How to Audit an Import Declaration

When it comes to customs declarations, taking ownership and ensuring compliance is essential for every business engaged in importing goods. At SwiftFile, we emphasize the importance of auditing your import declarations regularly. Conducting spot checks not only strengthens compliance but also helps businesses avoid costly mistakes and penalties.

If you’re wondering how to start the review process, here’s a step-by-step guide to auditing an import declaration, designed to streamline your checks and enhance accuracy.

Why Audit Import Declarations?

Customs declarations are critical documents for international trade. Ensuring their accuracy can prevent discrepancies, legal issues, and financial losses. Importers are encouraged to perform routine spot checks to prepare for potential audits from customs authorities and maintain compliance.

5 Steps to Audit an Import Declaration

  1. Agree the Value to the Purchase Invoice
    • Verify that the declared value aligns with the actual purchase invoice. This ensures the accuracy of the declared import value.
  2. Verify the Commodity Code Against the TARIC Database
    • Check that the commodity code matches the goods being imported. TARIC is the EU database of commodity codes. This step is crucial, as commodity codes are vital in determining import duties.
  3. Ensure Proof of Origin for Preferential Duty Claims
    • If preferential import duties  are claimed, ensure that you have valid proof of origin documents to back these claims. This would take the form of a Statement on Origin from the manufacturer, or other documents to prove the goods are originating.
  4. Validate Transport Costs Against Freight Invoices
    • Confirm that transportation costs (coded as AK) declared in the import declaration agree to the freight invoice. When agreed INCOTERMS are FOB, FCA or EXW, the freight cost should be included in the import duty calculation.
  5. Cross-Check Import VAT to Returns
    • For postponed import VAT, ensure the VAT amount corresponds to your VAT return file and is correctly accounted for. It is vitally important that any import VAT postponed is properly accounted for. Tax authorities can exclude non-compliant companies of availing of it.

Click here to view our How to Audit an Import Declaration Guide

How SwiftFile Can Help

At SwiftFile, we assist businesses in navigating the complexities of customs compliance. From filing declarations to providing expert advice, our team is here to support your journey toward seamless import processes.

Reach out today to discuss your customs declaration needs and how we can help your business ensure compliance.

Contact Us

Brian McNamara, FCA
📞 01 901 1780
📧 Brian@SwiftFile.ie
🌐 www.SwiftFile.ie

Conclusion

Regular audits of your import declarations are an essential practice for every importer. By following the outlined steps and engaging with experts like SwiftFile, your business can mitigate risks, ensure compliance, and focus on growth without the fear of unexpected customs issues.

CBAM – 8 Practical Tips on Getting CBAM Compliant

CBAM stands for Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism. It is essentially a carbon tax on imports, and its aim is to help the EU decarbonise and reach its climate goals. EU producers in certain carbon-intensive industries will soon have to pay a carbon price under the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). CBAM will work in tandem with this to avoid “carbon leakage”- the relocation of production outside the EU to countries with less ambitions decarbonisation policies.

When fully up and running, importers of certain goods will have to buy certificates to cover the cost of their embedded carbon emissions.

Much of the communication on CBAM has been poor, and this hasn’t made it any easier for importers to accurately report on their CBAM goods. The guidance from the European Commission has been far from practical, while locally the EPA and Revenue have been scrambling to offer assistance to importers. From our detailed review of the guidance and our dealings with the EPA on behalf of our clients, I’ve outlined below 8 practical tips on CBAM reporting:

 

8 Practical Tips on Getting CBAM Compliant:

1. Use the C&E import reports from Revenue as the starting point in establishing your dataset. These are the import quantities that you will be expected to report against.

2. Goods coming from Northern Ireland suppliers should not be included in the CBAM reports.

3. Here is a full list of goods covered by CBAM SwiftFile-CBAM-goods-list. Any imports of these goods from outside the EU should be reported on each quarter.

4. If no CBAM goods are imported in a quarter, no CBAM report needs to be submitted.

5. To enable importers provide accurate reports, the first 2 CBAM reports can be amended multiple times until 31 July 2024.

6. Although very new, CBAM reporting is here to stay. Importers of CBAM goods should look to put processes in place for the data collection, and add it to the list of statutory reporting obligations.

7. Only goods entering free circulation should be reported on. Goods entering temporarily or under Inward Processing do not need to be included in the CBAM reports.

8. Blanket use of default values will no longer be allowed from Q3 2024 (30th June). Importers should be talking to their suppliers now to ensure they will have specific carbon emissions data on their imports.

The last point is particularly important. The reporting obligation is incredibly granular, and its clear that importers will struggle to obtain specific carbon emissions data from their suppliers. But at this stage the European Commission has shown no inclination that they will extend the use of the default values beyond Q2’s report. Its definitely a case of preparing for the worst, and hoping for the best.

If you would like to discuss how partnering with SwiftFile can simplify the CBAM reporting process, please get in touch brian@swiftfile.ie.

Northern Ireland Protocol – Red and Green Lane

Read more

6 Emerging Issues from the First 6 Weeks of Brexit

Read more

Contact

Towerville Consulting Limited t/a SwiftFile
Dublin, Ireland

Services

File customs declarations
Customs advisory
Reporting
CBAM: Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism

Useful links

Services
About Swiftfile
Insights
Client testimonials