Beyond Compliance: Why CFOs and CPOs Should Prioritise Classification
Customs is about more than getting goods through the border, and classification is more than just a commodity code. In fact, a classification decision can have a greater impact on your landed cost than fluctuations in freight rates.
This is why chief financial and chief procurement officers should embrace goods classification as a priority, control of their supply chain costs, risks, and resilience so that they can continually thrive as trade environments evolve.
In this article, we discuss the key benefits that CFOs and CPOs can enjoy when they are diligent with their classification processes.
Contents:
Protected and Optimised Margins
Your customs classification is important because it dictates your duty, VAT, and other tax obligations, alongside any other compliance-related costs such as paperwork or inspection fees. It also sets the rules for customs origin and preferential origin.
Having the right classification ensures that you are working with the right tax rates – preventing both wasted costs through overpayment and underpayments which can come back to haunt you.
Furthermore, maintaining accurate classification helps you to optimise your duty and leverage the right special procedures, allowing you to improve cash flow and/or reduce your total landed costs.
Customs Support Group provides global classification and Europe-wide customs services. Our specialists work with multinational supply chains to keep goods moving on time, improve efficiency, and reduce overall costs. Contact us to begin elevating you customs today.
Reduced Compliance and Reputational Damages
From dual use and export controls to CBAM and the EUDR, compliance regulations are becoming increasingly stringent across a range of industries. And your risk grows with each change in the customs landscape.
Your classification dictates which regulations you need to pay attention to, so incorrect or inconsistent classification leaves you exposed to that risk. Whether it’s fines, legal action, or delayed deliveries to your clients, incorrect classification can quickly eat into your profits and destroy income potential.
Working with a classification specialist like Customs Support Group gives you reassurance in your compliance. Our specialists help you maintain robust, transparent data structures that support compliance today and as regulations evolve. Contact us for more information.
Supply Chain Resilience
Supply chain resilience depends on being able to make quick decisions. Freight rates change, geopolitical events cause delays, and – as we have seen with the US tariffs – trade lanes can quickly become unviable.
A reliable classification database supports faster, better-informed decisions because:
- You can check your commodity’s import duty and preference rules against the new origin.
- You can easily share technical specifications to verify an alternative supplier’s product.
- You can check and verify paperwork and labelling requirements before ordering.
More informed decisions are less likely to require changes later, improving the resilience of your supply chain, keeping your clients happy, and protecting your margins.
Our specialists at Customs Support Group help you to maintain your service levels as circumstances evolve. Contact us now to help build a supply chain that adapts with ease.
Operational Efficiency
Chasing documents, answering audits, explaining classification decisions – these things all take time. And sometimes, that time is not available to you. Whether you have a shipment accruing charges at the port or your team is too busy to prioritise an audit, time is money.
With Customs Support Group’s specialists, you can have all of the core information you need in one place, giving you quick access to classification decisions, technical information, and the explanatory notes that auditors need. We help you to be prepared for audits and automate customs processes so that you can proactively address issues and react quickly when time is critical. Contact us today to build a more resilient customs function.
Turn Compliance into Commercial Value with CSG
Regulations, trade lanes, and markets evolve, but that’s not what your clients care about. They rely on you to keep their orders fulfilled no matter what goes on in the backend. And you want to balance service levels with financial accuracy, risk management, and operational control.
Customs Support Group’s specialists help you adapt and thrive, enabling you to remain profitable as the global landscape evolves.
You can rely on us for:
- Professional Advice: Our dedicated classification specialists have deep expertise in local and global markets, providing practical advice both generally and within specific industries.
- Comprehensive Support: Available throughout Europe and providing worldwide classification expertise, we help you with all elements of customs so that you can compete globally.
- Digital Efficiency: Our industry-leading CustomsTechsolutions have been rigorously tested across multiple customs territories and industries, improving data accuracy, speed, and security.
- Application Assistance: Whether you need Binding Tariff Information, a customs permit, or help with renewing your AEO, our experts can help you to improve your success rate from the start.
- Risk Management: If a misclassification is discovered during our process, we will help you to mitigate the consequences. It is always better to report it, and we will help you to get it right going forward.
Together, we can help safeguard your business, enhance efficiency, and protect profitability while minimising service disruption. The first step is a customs compliance scan, where we examine your classification, licences, processes, and more. Contact us to get started.
