Anything to Declare?     July 2010 

Greetings!   

Importers are currently being inundated with new customs laws and procedures which you need to adopt in order to remain compliant and competitive on the world stage. In this Edition of "Anything to Declare?" we look at a piece of legislation that is causing many businesses that are involved in International Trade real headaches, namely the Bribery Act 2010.

 

The UK government has been under increasing International pressure to improve its bribery and corruption laws.  It's response is to take the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and tag on corporate liability for failing to prevent bribery.  For those that are aware of and operate under the FCPA then the UK legislation will require some new systems and procedures. For those that don't, The UK Act could require a rethink into how you control some areas of business risk.  

 
Your customs obligations
under the UK Bribery Act
Legislators involved in regulating international trade have certainly been working overtime in the past few years. In the world of Customs Law we have seen:  
 
The introduction of Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) certification as a response to the heightened threat of international terrorism
 
The introduction of Senior Accounting Officer  (SAO) provisions holding Financial Directors or other senior accountants personally liable for corporate tax declarations
 
The raising of the bar for achieving customs (re) authorisations (such as Customs Simplified Procedures)
 
The Modernised Customs Code (although we are still waiting for the Implementing Regulations, the planned changes under the MCC are significant)
 
The tightening of Money Laundering Regulations. 
 
The Bribery Act has radically overhauled the UK's existing legislation that has been criticised at international level. In fact, the old legislation was one of the reasons why the UK's score on Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index has dropped from 8.4 to 7.7 (the UK is now ranked 17th).    
 
 
  Bribery
About Us

International Trade Solutions helps medium to large companies build world-class customs functions, delivering cost-savings while ensuring effective compliance with customs regulations.

Our team is headed by Rob Jenkins and is made up of legal and accounting professionals. We have strategic partnerships with banks, legal and accountancy practices and logistic professionals, enabling us to set up virtual teams to help solve multi-disciplinary challenges.

Get in Touch

       If you would like to discuss any of these issues then  please call 

 Rob Jenkins on 01905 619229 or e mail at

robjenkins@internationaltradesolutions.co.uk

 
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