Compliance

Correct documentation is vital when importing or exporting, as inappropriate or overlooked documentation can lead to shipping delays, increased costs and business risks, such as cancelled international commercial activities.

The new UK plastic packaging tax (PPT) will come into force on 1 April 2022 and will be charged at a rate of £200 per tonne. What are the considerations for Import, Export and Transport Teams?

Many international trading companies are now insisting that all business partners within the international supply chain have Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) certification. AEO certification is globally recognised and demonstrates that your activities within the international supply chain are reliable, secure and fully compliant with customs control procedures.

Businesses importing their products from foreign markets covered by Preferential Trade Agreements can receive the products at reduced or nil rates of duty. Therefore, the importer pays less for their products compared with sourcing them from a foreign market not covered by Preferential Trade Agreements.

Multinational enterprises need to demonstrate that the transfer prices applied in transactions between their related companies is equivalent to prices charged by independent companies in similar economic conditions.

An essential and necessary part of successful importing and exporting is the correct classification of your products for customs clearance in accordance with the harmonised system used worldwide. How to classify your goods. What are commodity description codes? Structure of Tariff / Commodity Codes. Are Customs Classifications subject to change? Latest Edition of the Harmonized System (HS).

Transfer Pricing is used by multinational enterprises to establish the pricing for goods and services transferred between their related companies situated in different countries. Multinational enterprises often use Transfer Pricing as a method to allocate profits into territories where tax rates are more favourable.

The Government announced, during the Budget, that on 1 January 2021 Postponed VAT Accounting (PVA) will be introduced on imports. Currently, imported goods from a non-EU country are liable for payment of import VAT at the same time as customs duty. However, importers can defer to the fifteenth of the following month the payment of the customs duty and import VAT by using a duty deferment account (if available to them). The process will provide importers with a new cashflow benefit, as they will be able to postpone VAT at the time of import, as opposed to paying it immediately upon importation.