A Short Guide to Customs Risk

Managing Customs risk is often seen as a cost centre, but it is also a source of competitive advantage. A sound Customs management can reduce or remove Customs duties, generate savings, and generally improve cash flow using the many Customs procedures available to the compliant trader.

Customs have moved from frontier checks to audit based controls and transferred a high level of responsibility and risk to the trader. It is now the duty of the trader to identify and report any error or irregularity and to keep an impeccable audit trail from initial quotation to receipt of payment. For the business, failing to provide satisfactory compliance records will result in delayed shipments and serious disruption in the supply chain. This will in turn impact on financial performance indicators. Errors uncovered during these audits will yield heavy financial penalties and a Customs debt.

With a foreword by Kunio Mikuriya, the Head of the World Customs Organization, A Short Guide to Customs Risk will enable you to make informed decisions about Managing Customs risk.

Catherine Truel, founder and director of Intl Trade Instrument, started her career in global logistics managing multi-product, multi-country networks for large groups. She joined Ernst & Young International Trade Practice as a Senior Consultant assisting Corporations with Customs compliance and strategic planning issues before monitoring international trade for leading publications and organizations worldwide. She remains a correspondent for Supply Chain Asia Magazine

Catherine is a former Board Director of Sitpro, the UK trade facilitation agency, a member of the International Network of Customs Universities and a member of the UK Futures Analysts' Network.