What does a Customs Audit involve?
For many businesses, the word “audit” can feel quite heavy, but in reality, a customs audit can be as light touch or as in-depth as you need it to be! At Bethan Customs Consultancy we know there is no one size fits all approach and an audit can range from a focused review of one specific area through to a full customs health check across your import and export activity.
One of the things we hear quite often is: “ We really need to understand our current position, but we are not in a position to be audited just now. We do not even have our customs files set up to be able to provide you with the documents.”
As Bethan’s Director, Nicola Alexander says: “Every audit starts with understanding your business…”.
Are you audit ready?
To us, that is not a problem. In fact, it is often the reason businesses come to Bethan in the first place. We understand that operational teams are busy keeping goods moving and supporting the day to day needs of the business; and customs administration and document management often become something businesses simply do not have the time or resources to stay on top of.
We work directly with your freight agents to obtain the documents needed, help organise the information and take the pressure away from your internal teams. And yes, that can mean dealing with allllll the freight agents! See Kirsty’s blog on customs documentation…
What process and documentation is looked at?
Remember, there is no “one size fits all” approach at Bethan and, depending on your business and what you need from the audit, we may look at:
- Supply chain and processes - how your imports and exports flow through the business, from procurement through to declaration, identifying any gaps, inefficiencies or risks
- HMRC Authorisations - what authorisations you hold and how they are being used in practice
- Customs Declarations - reviewing import and export entries against supporting documentation to check accuracy across classification, valuation and origin
Why your business should audit its imports and exports.
A customs audit is not just about identifying what is wrong - Nicola wrote about this in an earlier blog too - it’s about understanding how your customs activity is performing overall and identifying where there may be risks, inefficiencies or opportunities to improve.
What Bethan will always do is look beyond individual entries and focus on the bigger picture. That means reviewing trends, identifying potential risks, highlighting key compliance focus areas and recommending practical ways to strengthen processes moving forward.
What does a Bethan Customs Audit look like?
The output is just as important as the audit itself, and we focus on making the results clear and usable:
- a detailed report outlining the areas reviewed and findings
- a summary view highlighting key risks and priorities
- a video walkthrough explaining what it all means (in laymans terms!) and what to do next
Bethan experience, conversations and research shows us that people take in information differently - some want the detail and others want the key messages and highlights. Most need both. That is why we present our findings in multiple ways, so they can be understood and acted on across your business. An audit is only valuable if it leads to action.
Bethan Customs Audit top tip.
We regularly see businesses being charged by freight agents to resend customs documentation, sometimes up to £50 per entry! If you do nothing else right now, set up a shared mailbox such as customs@yourcompany.com and ask for all customs documentation to be sent there. Even if the documents are not fully organised yet, at least you will have them all in one central place when you need them!
If you would like to understand what a customs audit could look like for your business, Bethan can help you define the right approach. You can contact us directly or set up a free 15 minute call here.
