Companies export and import must be diligent when carrying out their customs management. It is not enough to know the DUA or have invoices and content lists ready. Customs management directly impacts the result of operations and, for this effect to be positive, some best practices must be observed.
What is understood by customs management?
More and more companies are exporting and importing, and international trade is growing by leaps and bounds. The popularization of online shopping, together with the desire of many companies to expand their business, has made this growth possible. Hence it is important to have good customs management.
As you well know, if you want your products to circulate beyond the borders of your country, you will have to end up dealing with customs. It depends if they have good customs management bases or not, this task will be more or less complicated, or it will make you suffer—delays in the movement of your goods.
Customs management helps improve transparency and communication and reduces delays generated in customs clearance. Companies must work on it to speed up transactions and reduce costs involved in the international trade process. In addition to this, good customs management ensures compliance with legal requirements in customs processes and transit and presentation of the necessary documentation. What is saving time and an economic one derived from the possible sanctions?
It is always important to consider the DUA within customs management, which is known as the Single Administrative Document. This document is presented in paper format, and its objective is to homogenize all the copies needed to process exports and imports in a single document. In total, there are eight copies, plus one optional, which, depending on the type of action to be carried out, one or the other will have to be completed.
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How to improve the customs management of your company
A few simple steps are enough for customs management to align with compliance requirements and be free from errors and their consequences. To improve the results of your business in this area, you can:
- Seek management’s commitment to compliance. One way to achieve this is by establishing a corporate policy statement addressed to Customs.
- Carry out a risk assessment to identify and analyze the relevant risk and develop internal management goals. It is necessary to carry out post-import or export reviews of goods and compare them with the established goals. It will also be required to determine how risk areas should be managed to minimize weaknesses and correct errors.
- Developing and implementing formal policies and procedures is one of the ways to improve customs management. Having these standards can be guaranteed that the goals and objectives set are met.
- Define the roles and responsibilities in matters related to customs management. Job descriptions should include this information so that each employee is aware of their duties and obligations about complying with Customs requirements.
- Establish training programs. Information and communication are crucial to ensure that employees can carry out their responsibilities effectively. Each person must receive the relevant information at the appropriate time. For this reason, it may be useful to complement customs management efforts with technological support, such as a platform within the company’s communication system through which data can be exchanged safely.
- Carry out internal control reviews. Monitoring is necessary to evaluate quality and performance. It can be carried out through internal auditing or by hiring external auditors who periodically review each business unit to confirm that corporate policies are implemented.
- Create a compliance group. As a complementary measure, a customs group can be established to improve communication between those involved in this type of process and facilitate their communication. Fostering open communication channels increases the precision of customs management actions. It strengthens the company’s internal control system since the quality of the information can always affect management’s ability to make decisions.
- Develop compliance requirements for suppliers. Among the control activities that cannot be lacking is the development and implementation of controls to help ensure that transactions with these actors are valid, are duly authorized, and are processed accurately. Suppliers may also be required to provide regulatory reports where appropriate.
In the global economy, freight transport has important customs implications, so companies must be aware of their rights and obligations in this regard. Avoiding extra costs or the consequences of non-compliance with the rules is the result of good customs management, which, at the same time, is a source of opportunities for the organization.
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