Customs Compliance
Ensuring You Are Fully Compliant
– Are you new to international trading?
– Do you have the appropriate import/export licenses?
– Have you been importing from a country which issues a GSP but not claiming a reduced rate?
– Are you confident you are using the correct commodity codes?
– Have you got a customs audit coming up?
– Are you introducing new lines, changing products or suppliers?
Customs compliance can be a real minefield, even for those who are relatively familiar with the movement of goods – and getting it wrong can cost you time and money. We will ensure you are fully compliant and legal from the point of completing your sale or placing your order overseas to delivery to your client (export) or your premises (import).
Customs Health Checks
Whether you are importing and exporting for the first time or have been managing it yourself but think you need additional guidance, our customs health checks can help you to:
– Stay on the right side of HMRC by checking your paperwork, finding out where mistakes are occurring and stopping them.
– Identify trade routes that are subject to lower tariffs and avoid additional charges like Anti-Dumping Duty.
– Spend more time focusing on your business while we cut through the red tape, deal with paperwork and field calls from freight forwarders and HMRC.
Every health check starts with a thorough audit of your current systems, processes, people and agents to uncover any gaps in your compliance and unnecessary spending on customs clearances or agency fees. Our service is all about delivering value for money and we will find you those quick wins to streamline the administration of your imports or exports.
Following the initial assessment, we will create a list of recommendations and new ideas to restore or increase profitability in your customs department. However, we all know we can read a list of recommendations, throw them on the ‘to-do’ tray and pile every other task on top of them.
Which is why we offer two further options.
- Set up service
If you want to be confident you have all the right processes and procedures in place but are happy running things yourself, you need our health check set up service. Once we have identified the changes that need making, we will work with your team to implement them, ensuring everyone understands exactly what is being done and why.
We understand that change can be difficult for some teams, but we will guide your company and its agents to a new, more efficient system in as smooth a transition as possible. Where there are gaps in knowledge, we can arrange bespoke training so you can be sure your whole team has everything they need to support your business.
2. Retained services
Our outsourced shipping office service puts us at the heart of your import and export operation, so you can be confident everything will be done right the first time and every time.
We take care of all the paperwork and licences, make you aware of embargoes and quotas and highlight any other potential hazards and pitfalls in relation to international trade.
Trust us to:
– Ensure your goods are exported correctly
– Ensure your goods are imported and customs cleared as efficiently as possible
– Classify your goods accurately
– Complete pre- and post- customs clearance checks
– Deal with HMRC and Customs on your behalf, including disputes
Whichever option you choose, we are always at the end of the phone to help with any questions.
Understanding The Detail
With our combination of customs theory knowledge (we are qualified to Institute of Export standard) and real-world experience, we are well-placed to cover all aspects of customs compliance. Let us pass on our knowledge to turn your team into a new and improved workforce and set your business up for success.
Classifying goods: Commodity codes
One of the costliest mistakes that companies can make is by not understanding the use of commodity codes in classifying their goods for import and export. Commodity codes can change without warning and some might even be brought back into use after being obsolete for some time. We can oversee your selection of commodity codes and ensure that you are paying the least amount of duty required by law.
Movement Reference Number Document - MRN
Origin Rules
These are the rules that determine the legal source of a product. This is particularly important where the goods produced involve materials that originate in more than one country. Are they classified as a Wholly Obtained origin or Last Substantial Transformation origin? Do you understand the difference? A mistake here can mean the difference between your products being profitable or not.
Tariff Preference Schemes and Free Trade Agreements
Using preference schemes such as the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) and trading with countries where a Free Trade Agreement is in place can save a huge amount in duty if you are importing from qualifying origin countries and not exceeding any quotas. Do your goods qualify? Let us find out for you.
Saving You Money
As customs consultants, our ultimate goal has always been to save companies money. During 25+ years working in a corporate international trade and logistics environment, our team has implemented real-world systems and processes helping businesses to save, quite literally, millions of pounds.
