Customs & Excise 

The legal structure of HMRC, UKBA and CPS

The former Customs & Excise was responsible for

• the enforcement of all UK indirect taxes and duties,
• the enforcement of customs regulations at the UK border,
• prosecuting matters where necessary.

With the merger of Customs & Excise and the Inland Revenue into HMRC as well as the creation of the UK Border Agency (UKBA) and a dedicated team at the Crown Prosecutions Service (CPS) , the many functions of the former Customs & Excise have been moved about to varying Government Agencies.

The position now is such that HMRC deals with all inland duty and excise matters, the UKBA deals with frontier and border customs matters, and the CPS deals with prosecuting Revenue & Customs matters.

It is therefore likely that if you have a VAT issue, an Alcohol Duty matter inland, or a seizure of goods inland it will be dealt with by UKBA.

If you are dealing with the seizure of something at the border, or a duty matter at the border it will likely be dealt with by HMRC.

Despite these two differing Government Agencies,  the law governing many of the ‘customs’ matters a person is likely to face is to be found mainly in  the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 (CEMA 1979).

It is common for there to be a strict time limit for responding to a ‘customs’ decision and you should therefore seek advice at the earliest opportunity. 

If you have been affected by a ‘Customs & Excise’ issue, or to simply find out more then please contact our HMRC Customs & Excise Specialist 

Call Raj Basi on + 44 7957 786 370  

email rb@kaslers.co.uk