Customs Duty - A 60 Second Guide
Customs planning is often seen as a dark art or an unavoidable cost of sourcing overseas. This 60 second guide aims to give you a quick understanding and frame of reference for any deeper research in to customs duty and planning:
- Customs duties are charged on the import of tangible goods from outside of the European Union
- The customs rules are similar in most trading countries as they stem from international agreements from the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and World Customs Organisation (WCO). Be aware that there are differences in implementation of these global standards
- Customs duties are normally charged as a percentage of the value of imported goods but some goods subject to duty based on their weight or number
- Customs duty rates vary between 0-217%. The un-weighted average duty rate is 4.1% in the EU but some sectors incur significantly higher costs (e.g., textiles 12%)
- Customs compliance is subject to audit based control. Although your goods are declared to the customs authorities at time of import these transactions remain open for three years
- The impact of customs errors include:
- Collection of underpaid customs duties
- Penalties (of up to £2,500 per innocent mistake)
- Removal or suspension of customs duty relief schemes
- Time consuming investigations and delays in getting your goods
Please read the full article..... |
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