A new business? New to importing? Importing for the first time? Not sure what’s involved? We can help.

Imports are goods brought into the EU (including the UK) from non-EU countries (called “third countries”). There are 25 countries in the EU. Goods which are EU goods and moved from one EU country to another are not “imports”. They are “intra-Community movements”. These are subject to statistical reporting requirements. We can advise you about this.

If you have not imported before, you need to take account of a few areas if you are importing forth first time and are new to importing whether with anew business or a new venture in an existing business. There are a few areas to beware of. Tax/duties and customs declarations are the key ones at this stage.

Tax. Do you know how much import tax you will pay? This is a cost you will have to factor into your business plan, cash flow projections and selling prices. The taxes may include customs duty, excise duty, common agricultural policy (CAP) levy, anti-dumping duty and import VAT. Import VAT has to be paid whether you are registered for VAT or not! The type(s) taxes you pay depend on the tariff classification of goods in the 97 chapters of the Tariff. This is calculated based on the tariff classification of the goods, their customs value and what use you make of customs reliefs and beneficial regimes.

Customs declarations. Did you know that you will have to deal with import formalities? This is the procedure by which goods are imported, taxes due calculated and collected and goods released for use. Customs declarations involve completing a 50+ box form. There are penalties for getting this wrong. You can employ an agent to complete the form and deal with the customs formalities including applying the taxes. They invoice you for their service and add the taxes they paid on your behalf for the goods. Or you can complete the customs declaration and collect the goods from the port yourself. We can help with completing the necessary forms.

Some types of goods require special paperwork. This depends on their tariff classification and where the goods are manufactured, extracted, grown, etc. This is not necessarily the same as where they are shipped from. This may all sound daunting and complex. Some aspects are a question of being methodical. Some you will need to obtain information about or take advice on. We can help with all of this. You decide what you want sort out yourself and what you need help with. We will advise you on everything if you wish!

This is customs compliance; that is complying with the legal requirements to make a compliant declaration when importing goods. Then there is customs planning; this is making use of beneficial customs arrangements to ensure that the lowest amount of import tax is paid.

If you are a new business, then our international trade training programme will also help you. Learn more