Outsource customs or keep it in-house

To lodge its own import declarations, an importer needs an EORI number, a registration for electronic data exchange with the national customs system, people who know tariff, origin and valuation, and a way to pay the duty [1] [3] [5]. A broker brings all of that, but the importer still answers for the documents, and in direct representation it remains the declarant and the debtor of the duty [1].

So the choice is less about who carries the legal risk and more about where the knowledge of your goods sits, and how many declarations there are to make.

What filing in-house takes

• An EORI number. Every economic operator established in the EU customs territory needs one, and it is mandatory for the clearance of every customs operation [2]. The obligation to register is in Article 9 of the Union Customs Code [1].
• Access to the customs system. In Germany, taking part in electronic data transmission requires registering beforehand, under § 8a of the Zollverordnung [3], and German customs lists the providers of certified software for ATLAS [4]. In the Netherlands, import declarations are made electronically in DMS, and whoever declares for itself first applies for a registration for electronic messaging (Registratie elektronisch berichtenverkeer) [5].
• People who know the rules. Lodging a declaration makes the declarant responsible for the accuracy and completeness of the information and for the authenticity of the documents behind it [1]. That is tariff classification, origin and customs value, every time.
• A way to pay. Customs grants deferment of payment on application and against security [1]. In Germany, import VAT can be deferred without security where it is fully deductible as input tax [6].
• Records. The documents and information are kept for customs controls for at least three years [1].

What outsourcing changes

A broker lodges the declaration as your representative, directly in your name or indirectly in its own [1]. In the direct form you stay the declarant and owe the duty; in the indirect form the broker is the declarant and you both owe it [1]. The guide on direct or indirect representation sets out the difference for duty and import VAT.

What stays with you either way: anyone directly or indirectly involved in the customs formalities provides customs with the documents and information it asks for [1], and the supplier's invoice, packing list and proof of origin come from your side of the deal. The broker classifies from what you send. A vague invoice line becomes a question back to you, and an answer that comes late can hold the goods.

The price is per declaration, with extra charges per tariff number and for paying your duty from the broker's account; the guide on customs clearance costs has the published lists.

The middle way

Between the two sits a third option: the knowledge in-house, the filing outside. Your own staff keep the product data, the codes and the origin proofs current and answer for them, and a broker lodges the declarations from that file. The broker's work becomes checking and lodging, and your team sees every declaration before or after it goes in.

This also prepares the ground for authorised economic operator status, if you want it later. Its criteria include a high level of control over operations and records, and for the customs simplifications practical standards of competence or professional qualifications directly related to the activity [1].

Questions that decide it

• Volume. How many import declarations a year, and how many tariff numbers on each?
• Recurrence. Do the same goods come in again and again, or is every shipment new?
• Measures. Do you claim preferential origin, or import goods that carry anti-dumping duty? Both depend on documents from your supplier.
• Entry points. Do your goods arrive at one port or airport, or at many?
• Who answers today. Who in your company answers the broker's questions now, and how long does an answer take?

Steady volume of recurring goods through one entry point tends to favour your own team. Few declarations, many different goods and many entry points tend to favour a broker. The import duty calculator shows what is at stake per shipment, whoever files it.