A Customs Declaration can only be amended through the Customs Declaration Service (CDS) before it has been Customs-cleared. Once a Declaration has been cleared by Customs and reached its final state, it must be amended through a Post Clearance Amendment.

For Customs-cleared declarations, we often see exporters or importers having difficulty ensuring that any amendments are completed correctly. Amendments need to be completed promptly. This can and does cause issues when liaising with third parties.

Are you holding the evidence that an amendment has been made?

Are you waiting to receive evidence of an amendment?

When, where, and how the declarations are amended will depend on the type of amendment you need to submit. There are several types that might be applicable.

Is it a monetary amendment, is it a non-monetary amendment, or has a licence been declared incorrectly?

When dealing with other parties, a lack of communication can cause delays. We have seen parties that requested an amendment and are still waiting 6 months later.

What types of errors are there?

• An amendment could be required due to:
• An incorrect commodity code has been declared.
• The currency declared is incorrect.
• The value declared is incorrect.
• •The wrong EORI has been declared.
• The incorrect procedure has been completed.
• Wrong pieces and weights declared.
• An Export or Import licence has been declared incorrectly or is missing
• The declarant did not follow the Customs clearance instructions or LOI (Letter of Instruction)
• An incorrect payment method was used, such as a deferment or PVA.
• There are a whole host of other potential reasons our Customs Declaration may have been submitted incorrectly.

It is also important to consider direct and indirect representation. Under direct representation, the importer or exporter is solely responsible for any errors or Customs debt that may occur (Have you provided clearance instructions?)

Indirect representation is a situation in which both the declarant and the exporter/importer are jointly responsible for any errors or Customs debt that may occur.

However, if a third party is acting under direct representation and makes a deliberate or unreasonable error when you have provided clear Customs clearance instructions, then they can be made liable.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/customs-debt-liability

I want my third party to amend the Declaration on my behalf.

This is what we see most, and there is no harm in doing so. When an error is found in the Customs Declaration, the third party, also known as the declarant, arranges the amendment at the request of the exporter or importer.

If the declarant has made an error, then they should amend the Declaration, right?

It is then the declarant's responsibility to complete any amendments and send you, as the exporter or importer, evidence of the amendment.

A new Declaration cannot be made, so what other methods are there to amend the Declaration?

Can I amend my own Customs Declarations?

Something that we are often asked!

The answer to this question is yes, there is nothing at all stopping an exporter or an importer from arranging their own post-clearance amendments.

You may think that the third party has to complete it, that is perfectly fine if this is what you wish, but you can arrange your own amendments with HMRC.

The amendment forms we will look at are all available via gov.uk, and the same evidential process would be needed if you were to complete them yourselves.

If you are looking to complete these amendments yourselves, you may need to ensure that you have one of the following:

• Government Gateway user ID
• Gov.uk one sign-in
• Or you can create your own Government Gateway or Gov.uk sign-in

You may need assistance from the main Government Gateway administrator for your business.

How can I amend my Customs Declarations?

If you are unable to amend your Customs Declaration as it has been cleared, then your options are as follows:

For exports, there is the C81 amendment – This is a statistical amendment

https://www.uktradeinfo.com/trade-data/notice-of-amendment-to-an-export-declaration-c81

For exports and imports, there is the C1700 – This is used to amend a licence which has been declared incorrectly.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/import-and-export-change-an-import-and-export-licence-declaration-c1700

For imports, there is the C285, if you have overpaid duty and are reclaiming duty only

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/how-to-apply-for-a-repayment-of-import-duty-and-vat-if-youve-overpaid-c285

For imports, there is the C2001 if you have underpaid duty and VAT, and you are paying this back to HMRC.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/apply-for-a-voluntary-clearance-amendment-underpayment-c2001

For those movements under Inward Processing, for example, the importer would need to contact the supervising office within 90 days of the import to arrange an amendment.

There is also the Post Clearance Amendment Team, or PCA for short, in which you can email HMRC for non-monetary amendments -belfast.pcateam@hmrc.gov.uk.

There are certain data elements which the PCA team cannot amend, such as:

• DE 2/1 Simplified Declaration — Previous Documents
• DE 2/4 Reference Number
• DE 4/1 Delivery Terms
• DE 4/13 Valuation Indicator
• DE 4/16 Valuation Method

Choosing the correct method

The timing and method chosen will depend on the type of amendment required. If the incorrect EORI is used for export, a C81 is raised. However, if the incorrect licence quantity were declared on the entry, then a C1700 would be required.

For imports, it's more complicated because they involve duty and VAT. The key consideration is whether you owe or are owed duty or VAT. VAT cannot be reclaimed if you have overpaid. As a trader, you would use the method already in place, for example, PVA, to pay and reclaim VAT even if it is overpaid.

That's a small example of some methods and reasons.

What about due diligence?

Due diligence has always played a vital role in ensuring compliance with Customs Declarations. Make sure that you received a copy of the cleared Declaration for imports and the exit of goods message for your exports.

Amendments are no different; as part of being due-diligent, checking and ensuring that the Customs Declaration is completed correctly is important, as is holding the evidence of any amendments.

Holding evidence of the C81, the C1700, the C285, and the C2001, as well as an email to the PCA team, should be held within your records.

It should be held for Customs purposes for 4 years and for VAT purposes for 6 years, plus 1 financial year, so perhaps submitting any amendment might be a better option for you.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/amend-or-cancel-a-customs-declaration-service-import-declaration