UK IMPORTERS · POST-CLEARANCE AUDIT

You're probably overpaying customs duty. Do you know by how much?

17% of UK import declarations contain errors — missed trade preferences, wrong commodity codes, overstated customs values. BorderAudit audits every line of your HMRC import data and shows you exactly what you're owed.

Run a free import auditSee it in 48 seconds
2-minute check · no data upload, no card
THE OVERPAYMENT

Duty overpayment hides line by line.

UK IMPORTS · POST-CLEARANCE

The UK processes around 4.4 million declaration lines a day, and by HMRC's own figures 17% of UK declarations contain errors. Almost none of it is ever reviewed after clearance — the overpayment just sits inside your landed-cost line, itemised nowhere.

▲ Preferences
Missed trade preferences
Goods that qualified for a preferential tariff rate under the UK's trade agreements — but full duty was paid, because the origin proof was never requested or the preference never declared.
▲ Classification
Wrong commodity codes
Misclassification at any level of the 8-digit tariff code changes the duty rate. A code that's close but not right can mean thousands over- or underpaid — and HMRC penalty exposure for the latter.
▲ Valuation
Overstated customs values
Inland transport, insurance and domestic costs included in the customs value when they shouldn't be. Every pound of overstated value is duty you didn't need to pay.
▲ Closing window
The 3-year reclaim window
Overpaid duty can generally be reclaimed up to three years from the date of import. The window is rolling — every month you leave your declarations unaudited, your oldest recoverable entries expire.
THE AUDIT

What is a post-clearance import audit?

A post-clearance import audit is a retrospective review of your customs declarations after the goods have cleared the border. It checks whether each declaration line used the right commodity code, claimed every trade preference it was entitled to, and declared the correct customs value — then quantifies what was overpaid or underpaid. Overpaid duty can generally be reclaimed from HMRC (His Majesty's Revenue and Customs) for up to three years from the date of import.

Check 01
Classification
Every commodity code reviewed against the goods description and your wider declaration history. Outliers and anomalies surfaced, each one quantified in duty impact.
Check 02
Origin & preference
Every import checked for a preferential rate it qualified for but didn't claim — and every preference claimed checked for the evidence to defend it.
Check 03
Valuation
Declared values tested statistically against expected ranges. Systemic overvaluation patterns identified and the overpaid duty quantified across your import history.
Not your broker's job

Your broker clears goods; an audit checks the clearance. Forward declarations are made under time pressure with the information to hand — the retrospective review of whether they were optimal is a separate discipline, and it's the one HMRC itself applies when it comes to visit. Read the post-clearance audit guide →

Not sure an audit is worth it for your volumes? Try the 2-minute eligibility checker →

WATCH · 48 SECONDS

See it in 48 seconds.

The importer elevator pitch: what BorderAudit checks in your HMRC data, what it finds, and how overpaid duty comes back.

HOW IT WORKS

From Government Gateway to reclaim.

Step 01 · Connect
Grant access once
A single third-party authorisation on Government Gateway — the same mechanism your accountant already uses. Under two minutes, no IT involvement, no data upload.
Step 02 · Analyse
Every line checked
BorderAudit retrieves up to two years of your import history and audits every declaration line for classification, preference and valuation errors — each one quantified in pounds.
Step 03 · Review
Specialist review
A customs specialist reviews every flagged overpayment and can override the recommendation before anything is claimed. Nothing goes to HMRC on a score alone.
Step 04 · Reclaim
C285 pack & submission
Evidence-linked C285 repayment claims are prepared and submitted to HMRC — 91% of claims are accepted first time.
Nothing changes on your side

No change to your broker, forwarder or systems. BorderAudit works entirely from the declaration data — your imports keep moving exactly as they are.

SEE HOW THE HMRC IMPORT AUDIT WORKS →
PROOF

£4.7M back to UK importers.

UK CUSTOMS · FIGURES TO DATE

More than 200 businesses run their customs data through BorderAudit. One mid-size fashion retailer recovered £144,000 on re-imported customer returns alone — identified, evidenced and accepted by HMRC first time, from declaration data it already had. Read the returns case →

£4.7M
Recovered for UK importers
91%
HMRC first-time acceptance
200+
Businesses on the platform
17%
Of UK declarations contain errors
GO DEEPER

Where would HMRC look first?

AUDIT READINESSDo you KNOW where HMRC would look first?If HMRC opened a compliance check tomorrow, would you know which declarations they'd pull? Audit-readiness scoring shows you first — before they do.LEARN MORE →DUTY RECLAIMRecover what you've already overpaidThe C285 reclaim process end to end: identification, evidence, submission and tracking — with 91% of claims accepted by HMRC first time.LEARN MORE →ORIGIN & PREFERENCEPreference claims, evidencedLine-level origin and preference auditing across the UK's trade agreements — the single biggest source of importer overpayment we see.LEARN MORE →
WHO IT'S FOR

Built for the two people who own the number.

FOR FINANCE DIRECTORS

Put a number on the duty leak.

✓Free to start — see the numbers before you spend anything
✓Overpayments quantified in pounds, declaration line by line
✓Flat pricing — Premium £149/month, never a percentage of recovery
✓Board-ready view of duty spend, recovery potential and risk
FOR CUSTOMS & OPS MANAGERS

See the errors before HMRC does.

✓Every declaration line checked — classification, origin, valuation
✓Broker performance benchmarked by error rate
✓Underpayment exposure flagged early — disclose before HMRC finds it
✓C285 reclaim packs prepared to HMRC specification
FREE IMPORT AUDIT

See what your imports are owed.

Check your import position in two minutes — no data upload, no card. We confirm your import activity from HMRC, Companies House and UK trade data, then model what a full import audit could recover before the reclaim window closes.

●2-minute check
●No data upload
●Reply within 1 working day
STEP 1/3

Check your import status

Enter your VAT number or business name — we'll check HMRC, Companies House and UK trade data for your import activity.

FAQ

Import audit, answered.

A post-clearance import audit is a retrospective review of your customs declarations after the goods have cleared the border. It checks whether each declaration line used the right commodity code, claimed every trade preference you were entitled to, and declared the correct customs value — then quantifies what was overpaid or underpaid. HMRC runs post-clearance checks on traders; BorderAudit runs the same style of audit for you, continuously, from your own HMRC declaration data.

Find out what you're owed.

Connect your HMRC data once and BorderAudit checks every declaration line for overpaid duty — before the three-year reclaim window closes on it. Free to start. Flat pricing. No success fees.

Start a free auditborderaudit.io