, origin and licences come from different systems. What is missing is almost always the same handful of fields.
You can run every check Customs performs earlier yourself. A rejected declaration costs lead time; a field refused on your own screen costs a second.
Not as an attachment in an email but as part of the declaration, with the correct type and number. Since May 2026, that is the only route.
What comes back from DMS determines whether a consignment goes ahead. That feedback belongs against the consignment itself, not on a separate screen.
What the software actually does
The declaration with its supporting documents carries everything. Which components you need depends on your declaration types and your licences.
Checking the data set before submission
Missing or illogical fields are flagged before the declaration leaves. The data set in DMS is more extensive than that of AGS, and that is where most rejections come from.
Documents linked to the declaration
Invoices, licences, certificates and statements attached to the correct declaration, with type and number. Since May 2026, these go via DMS and no longer by email.
Licences monitored
Licence numbers belong in the declaration and licences expire. Otherwise you discover an expired licence at the moment a consignment is held up.
Statuses and feedback per consignment
What DMS reports back is recorded against the consignment it concerns. Your logistics team can see what is happening without having to open a separate customs environment.
Rejections with follow-up
A rejected declaration becomes an action with an owner and a reason, because a list of errors without an owner only grows.
Connecting to your own systems
Article, order and shipment data lives in your ERP or TMS. We build the layer in between through integrations, rather than letting a second administration emerge.
Who we build for
Your role determines which part weighs heaviest. Four situations.
Freight forwarders and customs agents
You declare on behalf of others and carry the risk of their data. Checking before submission is worth most here, because a rejection affects your processing time and not your client's. The paperwork generated with the cargo is recorded with the customs app.
Import and distribution
High volume with many of the same items. The gain lies in master data that is correct, because an error in a commodity code repeats with every shipment.
Manufacturing under special procedures
Active processing, storage or customs transit bring permits that must be reflected in the declaration. That is exactly where manual work goes wrong. If you also import goods subject to CBAM, a second declaration follows.
E-commerce with small consignments
Large numbers with low values and many returns. The challenge is not the complexity per declaration but the volume, and therefore the extent to which it can be automated. The VAT side runs through VAT compliance software.
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The introduction of DMS is taking place in phases and the specifications are being supplemented. Everything related to message definitions and data fields should be configurable and kept per version.
Why Appfront
AGS no longer exists
Anyone who still has an AGS integration built is building on something that has been switched off. We build on DMS and keep the definitions configurable, because the rollout is not yet complete everywhere.
Correcting costs processing time
A rejected declaration holds up a shipment. We move the check to the moment of creation, because there it costs nothing.
Documents have been going through DMS since May 2026
What used to be an email is now part of the declaration. We build that as an action within the process rather than as a separate step alongside it.
Your ERP stays in place
We build the layer in between through integrations. A second article administration for customs will inevitably fall out of step.
Security and privacy
Customs data is commercially sensitive: suppliers, values, origins and volumes together form a picture of your purchasing that you will not want to share widely. If you declare on behalf of third parties, you also process your clients' data, and they should not be able to see each other's shipments. We therefore set access by role and by client, and record every inspection.
On the retention side, something applies that weighs more heavily with customs than elsewhere. Customs can audit after the fact, and then the question is what you declared at the time and on the basis of which documents. We therefore keep the submitted message as it left, with the accompanying documents and the permits that applied then, and not only the current status of the shipment. A system that knows only the latest version cannot explain, in an audit, why something was declared differently at the time. How we handle security ourselves is set out in our information security policy; reports from outside go through our CVD policy.
Frequently asked questions about AGS and DMS
No. Since 1 July 2024, declarations can no longer be lodged in AGS and must be made in DMS. Companies that had registered in time for the informal phase had a short transition period beyond that, with arrangements made in advance. In practice, an AGS integration no longer needs to be maintained.
The data set is broader and stricter than in AGS, the message exchange is structured differently, and the processes after submission have changed, including the way the Customs authority responds. That is why a ready-made translation of your old AGS messages rarely works.
Since mid-May 2026, declarants must submit documents for a customs declaration directly via DMS rather than by email. This mainly affects the workflow: someone who used to forward a scan must now attach the correct document of the right type to the right declaration.
Licence numbers must appear on the declaration, and licences have a validity period. Problems typically arise when a licence has expired or when a number has not been updated after a change. Monitoring this is a small task with a large impact.
Usually not. Most companies use a software package, or go through their freight forwarder, to submit the declaration itself. What we build is the layer before that: getting the data complete and correct, linking documents and placing the feedback against the consignment. That is where things go wrong at volume.
Implementation is taking place in stages and differs by declaration type: import, storage and export do not follow the same timeline. What applies to you depends on your declaration types and on arrangements with Customs. Check this directly with Customs, as the timetable has been adjusted several times.
Almost always, and that is the intention. Item data, goods codes and values are already there; what is usually missing are a few customs fields per item. Adding these to your own master data is cheaper than retyping them for every shipment.
That depends on the number of declaration types, whether documents and permits need to be included, and which package you are integrating with. The validation layer on your existing data is usually quick to put to use and immediately shows how many fields are missing. We give a reasoned estimate after the discovery phase.
Declarations getting stuck?
Take last month's rejections and look at which field they fail on. Usually it is a handful of fields that keep coming back. We build this as a standalone application and as part of a broader custom software project.