Customs Consultancy FAQs
What does a customs consultant do?
A customs consultant provides tailor-made advice for your company about importing and exporting goods.
They answer your questions about anything to do with the world of customs, and they have the ability and the knowledge to answer your questions, however challenging or niche these might be. ChamberCustoms consultants are here to support you with information that relates specifically to your business, your challenges, the opportunities presented for the types of goods you are importing or exporting and additional considerations that you may not have considered. They are here to impart knowledge to make your business more efficient and compliant.
How do ChamberCustoms consultants help you navigate international trade?
The reason people come to us is because of our wealth of expertise. We have several consultants who can help businesses navigate the complexities of international trading, such as regulations and customs notices.
We understand the range of questions businesses have about international trade. We can guarantee that we will have a consultant who knows precisely where to look and how to answer your specific queries or help with your particular challenges.
When traders come to ChamberCustoms for advice, they are typically frustrated because there is so much information, and they just don't know what is relevant to them. Our goal is to understand what you need, then provide the expertise to navigate a complex world and finally come back with the answers specific to the customer.
What are some common pain points of UK businesses importing and exporting?
The key pain point for businesses, especially post-Brexit, is that they don’t know what they don’t know. Their challenge is understanding what they must do to comply because the world of international trade is new for them. Many companies are not yet familiar with the import process, having only traded within the boundaries of the single EU market.
Companies want someone knowledgeable to provide information targeted to their type of business and the types of goods they are importing or exporting. This tailor-made approach is a crucial benefit of our consultancy services.
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Compliance is always a huge and key concern for the businesses we support. It’s not surprising when they know that they can face penalties from HMRC if they are not compliant.
We are always clear about the cost of compliance because it’s a hidden cost. Our customers appreciate our focus on compliance. We know what it is to be compliant and how important it is.
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Delivery Terms are a critical topic that comes up regularly. Establishing the responsibilities in an international transaction is the key to success. Incoterms® offer a recognised international framework of pre-set configurations of responsibilities between parties.
Check out our Incoterms® training here.
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The roles and responsibilities of importing and exporting are a common topic covered with our customs consultants and the companies we work with. We focus primarily on the trader's responsibility in the UK: when importing into the UK and when exporting from the UK.
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Special Procedures is something on which we regularly advise companies. Your business can take advantage of suspending duty and/or reducing duty payable, making your business more competitive.
This is one of the significant opportunities when working with a customs consultant, optimising processes whilst understanding how to make efficiencies and savings for your business.
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Classification is about understanding how your goods fit in the internationally Harmonised System. We often find that businesses struggle in choosing the correct HS code. We can help you in this task to ensure that you remain compliant and pay the correct duty rate.
Find out more in our Ultimate Guide to Commodity Codes and Classification.
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Valuation often confuses traders. The amount of duty and VAT that you pay depends on various elements and not just on the price you paid for the goods. It is important that you declare the correct value for your goods, adding what is required and deducting what is allowed.
Do I need Customs Training or Customs Consultancy?
We help companies with training, consultancy and customs clearance. If you are unsure of your exact needs, one of our helpful team members will be able to walk you through your particular concerns and questions and direct you to the right team at ChamberCustoms.
There is a wide choice of companies on the market: some specialise in customs training, some advertise international consultants, and several offer customs brokerage or clearance services. ChamberCustoms is unique because we are a one-stop shop for anything your company needs when importing and exporting.
One of the benefits of working with ChamberCustoms is that we have been there from the beginning. We connect to the 53 Chambers of Commerce spread around the UK and are wholly owned by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), which has been the go-to resource for international trade for over a hundred years.
We helped thousands of businesses navigate Brexit and are now helping more since the end of staged customs clearance has come to pass.
We are a trailblazer for HMRC's new systems (as we move from the CHIEF system to CDS) and regularly participate in their pilots, offering expert advice. We are consultants and trainers, but we also facilitate customs clearance - so our advice is not just theoretical. It comes from expertise on the ground.
What differentiates ChamberCustoms consultancy services from others?
ChamberCustoms is fully owned by the British Chambers of Commerce. Our International network of experts leads all of our services. Our import and export advisors regularly appear as expert witnesses in parliament, a trusted voice for the media, and provide expert advice to the Government.
