Disputes with Customs
“Customs are a Government body, so if they say I owe them money, they must be right, right?”
Wrong! Customs don’t always get everything right, every time. That’s why they have procedures where you can request a review of decisions and a recourse to an independent Tribunal.
In the last year, UK Customs have issued over 20,000 demands for underpaid duty, totalling over £200million. Of these, only 663 cases were subjected to requests for formal departmental review, which resulted in 172 decisions being overturned, and a further 30 decisions being modified. That's 30% of all requests for review resulting in either a reversal or amendment to the demand, yet only 3% of duty demands issued have been challenged.
Much of our work involves trying to get decisions from Customs overturned once it is realised that the decision given is unfavourable. We have a high success rate in challenging unfavourable decisions on behalf of our clients, but if we get involved in influencing the original decision, we can avoid those disputes, most often obtaining a favourable decision for our clients.
Wrong! Customs don’t always get everything right, every time. That’s why they have procedures where you can request a review of decisions and a recourse to an independent Tribunal.
In the last year, UK Customs have issued over 20,000 demands for underpaid duty, totalling over £200million. Of these, only 663 cases were subjected to requests for formal departmental review, which resulted in 172 decisions being overturned, and a further 30 decisions being modified. That's 30% of all requests for review resulting in either a reversal or amendment to the demand, yet only 3% of duty demands issued have been challenged.
Much of our work involves trying to get decisions from Customs overturned once it is realised that the decision given is unfavourable. We have a high success rate in challenging unfavourable decisions on behalf of our clients, but if we get involved in influencing the original decision, we can avoid those disputes, most often obtaining a favourable decision for our clients.