Paid too much import duty? It can often be reclaimed.
Wrong commodity codes, overstated customs values and unclaimed preferential origin are common, and the overpayment usually goes unnoticed. We review your import history, build the evidence and make the claim to HMRC.
Claims are time-limited
Repayment claims generally have to be made within three years of the duty being notified to you. Each month that passes can take older imports out of reach, so it's worth looking sooner rather than later.
Two questions worth asking
HMRC holds a record of every import declaration made in your name, usually submitted by a freight agent or customs broker. Most importers never see it.
Do you know what declarations are on your record?
Every MRN made under your EORI number, including the ones your agent submitted on your behalf.
When did you last check HMRC's data against your actual movements?
What was declared, at what value and duty rate, compared with what you actually shipped and paid for.
If the answer to either is "not sure" or "never", a review will tell you where you stand, whether that's money to reclaim or an error to correct.
Request a duty reviewWhere overpayments come from
Most of these come from how the declaration was put together, often by a freight agent working at speed, rather than from the goods themselves.
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Commodity code errors
A product declared under a code carrying a higher duty rate than the one that correctly applies. Often repeated on every shipment until someone checks.
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Customs value
Costs included in the declared value that shouldn't be there, or currency conversions and adjustments applied incorrectly.
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Preferential origin not claimed
Goods that qualified for a reduced or nil rate under a UK trade agreement, where the preference wasn't claimed at import.
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Returned and rejected goods
Duty paid on goods that were faulty, not as ordered, or sent back, where relief may be available.
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Duplicate and incorrect entries
The same consignment declared twice, or duty charged on a declaration that should have been amended or cancelled.
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HMRC demands and post-clearance checks
Where HMRC says you underpaid, we check the figures, the classification and the time limits before anything is paid.
How a claim runs
The work is mainly evidence: matching each declaration to the invoices, shipping documents and origin proofs behind it.
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Pull the import data
With your authority we obtain your import declaration history, so the review starts from HMRC's own record rather than from memory.
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Review every MRN and quantify
We review every import declaration (MRN) available for the period, line by line, testing commodity code, customs value and origin. Before any claim is made, you get two schedules:
Potential overpayments
What looks recoverable, entry by entry, with the reason and the amount.
Potential underpayments
Anything that looks short-paid, so it can be corrected on your terms rather than found in an HMRC check.
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Agree scope and fee
Fixed fee or agreed basis, set out in writing. Nothing chargeable starts until you've seen the likely value.
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Build the evidence
Commercial invoices, contracts, freight documents and origin statements assembled and cross-referenced to each entry.
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Submit and follow through
We prepare and submit the repayment claim, answer HMRC's questions, and fix the declaration process so the error stops recurring.
Request a duty review
Tell us roughly what you import and how. We'll say whether a review is likely to be worth it.
Rather talk it through?
- Telephone07713 697615
- Emailinfo@mdjteam.co.uk
- OfficeCanal View, 8B Slate Lane
Audenshaw, Manchester M34 5GW - LinkedInNeil Jones on LinkedIn (opens in a new tab)
Worth knowing
Import VAT is usually recovered through your VAT return rather than a duty claim. We'll check both, so nothing is claimed twice or missed.