Import Helpline

Stay on the right side of HM Revenue & Customs with GA’s Customs and International Trade consultants, Mike Hodge Associates.  Mike Hodge and Barbara Scott offer a complete range of services to help importers, including advice on duty rates, rules of origin, licensing requirements, etc.  Find out about the law and procedures that apply to you and your goods: if you don’t, costly errors can be made.

It is the importer’s responsibility to ensure that the goods declared in his name are entered with Customs correctly.  Blaming the forwarder/agent for getting it wrong will not dispose of the importer’s liability if mistakes are found post-importation – and Customs checks are no longer made at the border but are done post-clearance: Customs can find those mistakes and demand the duty be paid up to three years after importation. 
 
What do you need to know?  You need to understand how to classify your goods correctly so that the right amount of duty is paid, so that any licences are obtained and so that the rules for obtaining any preferential tariffs can be checked.  The tariff code is key but the rules for classifying products, especially novel goods, goods in sets or goods made of various materials, are extremely complex.
 
Goods originating in different countries may carry different rates of duty but even more complex are the origin rules that determine if goods qualify for those lower rates of duty.  The importer must be sure that he is entitled to claim the preferential rates of duty on the goods he imports.  He should also check that no anti-dumping duty will be incurred.
 
So, if you are an importer and want help to ensure that you are getting it right or you are thinking of importing a product for the first time and are not sure what duties you will need to include in your costings, then the GA's Import helpline can assist you.
 
For more information please contact Mike Hodge Associates on Tel: 01582 760244.

 
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The GA is part of the British Jewellery, Giftware and Finishing Federation, a company limited by guarantee and registered in England and Wales number 69391.
The registered office is Federation House, 10 Vyse Street, Birmingham B18 6LT.
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