Customs Clearance Coordination Across the UK

Customs clearance has two halves that are easy to confuse. One is the declaration — a regulated act, performed by a declarant or by an agent appointed in writing, submitted to HMRC's Customs Declaration Service. The other is the movement — getting the goods to the frontier, through the shed and on to the consignee inside the window the clearance opens.

We do the second half. T&C Logistics is a same-day courier and road-freight operator, not a customs broker: we hold no CDS authorisation of our own and we do not declare goods in your name. Clearance is lodged by licensed partner brokers under their own authorisations, and we coordinate around them — collection, briefing, paperwork travelling with the cargo, and delivery on release. This page sets out who is liable for what, what the broker needs from you, and where our responsibility starts and stops.

Do you act as our customs broker?

No. T&C Logistics holds no customs-broker, customs-agent or Authorised Economic Operator status, no CDS authorisation in its own name, and no duty deferment account. We do not determine commodity codes or declare goods on your behalf.

What we do is coordinate the clearance around the transport, through licensed partner brokers who declare under their own authorisations. The split in practice:

Everything we hold is listed on our licences and registrations page: ADR driver licences, Driver CPC, an EORI, goods-in-transit cover of £50,000 as standard (up to £1,000,000 through partner carriers), public liability of £1,000,000, GPS tracking and a ULEZ-compliant fleet.

Who can declare goods, and who is liable when they do?

A declaration is made either by you or by an agent you appoint in writing. HMRC requires that written instruction to state whether the agent acts directly or indirectly, because that single word moves the liability.

Indirect representation is also closed off for goods declared to inward processing, outward processing, temporary admission, authorised use or private customs warehousing — those need a direct appointment against your own authorisation. See HMRC's guidance on appointing a representative.

What stays your responsibility even when a broker declares for you?

The due diligence. HMRC is explicit: You will still be responsible for due diligence for your customs declarations if you appoint someone to deal with customs for you. Appointing an agent moves the keystrokes, not the duty of care.

In practice that means you own the commodity code decision even where the broker proposes it, the customs value and the origin claim, the accuracy of the invoice and packing list, and the record-keeping. If a code is wrong, the demand lands with the importer — and recalculation demands routinely arrive months after the goods have been delivered and sold.

The UK Trade Tariff is the reference for classification, and HMRC publishes guidance on due diligence when making customs declarations. A good broker will refuse to guess a code for you; that refusal is a sign you have the right one.

What does the broker need before clearance can start?

Five things, and three of them have to come from you. HMRC lists what a representative needs: your EORI number, evidence of the goods such as invoices or contracts, a description of what you are importing or exporting, and the licences or certificates for anything restricted.

1. Your EORI number — the declaration cannot be filed without it, and it also determines where your import VAT certificate lands.
2. Commercial invoice and packing list — values, currency, piece count, weights.
3. Goods description and intended commodity code — plus origin evidence if you are claiming a preference.
4. Licences or certificates — for restricted goods, controlled chemicals, food, medicines or dual-use items.
5. Written instruction to the agent — stating direct or indirect representation. Keep a copy; HMRC may ask for it.

What we add to that pack is the transport detail: collection address and window, the handler or shed holding the goods, the release reference once issued, and the delivery deadline.

How does a cleared import actually move, step by step?

Six steps, of which we own three. The sequence matters because the clearance opens a window and the vehicle has to be inside it.

1. You appoint the broker in writing and send the document pack.
2. The broker classifies the goods and lodges the entry in CDS, which replaced CHIEF for import declarations from 1 October 2022.
3. HMRC either clears the entry or raises a query; the broker answers it.
4. The facility issues a goods release note and an authenticated removal authority.
5. We collect — slot booked with the handler, driver and vehicle named in advance, piece count checked at the gate.
6. We deliver direct and return proof of delivery with a GPS timestamp.

Where the goods are in a transit shed or temporary storage facility, HMRC requires customs-cleared goods to be removed within 3 days of clearance — see bonded warehouse collections for how that window is worked.

Who pays the duty, and when?

You do, through your own duty deferment account or through the broker's. HMRC's guidance says to agree that point before appointing anyone, because it changes both the cash-flow timing and who is exposed if a payment is missed.

We hold no deferment account, so duty and import VAT never run through us. If you have your own account, the broker declares against it. If you do not, most brokers will use theirs and recharge, usually with a disbursement fee — one of several charging models HMRC notes you should check, alongside a fixed fee, a fee per declaration, or both.

Import VAT is a separate decision from duty: registered businesses can account for it on the VAT return instead of paying at the border. The mechanics are on our postponed VAT accounting page, and the EORI shown on the declaration determines whose certificate it appears on.

How should you choose a customs agent?

Against your actual trade pattern, not against a website. HMRC publishes a list of customs agents and fast parcel operators you can search, and the agent must be established in the UK for customs purposes.

The checks HMRC suggests are the practical ones: can they handle your goods type and your routes, the volume of declarations you expect per week or month, the customs procedures for the countries you trade with, and any licensing or special handling your cargo needs. Two more matter in urgent work — whether their opening hours overlap yours, and whether you can reach a human while goods are in movement.

The recognised trade bodies here are BIFA and the Institute of Export. There is no body called the "Customs Brokers' Association" — if a supplier cites one, ask which register they are actually on.

What happens if the declaration is queried or the goods are held?

The broker answers HMRC; we hold the vehicle or stand it down. Neither of us can remove goods from a customs-controlled site without an authenticated release, so the honest answer is that the transport waits.

Two clocks keep running while it does. Goods in temporary storage have a 90-day limit from presentation to customs, and storage or demurrage charges at the shed accrue per day and per pallet. A query answered the same morning usually costs nothing but a rebooked slot; one that runs into a second day usually costs storage.

What we do is practical rather than regulatory: hold the driver on standby, rebook the collection for the moment clearance lands, or run a dedicated journey on release. Waiting time is charged, and we say so before the driver sets off rather than after.

Which ports and airports do you cover?

Landside collection and delivery at the main UK freight gateways. We work with the handler or forwarder holding your consignment rather than around them.

Air: Heathrow cargo terminals and forwarder consolidation facilities — see Heathrow air freight collections — plus Manchester, Stansted, East Midlands, Birmingham and Edinburgh. Sea and RoRo: Felixstowe, Southampton, London Gateway, Dover and the Humber ports, where the broker's clearance and the vehicle booking have to line up.

Collections are arranged with the authorised cargo handlers — Swissport, Menzies Aviation, dnata, DHL, Kuehne+Nagel, DB Schenker among them. All of it is landside: we hold no airside vehicle credentials and no CAA airside access, so ramp-side movement stays with the handler. For the forwarding side of a multi-leg job, see freight forwarding.

What do you not do?

A short list, stated plainly because the opposite is often implied in logistics copy. We do not hold or claim any of the following.

• CDS access, a customs badge or any authorisation to lodge declarations in our own name
• Customs-broker, customs-agent, customs-intermediary or AEO status
• A duty deferment account, or any role in paying your duty and import VAT
• Commodity-code determination or binding tariff advice — the code is yours, proposed by your broker
• A customs warehouse or excise warehouse approval, and no WOWGR registration
• Professional indemnity or errors-and-omissions cover for brokerage work. Our cover is goods-in-transit and public liability, listed on our licences page

If a quote you are comparing claims all of the above in one breath, ask to see the authorisation numbers. Ours are published; a broker's should be too.

What does the transport side cost?

One fixed price per dedicated job, quoted upfront, with fuel and goods-in-transit insurance included and no hidden fees. Collections start from £50 (ex VAT). Final price depends on distance, vehicle, urgency and time — quoted in full upfront before you book. Broker fees are separate and are charged by the broker.

See pricing for the full model.

How do you book a clearance-side collection?

Call +44 7963 400173 (06:00–17:00) or +44 7737 778964 (08:00–22:00), or use the quote form.

Tell us which stage you are at, because it changes what we can do today: goods not yet shipped, goods in transit, entry lodged and awaiting clearance, or cleared and ready to collect. Then the practical details — the facility holding the goods, the release or entry reference, piece count and weight, your deadline, and anything that changes the vehicle.

If you have no broker yet, say so and we will introduce you to one of the licensed partner brokers we work with. You appoint them directly, in writing, and you will see their fee rather than a marked-up version of it inside ours. Related reading: what a customs broker does and EORI numbers.