The UK Government has today published data on the volume of international trade for 2024. It shows that more than 84.6 million customs declarations were made in 2024 by 5,650 businesses.
It is, says DutyDeclared, the one-stop platform for cross-border trade, likely to increase dramatically as the current figures do not include goods valued under £135.
Marco Wright, Founder, DutyDeclared comments
“Government data shows that more than 84 million import declarations were made in 2024, with 75%, or 63.3 million of those import declarations.
“It has created a significant administrative burden with additional cost and delays for UK businesses wishing to import goods from the EU and around the world, and will likely get worse when the Government requires goods valued under £135 to be declared and duty paid.
“Currently, low-value goods are exempt from making customs declarations, called the ‘de minimus’ rules. This is set to change following fears by the UK Government that large international retailers are abusing the rules leaving UK businesses at a disadvantage.
“The customs declaration process, astonishingly, remains a largely manual process involving many different steps and players. The Government in April this year recognised that the digitisation of customs is desperately needed, with a pilot with United States Customs and Border Protection planned.
“The good news is that DutyDeclared, launched in April this year, has beaten them to it, creating a one-stop-shop platform for exporters, importers, customs agents and transporters where documents are stored, consignments tracked, customs declarations are made and duty paid.
“Our powerful AI engine holds the hand of businesses throughout, automatically assigning HS codes, using real-time tariff and tax rates and calculating VAT and duty rates. It provides businesses with live updates on customs clearance, alerts to errors and delays, and summarising compliance status.”
Customs declaration stats for 2024
- Total number of customs declarations: 84.6 million (2023: 91.3 million)
- Total import declarations: 63.3 million (2023: 67.5 million)
- Customs declarations from the EU: 39.2 million (2023: 41.7 million)
- Customs declarations from outside the EU: 44.9 million (2023: 48.8 million)
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