Accreditation of Customs Brokers
- the case for change

The UK government is currently consulting on a voluntary accreditation scheme for customs brokers.

This follows industry feedback last year that suggested “quality varies across the customs intermediary market” and that a new standard would improve the “the overall quality of service”.

In this Accreditation of Customs Brokers – the case for change webinar recording, the IOE&IT’s director of strategic projects and international development, Kevin Shakespeare, and HMRC’s head of customs intermediaries policy, Mark McGuire, explored what a customs intermediary could look like and what impact this could have, covering:

• The latest thinking about a UK customs intermediary standard

• Standards that have been developed in other markets

• The potential role of accredited training in attaining the standard

• What impact this could have on the customs intermediary and wider trade sector

• How you can share your view about the standard in the ongoing public consultation

If you’d like to have your voice heard on the matter of voluntary standards for customs brokers, complete the IOE&IT’s ongoing survey and be part of the IOE&IT’s response.

You can also submit your own, individual response to government by responding to the consultation here. If you have any further questions about the consultation, you can contact HMRC by emailing CustomsIntermediariesConsultation@hmrc.gov.uk.

If you’d like more information about the UK Accreditation Service (UKAS), you can email Suzi Daley, UKAS’s external affairs manager, at suzi.daley@ukas.com.

During the webinar, she defined the difference between certification and accreditation. You can read more about this here.