Customs Duty
Any importer of goods from outside the EU must give a high priority to the payment of customs duty and compliance with import and export legislation. Duty is a basic cost to the business that directly affects the bottom line, and a substantial amount is over-paid each year by importers in the EU. In addition to this regime of civil penalties affects both importers and exporters alike and may be levied by Customs for any breach of the complex legislation.
The VAT Consultancy has dedicated Customs Duty Specialists who can assist with any issue related to customs duty and international trade.
Customs assessments and disputes
A significant number of assessments issued by the customs authorities can be overturned. We are experienced in working to resolve disputes between Customs and the importer, and in many instances this has resulted in a significant reduction in the amount of duty payable.
Savings and Duty planning
Any importer paying duty should take all possible steps to legitimately minimise the customs duty bill. In particular we will assist you to
- Avoid - using legitimate duty relief schemes, or
- Reduce - using duty planning techniques, or
- Postpone - through the use of duty deferment, customs warehousing, etc.
Where applicable we will work with you to maximise any historic duty refunds resulting from retrospective application of duty reliefs or declaration errors.
Compliance
Very few checks on imported goods take place at the time of importation. However, many additional, in-depth, checks are undertaken at post-importation audits. Any errors discovered by Customs at these audits may lead to financial penalties and, more significantly for companies, demands for duties underpaid on inputs in previous years.
Established importers
We will assist in ensuring that your customs accounting and reporting systems are able to cope with all the statutory demands put upon them whilst minimising the input required on a day to day basis. Our aim is to assist companies to:
- Maximise any potential duty savings
- Make the most of all potential cash-flow benefits
- Operate streamlined administrative and reporting functions
- Ensure that they are fully compliant with legislative requirements
In addition we:
- Provide practical advice on duty related issues such as tariff classification, customs valuation, duty reliefs, completion of documentation, etc.
- Provide health checks to ensure that you are working at the optimum level of customs control and maximising all potential savings opportunities
- Train relevant members of your organisation, including those involved on the operational side, as well as purchasing and sales where necessary
New importers
The demands put upon a new importer from day one seem very daunting. The requirement for:
- Registration
- A deferment account
- The correct commodity code and duty rate for the goods
- An accurate value to be declared for customs purposes
- Use to be made of all available duty relief schemes and their administration
- Avoidance of penalties for non-compliance
Avoiding delays at the port to guarantee a seamless supply of goods to your new customers will be of paramount importance and a small amount of advance planning can ensure that your new company delivers great customer service.
For further details click here: Mike Hodge Associates