Trade and Customs service

An interplay of business, regulatory and compliance aspects
Trade and Customs service

An understanding of trade and customs is crucial to global transactions of goods crossing national boundaries. Duties of customs are transaction-based taxes having a strong interplay with business operations and performance at an entity level. Similarly, trade controls on imports and exports of sensitive technologies and goods, impact business models.

Besides trade transactions, multiple business touchpoints hold relevance for it. These include:

  1. Business functions

    strategy, planning, procurement, warehousing, compliance, legal, tax, operations, production, sales, systems, contracts, data, documentation etc.

  2. Business metrices

    cost, margin, working capital etc.

  3. Stages of business lifecycle

    growth, downturn, turnaround, scaleup, stability and transformation.

  4. Evolution of law with change in business

    Continuous engagement with the regulators as the framework evolves to adopt economic changes.

Trade and customs has an important role in delivering efficiency, mitigating risk, providing market access and ensuring sustainability in the changing economic context. Further, it provides an important feedback loop to the government in fine tuning its economic and fiscal policy framework.

While specific business situations require a certain scope of support articulated in that very context, at a high level we offer the following illustrative list of services:

List of Services

General advisory on customs and foreign trade

Comprising of subject matter experts with a deep knowledge of global trade framework and international practices

Investigation and review assistance

The importance of  review and investigation as a tool for better internal controls

 

Customs business impact assessment

Businesses need to perform regular checks of their trade transaction controls and breaches

 

Assistance in process review of imports and other compliances

Our trade team carries out a review of the import processes to identify cost inefficiencies and procedural lapses

Trade and customs supply chain reconfiguration

Often business transformation requires an adjustment in global supply chains, and reconfiguration of systems and processes

Adoption of trade technologies and automation of transactions

Trade automation allows businesses to achieve potential benefits in complex trade and border security regulations

Dispute resolution

Litigation and complex customs disputes can impair growth and significant costs and reputational risk.

 

 

Authorized Economic Operator (‘AEO’) certification

AEO certification is a trade facilitation measure that allows the government to enhance and streamline cargo security 

Export Incentives under Foreign Trade Policy (‘FTP’)

Our team is adept in the nuances of various export incentives, such as exports from India, export promotion capital goods and duty remission/exemption schemes

COVID-19 business continuity support

Our team has helped beleaguered businesses in drawing up the sourcing needs

 

 

Alignment of customs valuation and transfer policy – Cost efficiency and risk mitigation

Customs valuation and transfer pricing apply an opposite pull on business metrices.

 

Free Trade Agreements (FTA’s) utilisation and origin administration support

FTAs are an important tool to drive cost efficiency in global trade supply chains.

 

Assisting in setting up SEZ and FTWZ operations

Special Economic Zones (‘SEZs’) and Free Trade Warehouse Zones (‘FTWZs’) are an important tool

Managed services

Considering our diverse experience in the trade and customs practice, we provide managed services that involve a consortium

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Contact our specialists for more information

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Key Contact

Abhishek Jain

Partner and National Head, Indirect Tax

KPMG in India