How to check your broker's customs declaration

Get the filed entry and its supporting records

Ask the broker for the complete declaration as filed, its movement reference, current status and tax calculation, including every goods item. A clearance email or broker invoice is too little to review. Ask whether the copy is a draft, the submitted entry or a later revision.

Build a review pack containing the purchase order, commercial invoice, packing list, transport document, freight charges and your written broker instructions. Use our customs documents guide for the document list. Match references, quantities, weights and product descriptions, and ask the broker to explain any split or combined declaration items.

Confirm whose import has been declared

Compare the importer name, address and customs identification number with the business agreed to import the goods. Check the VAT registration number separately. Do not assume that your delivery address identifies the importer, or that an entry supplied by the seller belongs to your business.

Compare the representative details and direct or indirect representation with the broker's appointment. Under direct representation the broker acts in your name; under indirect representation it acts in its own name on your behalf. If the seller imported before selling to you in the UK, its import VAT evidence is not yours. Our importer identity guide explains that distinction.

Check classification and origin item by item

Match each commodity code to the actual product specification, including material, function and configuration. Ask for the classification reasoning rather than accepting a supplier's suggested code. Use our commodity code guide for the classification method.

Ask the broker to show the tariff measures checked for the declared origin and entry date, and explain the duty rate applied. Compare origin with manufacturing evidence rather than relying on the dispatch address. If preferential treatment or a company-specific rate has been claimed, ask for the supporting evidence and the reason it applies to this shipment.

Reconcile value and tax calculations

Ask for a calculation that starts with the invoice currency and amount, identifies the valuation method and exchange rate, and shows additions, deductions and allocation across goods items. Under transaction valuation, transport, insurance, loading or handling connected with delivery to the UK border must be included. Check whether those charges are already in the invoice to avoid counting them again.

Import VAT valuation starts with the customs value for duty, even where no duty is payable. Ask for a separate reconciliation of the VAT value, duty and VAT amounts. Flag tooling, buyer-supplied materials, royalties, discounts and domestic delivery charges for the broker to assess rather than assuming the invoice total is the complete taxable value.

Check procedure, payment and unresolved errors

Ask the broker to explain the requested and previous procedure and any additional procedure codes in ordinary language. Compare them with your intended use: sale, storage, processing, temporary use or return. For any relief, ask which authorisation or supporting document the broker relied on. Our procedure code guide explains the code structure.

Compare the declared duty payment arrangement and import VAT treatment with your instructions. Where postponed VAT accounting was intended, ask the broker to show your written instruction and the selected treatment. The broker must have written confirmation before proceeding with that declaration. Ask your accounts team to reconcile the entry with the corresponding payment or postponed VAT statement.

Record each discrepancy, the supporting document, the broker's response and the correction evidence. Mark unresolved items as open rather than signing off the entry as correct. After clearance, the declaration cannot be amended or cancelled in the broker's software. Ask the broker to identify the applicable HMRC correction route and provide evidence of the request and its outcome.