A customs consultancy in the East Midlands, CIE Services Ltd operates atop a mission to collaborate closely with businesses of any size and help them to streamline their international trade operations. Recognised as the Best International Trade Specialists 2024, this company makes navigating the complicated sphere of importing, exporting, and customs compliance easier than ever, leveraging a friendly, straightforward approach that sees global ventures turned into enjoyable, profitable, and well-managed entities. Reliable International Trade Specialists CIE Services’ signature method begins with it welcoming a partner business into its team, hoping that this will be reciprocated and that it will be welcomed into theirs. This is the foundation of the trustworthy, reliable, and client-centric service that is then deployed across the board. Staff here know how to fully understand a client, their business, and their unique international trade needs, and it is this knowledge, combined with the robust relationships forged with clients, which see measurable results achieved. Many businesses operating in this space struggle with compliance, unaware they are not actually compliant until HMRC carries out an audit, by which time it is too late. From being oblivious of how long to keep records for to being unsure whether or not licences are required for certain aspects of their operation, there are countless scenarios like this that the company has dealt with in the past. This is why CIE Services offers a full audit service, visiting a business and carrying out an audit of its own, complete with a report on its findings and any necessary advice to improve compliance. An example of the great work that CIE Services does can be seen in a recent project that it undertook for a FTSE 100 company, where it helped to transform an existing warehouse into a customs bonded warehouse. Beyond this, the team assisted this company in gaining customs approval, enabling it to carry out its own customs clearance and work effectively alongside the aforementioned warehouse. Commenting on the successes of this project, Director Rachel Stockton explains, “not only will this save them several million pounds per year by not paying double duty for goods imported into the UK and then exported to their warehouses in the EU, but it also means they will not pay any import duty on the goods if they are re-exported for sale to customers outside of the UK.” It is her passion for learning insights such as this that resulted in Rachel working in the industry to begin with, something that came about largely by accident. Whilst working for a global retailer, Rachel queried a charge that appeared on an invoice, one that was related to the duty that the company was paying on a product. The error came down to the simple fact that badminton rackets sold by the company had been mistakenly classified as tennis rackets, with the latter attracting a 4.7% duty charge compared to the 2.7% of the former. Rachel tells us, “this led to me investigating international trade and how it worked. I decided this was the area I wanted to specialise in, I studied in the evenings and attained two diplomas for international trade. And so began my love affair with anything customs and international trade, and that love affair continues to this day.” The years since have brought with them a lot of changes that Rachel has had to navigate, including one drastic change that is currently taking place. The UK is in the process of introducing changes for certain goods that enter into it, with the Border Operating Model (BOM) being introduced in three separate phases over the course of this year. The first two phases have gone live already, with the third and final phase set to be implemented later this year. Rachel and co. have been working tirelessly to see that customers understand these changes, which primarily span plants, animals, and their related products. In closing, Rachel tells us that CIE Services is currently updating its knowledge concerning the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), a new tool used to establish a fair price for charging for the carbon that is given off from certain products. These charges will be implemented from 2026. The UK also has a similar scheme, with this set to be put in place by 2027. Experts in international trade, imports, exports, and customs compliance, CIE Services Ltd and its team of international trade advisors stand as beacons of excellence in the field of customs consultancy, a feat for which we are more than happy to champion them. Contact: Rachel Stockton Company: CIE Services Ltd Web Address: www.cieservices.co.uk
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