Our consultants have years of experience working with and within multi-national companies and SMEs importing and exporting goods - and can tap into that expertise for your business.
International markets and borders have never been more complex following Brexit (2021) and the end of staged customs controls (2022).
At ChamberCustoms, we are on top of the ever-changing international trading environment and global economy. We can keep you compliant.
Insider knowledge and being on the ground working in customs clearance - theoretical and practical experience.
Our trio of services - customs clearance, training and consultancy.
We are known for our long history of international trade via local Chambers and the British Chambers of Commerce.
We are renowned for our comprehensive knowledge of compliance.
What support and advice does ChamberCustoms specialise in?
We can provide Customs Advice targeted to your specific needs.
ChamberCustoms consultants specialise in:
Special Procedures
Import and Export
Classification
Valuation
What are the main benefits of investing in customs consultancy?
A health check with our Customs Consultants may uncover opportunities and risks. Specifically, we find that our Customs Advice highlights:
Opportunities to save on duties
Risks of not using Special Procedures adequately
Opportunities to save duty by understanding Quotas and Preference
Risks of importing under preference and Preferential Trade agreements without compliant documentation
Opportunity to increase the confidence of your internal team in navigating through customs
Opportunity to understand Rules of Origin better
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Special Procedures exist to allow traders to suspend duty. This means that, under certain circumstances, customs duty is not paid immediately upon importation.
Let’s look at an example: a company buys fabrics from China, imports them into the UK, and uses them to make clothes sold in the UK and abroad.
Using Special Procedures, the trader in the UK could agree with HMRC to suspend the duty.
The trader will pay customs duty on the imported fabrics if the manufactured clothes are sold in the UK. However, no duty would be payable on the exported clothes, making the trader competitive in the international market. This scenario is called Inward Processing Relief.
Other types of Special Procedures include:
Importing of goods for repair.
Storing goods in duty suspension
Our Customs Advisors are well-versed in helping you apply for special procedures and will guide you in using them effectively and compliantly.
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Preference has been a real topic of discussion during and following Brexit negotiations. Without free trade agreements in place, you would have to pay duty on any imported goods; conversely, when other countries buy your products, they would have to pay duty in their country.
A bilateral Free Trade Agreement reduces duty usually to 0% for both countries.
To take advantage of preference, you must ensure that your product qualifies and that you hold the correct supporting documentation. It’s not always as straightforward as it sounds, but our consultants are ready to assist you in ensuring you remain compliant when claiming preference.
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Rules of Origin are like the DNA of your goods.
Preferential Origin has little to do with the place from which products initially come. It mainly concerns the makeup of your goods, what is in them and where all of the elements or ingredients come from. It is also related to the processes those goods have undergone.
What are the key outputs you’ll get from ChamberCustoms consultants?
Our consultant will typically arrange two to three virtual meetings with you over the time of the project to dive deeper into your specific questions and needs. After your first meeting, you will receive a summary of the project scope. You will be required to confirm by email that you agree to the work outlined.
Our customs consultant will begin with a research phase, including collaboration and information gathering with you and your team.
During the collaborative phase, the consultant will discuss specific recommendations.
Our consultant will then conduct the rest of the work behind the scenes, researching, factfinding and summarising laws and regulations.
The outcome will be a detailed report presenting crucial recommendations specific to your business, goods, and challenges.
This will include key findings and answers to your specific questions, with an opportunity for you to ask further questions.
The conclusion is a clear roadmap to enhance successful import and export strategies and overall compliance in international trade.
Have you tried our interactive Customs Health Check Tool?
Measure your level of customs compliance and discover how to save money, and improve efficiency, in your imports and exports.
What our Customs Consultancy customers say:
““We cannot recommend Chamber Customs highly enough. They were very professional, friendly, supportive, extremely knowledgeable and very efficient.
From the time we made contact with them to receive our report, and our follow up meeting, they kept us informed at every stage.
If anyone is looking for guidance and advice regarding customs procedures, then ChamberCustoms are the people to call.””
If you are looking for a customs clearance agent to file customs declarations on your behalf and keep you trading compliantly, you might be looking for our Customs Clearance service, find out more here:
If you are looking for Customs Training Courses from our industry expert trainers, you can find these here: