Tarriff Headings for Imports into the UK

Definitive advice on the classification of goods can be obtained from

The Classification Advisory Service
HM Revenue and Customs
Alexander House
21 Victoria Avenue
Southend-On-Sea
SS99 1AA
Tel No: 01702 366077

They will give free assistance for up to 3 tarriff headings but make the point, right at the beginning of the phone call, that their advice is non legally binding. This is because it is the legal responsibility of the importer, and only the importer, to ensure that the tarriff heading being used for their imports is correct. Anyone who makes a false declaration or gives untrue information about goods imported may be liable to penalties under the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979.

The importer is the organization (or individual) who is responsible for paying the Duty and VAT (if these charges are applicable) on goods which are imported into the European Community (EC) from outside the EC. Some companies do not practice stringent controls on their imports and allow their clearance agents or a courier company to make the decision of which tarriff heading to use. This can cause problems if the clearance agent gets the tarriff heading wrong, for whatever reason, because they are not legally liable for the mistake. The importer will always be held liable and there are very few defences that they can bring to bear to avoid being charged penalties if these are deemed necessary by HM Revenue and Customs.

The best way to deal with this potential risk is to ensure that there is someone in the organization who is responsible for ensuring that the tarriff headings used on all imports are correct. First, where possible, get the manufacturer of the goods to state the tarriff heading that they use. However, even the manufacturer can sometimes give the wrong information so as a matter of course (and in situations where the information cannot be obtained from the manufacturer) check that the description of goods that the tarriff relates to is the best possible description for the items being imported. Sometimes this means looking at what materials they are manufactured from as well as their function. Duty rates need to be ignored. Determining the tariff heading by using the lowest duty rate possible is not good practice. This checking procedure can either be clarified by the Classification Advisory Service, or by looking at a copy of the Integrated Tarriff of the United Kingdom.

These can be obtained from

TSL Limited, Publications Centre
PO Box 29, Norwich, NR3 1GN
Tel No: 0870 60055220
E-Mail: subscription@tsl.co.uk
Year's Subscription cost 2006-2007 is £250.00

Thirdly, ensure that no imports, whatsoever, are customs cleared without the written authorization of the person responsible in the company importing the goods. This includes Door to Door courier shipments and Postal shipments. No imports should come in automatically. Someone should always take responsibility for each one regardless and the reason for this is because tarriff headings and their respective duties change regularly. For example, in January 2007 a large number of tarriff headings were changed completely, such as section 8543.

Fouthly, always keep clear and concise records of why a certain tarriff heading was chosen and tie this in with each import. This may not get rid of the risk altogether, but it would certainly limit the possibility of suddenly finding that instead of 3% duty you should have been paying 7% and Customs want the difference (not only in customs duty but also VAT) paid immediately.