Customs file review & Post-clearance audit

Under Article 78 of the Customs Law 2014, the customs authority may examine files, accounting books, supporting documents and the goods themselves after clearance, for up to five years from the date the declaration was registered, on the basis of indications of a violation or under risk-management principles. For import-export enterprises, particularly processing and export-production businesses with high declaration volumes, periodic self-review of past declarations surfaces discrepancies in value, classification, origin or consumption norms early, allowing them to be corrected before an audit team finds them — and leaves the file well prepared if a post-clearance audit decision does arrive.

• Full review of customs files within the audit period (up to 5 years), covering value, HS code, origin and consumption norms
• Checking consistency between declarations, contracts, invoices, transport and payment documents and accounting records
• Assessing the level of customs compliance in order to identify audit risk
• Advice on supplementary declarations and voluntary correction before an audit decision is issued
• Support in preparing and organising the file required by a post-clearance audit decision
• Representing or supporting the enterprise in working with and giving explanations to the audit team
• Advice on handling audit conclusions (assessed tax, administrative penalties where applicable)
• Guidance on building an internal process for retaining customs documents and files