Customs and International Trade Services

Overview of services

The Customs and International Trade Services Team have extensive and well-documented experience in resolving all the complex problems related to customs duties and international trade. Many Team members are former employees of the Main Customs Office, individual Customs Offices, the General Customs Inspectorate, and the Ministry of Economy - thus they are true experts in the operations and practice of all these institutions, as well as in the area of applying and interpreting all pending regulations concerning customs duties and other rules of international trade.

The Customs and International Trade Services Team are responsible for drafting specific practical solutions and methods of operation relating to Polish customs and international trade regulations. All such solutions assist companies in adjusting - in as economic a form as possible - to specific formal requirements, in avoiding any related risk, and in minimising any costs in case of disputes with the customs administration, or with other specialised state authorities controlling international trade.

In particular, the Customs and International Trade Services Team advise companies operating in Poland in the following sectors:

• the automotive industry
• pharmaceuticals
• tobacco
• the fuel industry
• the agroprocessing industry

• Minimising customs duties and business efficiency improvement as a result of adequate organisation of import and export operations
• Increasing the efficiency of corporate logistics operations following customs clearance automation
• Financial liquidity improvement following the application of general security and adequate customs procedures (e.g. active and passive processing procedures, customs warehousing procedures);
• Measurable financial savings resulting from correct tariff classification of goods imported
• Correct definition of commodity origin, ensuring compliance with certificate of origin requirements; assistance in gaining authorised exporter status, allowing the company to confirm the origin of goods on an export invoice
• Checking the correctness of calculation of customs due on imported goods (especially with regard to extra expenses, such as licence fees, intellectual property usage fees, costs of marketing in Poland, financing research and development works, etc., all of which may increase or reduce the declared customs value of any commodity imported);
• Drafting effective appeals against unfavourable customs decisions to the Main Customs Office and the Supreme Administrative Court
• Obtaining licences for customs-free import of goods as part of applicable tariff quotas
• Effective assistance to companies subject to anti-dumping or protective proceedings in Poland.

• Customs clearance outside the Customs Office
• Electronic communication with customs authorities
• Customs clearance time saving, improving operational efficiency and competitiveness
• Tailor-made solutions appropriate for the majority of companies operating in Poland

• Application of general customs duties security
• Favourable co-operation with a customs agency
• Proper usage of available customs procedures (especially active and passive processing procedures, temporary clearance, customs-supervised processing procedure, and customs warehousing)
• Correct classification and specification of both origin and customs value of goods imported
• Solutions crucial to the majority of companies operating in Poland

• Temporary customs clearance for testing purposes
• Preferential customs treatment for environment protection-related investments
• Preferential customs treatment pending submission of an appropriate certificate of origin to customs authorities for the import of production lines, and/or large equipment or structures
• Solutions important to companies investing in Poland

• Determining the correct amount of the customs value declared for imported goods in the area of so-called extra expenses: licence fees, intellectual property usage fees, costs of marketing in Poland, financing research and development works, etc., especially in case of importers connected to foreign suppliers
• Drafting import/export programmes allowing for proper optimising of international trade operations profitability
• Solutions crucial to companies engaging in imports and exports operations in Poland

• Using customs warehousing procedures and customs-free zones existent in Poland for purposes of minimising customs duties and VAT-related costs for imported goods
• Solutions enabling the establishment of regional goods distribution centres in Poland

• Correct import, processing in Poland, and export planning, inclusive of returnable packaging trading for purposes of minimising customs duties
• Correct use of regulations for active and customs-supervised processing for purposes of customs duty saving; in case of waste - pending conformity with the Waste Act
• Correct arrangement of matters related to the return of goods non-compliant with contract terms, and to spare parts for production lines operating in Poland
• Solutions crucial to manufacturing companies in Poland

• Correct drafting of appeals against customs authority decisions in customs proceedings before customs authorities and the Supreme Administrative Court;
• Assistance in case of inspection operations taken by customs authorities or by customs inspection authorities
• Drafting correct responding action to any criminal tax proceedings filed
• Services appropriate for companies subject to customs inspection in Poland, or companies in dispute with the customs administration

• Reducing customs duties for goods imported in the automotive, electronic, pharmaceutical, tobacco, and agroprocessing industries
• Solutions crucial to companies importing finished goods, and/or raw materials or components for further processing in Poland

• Determining non-custom legal dues on any goods imported or exported
• Correct drafting of any documentation required, or ensuring conformity to any legal requirements pending
• Matters crucial to companies importing goods to / exporting goods from Poland

• Assistance to corporate entities in drafting documents required to begin proceedings to introduce customs protection in Poland
• Assistance in the drafting of justification and documentation to counter any corporate accusation to the effect of applying dumping prices or excessive import into Poland, causing
• Analyses of prices applied by companies in international trade from the viewpoint of their conformity to regulations in the field of anti-dumping or customs protection proceedings
• Matters crucial to companies starting such proceedings, or subject to such proceedings in Poland

• New opportunities resulting from the international agreement on the trade aspects of intellectual property rights protection (TRIPS), from amended customs regulations, and from intellectual property rights protection in Poland
• Matters crucial to companies exporting goods to Poland, and encountering counterfeit goods import into Poland