Opportunities And Threats When Starting A New In-House Customs Role

Customs roles involve working with and relying on the efficiency and accuracy of many different parts of the business, such as logistics, procurement and finance, along with various external customs brokers.

It can be overwhelming getting up to speed with the status quo, before even starting to think about implementing positive change.

In addition, customs specialists become responsible for errors made before they joined the company, as customs declarations are open to scrutiny by HMRC for three years.

The first few weeks of starting a new job are the ideal time to step back from the immediate demands of the day-to-day job and carry out an analysis of the current customs function.

Barbourne Brook can provide a landscape review service to analyse the current operations for accuracy and efficiency and also review customs activity dating back three years.

This can identify incidents of both overpaid or underpaid duty. Where an overpayment has been made, there is the opportunity to make a reclaim, which could potentially amount to a substantial amount of money.

Where errors or underpayments are identified, this can be rectified by making a voluntary disclosure to the HMRC, mitigating future risk of fines and bringing current and future activity in line with customs regulations.

Barbourne Brook consultants have a wide range of expertise across many different industries and can quickly analyse customs data for common high-risk areas.

The benefits that the landscape analysis can bring to businesses in terms of reclaim and mitigation of risk will comfortably outweigh the investment required to complete the work.

Adam Wood, Head of Commercial said:

“There’s no better time for a customs consultant to initiate a review of the business customs function than when they start in a new job. The review provides clarity on where the business is from a customs perspective and allows the department to prioritise and plan for the future.

For the new recruit, it demonstrates to the leadership that you are striving for the highest standards within your department, with accuracy and efficiency bringing down risk and driving financial results.”