Until now, one of the unanswered questions relating to the new Import Control System and in particular the charges introduced by freight forwarders to ensure compliance with the new system was whether these charges should be included as part of the Customs Value declared to HMRC?
According to the British International Freight Association (BIFA) and following from discussions with HMRC's Valuation Team, HMRC believes that the new charges do not represent an ancillary charge to the cost of transport. It is HMRC's view that whilst the declaration is often undertaken overseas, it is a function related to the customs clearance formalities that occur after arrival at the place of introduction. Therefore, ICS charges should not be included in the Customs Value of goods for the purposes of calculating import duty.
However, please be aware that HMRC regards the cost of the ENS declaration as part of the customs clearance charge falling within the scope of the "incidental expenses to be added to the value for Duty to arrive at the value for VAT" as covered by Section 24.2 of Public Notice 252. Therefore, the ENS charge should be declared for the purposes of calculating the import VAT, at time of entry.
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