South Africa is one of the largest suppliers of wine to the United Kingdom, and the lane runs in two distinct forms: cased goods bottled at the cellar, and bulk wine shipped in flexitanks for filling in Great Britain. Both are imports. Both need a customs declaration. But the tax profile of this commodity is […]
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Olive oil looks like one of the simplest things a UK business can import from Italy. It is shelf-stable, it needs no veterinary certificate, it carries no tariff when it genuinely originates in the EU, and it attracts no import VAT when it is sold as food. That surface simplicity is exactly why consignments get […]
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Gartner recently published its annual ranking of the top technology trends shaping the global supply chain. The list names eight technologies across three organising themes — autonomy and agency, specialisation and intelligence, and trust and governance — and its positioning of agentic AI and physical AI at the forefront of the analysis reflects a broader [...]
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On 1 June 2026, the United Kingdom joined the European Union, Norway and Switzerland in launching the digital ATA Carnet — the eATA — marking the most significant structural change to the temporary import and export document in its history. For businesses that regularly move commercial samples, professional equipment, and exhibition goods across international borders [...]
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HMRC has updated its guidance on amending and cancelling Customs Declaration Service (CDS) import declarations. The headline shift is procedural rather than substantive: businesses requesting "other amendments" to a cleared declaration must now use an online notification form rather than emailing HMRC directly. A second, smaller clarification confirms exactly what businesses must submit when asking [...]
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The UK–India Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) — the UK–India Free Trade Agreement — entered into force on 15 July 2026, four years after negotiations began and just over a year after signature in 2025. It is the UK's most significant bilateral trade agreement since leaving the EU, and for customs professionals it marks [...]
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HMRC and HM Treasury recently jointly published "Modernising the UK Customs Regime," a call for evidence asking a question with real implications for every importer, exporter, and intermediary in the country: is the UK's declaration-based customs model still fit for a trading world that runs increasingly on structured digital data? The call for evidence is [...]
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The European Union has taken one of the most consequential steps in customs policy in a generation. From 1 July 2026, the long-standing duty-free treatment of low-value parcels entering the EU has ended. In its place, a flat customs duty of €3 per item applies to consignments with an intrinsic value of €150 or less. [...]
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