Government launches service aimed at making importing easier for UK businesses
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Posted: Tue 9th May 2023
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has unveiled a new service which it says will help businesses tackle the paperwork involved with importing goods to the UK.
When importing goods, traders must work out the value of their goods to calculate customs duty and import VAT.
This can be complicated so using the new Advance Valuation Ruling Service (AVRS), HMRC will confirm to businesses that the method used to calculate the value is correct.
A decision is legally-binding for three years and traders can use it to work out costs ahead of import shipments.
Aidan Reilly, HMRC's director of customs policy and strategy, said:
"AVRS will make a real difference to UK importers by stripping away uncertainty and reducing their administrative burden.
"The new service legally guarantees the trader's valuation method is correct making it quicker and easier to manage customs.
"It will complement our existing tariff and origin services to give traders more certainty on the cost of importing their goods, making it easier for them to budget."
HMRC said it will take up to 90 days for it to confirm the correct valuation method once an application has been made.
The new service was first announced on 15 March by the government in a policy paper released alongside chancellor Jeremy Hunt's Spring Budget.
AVRS is part of the government's wider efforts to reduce the red tape associated with international trade. After several delays, the government published plans in April to streamline and simplify post-Brexit customs requirements for goods being exported to the UK from the European Union.
Full government guidance on AVRS is here.
Relevant Enterprise Nation resources for UK importers
Importing goods to the UK: A step-by-step guide
How to import goods from the EU to the UK
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