You may have read a recent news report of one of the largest discoveries of counterfeit goods worth a record £87m found in shipping containers in Manchester*.
This is clearly not only illegal but also damages well-known brand identities due to poor quality, impacts on their revenues as well as unpaid duty and taxes to central government. There is also other criminal activity that is undertaken from the proceeds of these crimes.
This is why it is important, that when you are choosing your customs clearance broker you look to work with a reputable company that is AEO accredited, this is a good sign for supply chain and customs compliance as they have stringent administrative procedures in place. UKP Worldwide (UKPW) has been AEO accredited since November 2016, this not only ensures that you are compliant with current customs legislation for declaring the correct duty and taxes but that they are the first line of defence in ensuring that counterfeit goods are not flooding the streets and undervaluing your brand.
UKPW uses its in-house developed software to perform a number of validation checks on the data it receives from its customers to ensure that not only are the goods manifested correctly but the origin and value of the goods also stands up to scrutiny.
Lee Bucktrout, CEO and founder of UKP Worldwide, explained, “In the infancy of our customs brokerage business, we were approached by overseas 3PLs and retailers who could not provide the level of detail we required. Dealing with this type of trader would have led to many shipments being placed on hold and subject to customs inspection, and impacted on our other clients who were compliant. As a business, we decided very early on that we would only work with those customers that were looking to ensure a seamless transit of goods over borders by making the correct declarations. This allowed us to keep our operational costs to a minimum at the same time as ensuring a high level of quality of service. Online shoppers want their goods delivered without delay, so UKPW feels that it is playing an important part in the customer journey at the same time as ensuring that duty and taxes are collected.”
UKPW specialises in the bulk import and export of low and high-value eCommerce goods as well as offering a managed returns and duty reclaim solution. Come and talk to one of our Sales team to see how we can help keep your business growing sustainably.
*Source: Sky News