Customs Declaration Services
Straightforward customs declarations for UK importers and exporters, prepared and filed into CDS by people who will tell you what every box on the entry means if you ask.
Which Declaration Does Your Movement Need
Which declaration you need depends on the direction of travel and what happens to the goods on the way. Start here, or see the full range of customs clearance services.
Goods Coming In
Import declarations, full frontier, simplified and EIDR, with the duty and import VAT handled.
Goods Going Out
Export declarations, accompanying documents and the departure evidence your VAT return relies on.
Goods Passing Through
T1 and T2 transit declarations for goods moving under customs control before duty is paid.
Safety and Security
Entry summary declarations, which sit alongside the customs entry rather than replacing it.
Filings Into the EU
ICS2 pre-arrival data for road, rail, air and sea consignments entering the European Union.
Clearance at the Short Straits
Declarations for Dover, Folkestone and Sevington, ten minutes from our Ashford office.
What Actually Goes On a Declaration
Whatever the direction, every entry answers the same handful of questions. Get these right and the rest of the form follows.
The Commodity Code
The single most important field on the entry. Ten digits on a UK import, eight on an export, and it decides the duty rate, the VAT rate, whether a licence is required, whether a quota applies and whether preference can be claimed at all.
The Customs Value
The figure duty is charged on, which is not always the figure on the invoice. It starts with the price paid and adds the cost of getting the goods to the UK border. The delivery terms decide how much of that is already included, which is why we ask for the Incoterm rather than assuming one.
Origin
Origin is where goods were produced or last substantially transformed, not where they were shipped from. Non-preferential origin decides which measures and quotas apply. Preferential origin decides whether a trade agreement reduces the duty, and that only works if you hold the supporting statement or evidence.
Procedure Codes
These tell customs what you are doing with the goods, and they are where most avoidable duty gets paid. Free circulation is only one option. Inward processing, temporary admission, customs warehousing and returned goods relief all exist, each with conditions attached. Declare the wrong one and you either overpay or take on an obligation you did not intend.
- A four digit procedure code, plus additional codes for any relief or condition being claimed
- Chosen against your commercial intention for the goods, not copied from the last entry
Duty and Import VAT
Duty comes from the customs value at the rate the commodity code carries, less any preference properly claimed. Import VAT is then charged on the value including that duty, with excise on top for the goods that attract it. Most VAT registered importers now use postponed VAT accounting so the VAT never leaves the bank account.
Records and Evidence
A declaration is a statement you have to stand behind years later. HMRC expects the customs records behind an entry to be kept for four years and VAT records for six, so the two periods do not match and it is safer to work to the longer one.
- Invoices, packing lists, transport documents and the entry itself, kept together per consignment
- Origin statements, licences and valuation working, which are the items audits ask for first
We Would Rather Ask Than Guess
Most declaration problems start with a document nobody read properly. A description that just says goods, a value with no freight breakdown, an origin taken off a website. We come back on those before filing, which costs a phone call and saves an amendment later.
You do not need to understand the entry to work with us. If you want to, we will walk you through the one we filed and show you where each figure came from.
- Description. What the goods actually are, in enough detail to classify them properly.
- Value and terms. The price, the currency and the Incoterm the sale was agreed on.
- Origin. Where the goods were made, with the statement if you are claiming preference.
- Intention. Whether the goods are staying, being processed, being returned or moving on.
- Parties. EORI numbers for the importer or exporter, and who is acting for whom.
A Broker That Moves the Freight Too
Declarations are the larger half of what we do and part and full load haulage is the other, so we see a bad entry from both sides of the barrier.
Of Our Work Is Customs
Roughly two thirds of the business is declarations, so it is the main job, not a bolt on.
From Documents to Filed
Most declarations go in within minutes of your paperwork arriving, and most clear on submission.
Authorised, Not Certified
We hold AEOC authorisation from HMRC, and we are members of BIFA and FIATA.
Rated By 40+ Reviewers
Our Google rating, from the traders and hauliers who deal with us week to week.
Customs Declaration FAQs
What is a customs declaration, in plain terms?
It is a legal statement to a customs authority describing goods crossing a border: what they are, what they are worth, where they came from, who is moving them and what is being done with them. In the UK it goes electronically to HMRC through the Customs Declaration Service, and duty, VAT and clearance all follow from what it says.
Who is legally responsible for the information on it?
The importer or exporter of record. Where we act as your direct representative we file in your name, you remain responsible for the data and we are responsible for declaring it accurately from what you give us. Indirect representation, where the agent shares the liability, is a different arrangement.
Where do I find the right commodity code?
The UK Integrated Online Tariff lists them all, but searching it is not the same as classifying. Codes turn on material, function and how the item is presented, so borderline goods need a proper look. We classify what you send us and explain the reasoning, and we can help you get a binding ruling from HMRC.
Can one declaration cover a mixed load?
Yes. One entry can carry many item lines, each with its own commodity code, value and origin, which is how groupage consignments are handled. What it cannot do is collapse different goods under one convenient code. If a load has forty product lines, it has forty item lines, and we build it that way.
What happens if a declaration turns out to be wrong?
It gets corrected, either before clearance or by a post clearance amendment afterwards, with overpaid duty reclaimed or underpaid duty disclosed. Voluntary disclosure is treated very differently from an error HMRC finds during an audit, so the sensible course is to fix it as soon as you spot it.
Do you file for both UK and Irish movements?
Yes. We file into CDS from Ashford and into the Irish system from our Dublin office, so a movement between Great Britain and Ireland is declared at both ends by one team rather than by two brokers passing references between them. Tell us the route and we will confirm what each end needs.
Have someone check the entry before it goes
Send us a set of documents and we will tell you how the goods classify, what the declaration will say and what it costs.