Customs Duty Services

All businesses have to deal with HMRC from time to time and there are a number of ways we can help to relieve the pressure this puts on your organisation. Where a difficult customs duty matter arises, you can instruct us to discuss the situation with HMRC on your behalf to help negotiate an acceptable solution.

We can offer advice and assistance in all areas of international trade with a view to delivering best practice methodologies and developing global trade programs that can maximise risk management and cost reduction, thus driving improved business performance. 

When you import goods into the UK or export from the UK, you are legally required to submit a customs declaration to HMRC. Your business should take steps now to review the customs data submitted to HMRC on your behalf by your customs brokers to ensure that your business is not exposed to the risk of customs duty assessments and civil penalties.

CDAT, developed by our Customs, Excise, and International Trade (CEIT) specialists, is a user-friendly tool designed to analyse your import and export data (MSS – Management Support System Data) obtained from HMRC. The tool is compatible with both historical CHIEF data and current CDS import and export data sets, which we enhance with HMRC trade tariff data. In addition, we can enrich the data pool with additional data from your ERP system.

Enhance your understanding of our CDAT services by downloading our informative flyer.

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A variety of reliefs and regimes exist to encourage manufacturing within the EU, which either suspend or extinguish customs duty liabilities. BDO can provide guidance on which duty reliefs and/or regimes may be appropriate to a business thereby reducing costs and improving margins. 

We can provide guidance on classification, valuation and preference compliance to ensure the optimal amount of duty is being paid and minimise the risk of HMRC assessments. 

Many businesses may feel that they have little or no visibility over the customs duty process. We have developed a management tool to enable businesses to obtain comfort that their supply chain processes are operating efficiently and that potential saving opportunities are not being missed. 

A variety of preferential trade agreements exist between the EU and its key trading partners. The ability to claim preference on import and/or export of a product is governed by legislation which requires certain key criteria to be met and documentation, such as a certificate of origin, to be obtained. 

It is common for today's businesses to have a decentralised customs function which is not aligned to other core business processes. Our reviews are designed to evaluate current processes and procedures against HMRC requirements, identify any gaps and make recommendations for efficiency in the supply chain operation. These reviews can also help the business meet the standards required by the Authorised Economic Operator accreditation and Senior Accounting Officer regulations.

This drives several import variables such as the duty rate, entitlement to preferential rates of duty, and import restrictions such as quotas and suspensions. 

Our on-site training programs cover all areas of customs planning and compliance for global businesses. We can provide a standard training session or a tailored programme to address the individual commercial needs and practical challenges faced by your organisation. 

The customs value declared forms the basis for calculating the amount of duties payable, so the business must comply with valuation rules. An Advance Valuation Ruling and provide certainty over the valuation method you use and we can help negotiate this with HMRC.