His Majesty’s Customs Department is reporting that an issue affecting user access to the CAPS system, which arose on Thursday, February 19, 2026, remains unresolved. Photo: HM Customs

His Majesty’s Customs Department has advised that handwritten Trader Declarations (TDs) will not be accepted under any circumstances. Photo: Facebook

It was reported that as a result, some users may receive a “Critical Exception - LDAP Error Code 49 (Invalid Credentials)” message when attempting to log in.

According to a Facebook post from the department, “Users are still unable to access the system, and we understand the operational impact this is causing. Until further notice, importers and brokers are required to revert to the approved manual process using the HMC-12-2024 Excel Declaration Form. This is the only acceptable manual submission format.”

Handwritten TDs will not be accepted 

In light of this situation, the department has advised that handwritten Trader Declarations (TDs) will not be accepted under any circumstances. The HMC-12-2024 Excel form must be fully completed and calculated prior to submission.

“If you were able to successfully submit a TD in CAPS before the outage and can print the declaration paperwork, please bring the printed documents to the respective Port of Arrival listed on the declaration,” the department advised.

His Majesty’s Customs Department has apologised for the inconvenience this disruption may cause, stating, “We understand that each shipment may present different circumstances.’’

Individuals are encouraged to seek further assistance for clearing their cargo by contacting the relevant Customs Station directly.

CAPS issues

Since 2023, local businesses and individuals have been complaining of major inconvenience and losses due to the Customs Automation Processing System (CAPS) being frequently ‘down’, and whenever it comes up, there is a long backlog in clearing packages for businesses.

This has caused many small and medium-sized businesses to lose money, as the delay means they cannot get their goods cleared to be placed in the stores for resale.

It was our understanding in December 2023 that the CAPS system had run out of storage space and needed to be upgraded, and that there were also some network challenges with the CAPS system. It is unclear whether those issues were addressed.

See related article below: 

Businesses complain of long Customs Dept delays in clearing packages