Customs Facilitation Schemes
There are a number of very useful facilitation schemes available for importers and exporters and here are a couple:
Imports for Repair
A very successful client sold very expensive equipment to the US, Japan and the Far East. Since it was so specialised if there were any maintenance or repair issues the customer would return the equipment to the UK. There is a trade facilitation scheme which allows import duty and import Vat relief where goods are imported for process / repair and re-export but this needs to be used at the correct time so plan!
Whilst our client used this, it was unaware that it needed to be able to trace import to re-export. HMRC were due to visit and on reviewing the system it was evident an assessment would result. We successfully implemented a system which satisfied HMRC and avoided the assessment which was estimated at around £50K.
Overseas Business
We have assisted a number of overseas businesses including one which has a large scale contract with a UK organisation to import and supply specialised equipment. We have assisted with all areas of the import process including applying for authorisations that mean that no import duty is payable on the imports which in turn means that the company can sell more products to the customer given the contract is a fixed price contract.
Our Advice is that if you have any clients that in particular import from non-EU countries then it is worth considering whether any of the available schemes may be of benefit to them, especially since Customs is an area often overlooked by businesses and accountants alike.
