In a globalised world, cross-border product development and the international sale of goods are key economic drivers. Customs and international trade law can present compliance hurdles for global companies. Laws and regulations must therefore be met with appropriate sensitivity. This is the only way to overcome the challenges of global trade and find the best possible operative and tax solutions for companies.
Our WTS experts assist clients with all matters relating to customs and international trade law, drawing on our extensive professional expertise and long-term practical experience in international consulting firms, the industry and financial management. Our consultancy services are competent, flexible and, above all, tailored to individual needs.
We also support companies through business partnering. In doing so, we take over operative customs responsibilities as part of a close working relationship.
Our consulting services
National and international companies from all sectors
involved in the cross-border exchange of goods.
All corporate divisions
Management, sales, purchasing, development, production, logistics, taxes, law, etc.
Customs and foreign trade services
Our customs and foreign trade services include Customs Operations / Business Partnering and Customs Advisory
Request
Request for proposal
If you are interested in our services or would like to send us a request for proposal (RfP), please contact us.
Customs Operations / Business Partnering
Global mega-trends present many challenges to companies and their customs and tax departments: continuous new statutory regulations or the demand for greater transparency are just two examples. Added to this are the continuously higher demands on process implementation, technological progress, digitisation and demographic change, which all have an impact on the workforce.
Expectations of company customs departments continually increase. Not only should they meet stricter reporting requirements and lower compliance and liability risks, they should also ensure smooth integration into business processes - whilst all the time operating flexibly and cost-efficiently.
With our WTS business partnering model, we offer companies the chance to optimise and professionalise their customs departments with respect to these challenges, without governance and controls slipping out of the company's hands. With a highly qualified workforce, extensive tax expertise and many years of experience in tax business partnering, our WTS experts are a competent partner for a long-term, sustainable partnership.
When it comes to business partnering for customs, WTS can wholly or partly take over the functions of a company customs department. In doing so, we take care of operational activities, such as the preparation or completion of:
- Export declarations
- Import declarations
- Intra-community trade statistics
- Tariffing
- Applications for special customs procedures
- Calculation and documentation of origin of goods and preferences
- Export certificates.
The specific structure of the partnership is developed jointly with the business partner and depends on the specific needs of the contracting company. It can go as far as a deep integration of WTS into the processes of the respective organisation.
In any form of business partnering, it is ensured that governance and control remain with the contracting company. This is ensured through clear reporting channels and regular updates. The company's customs representative is therefore always kept in the picture on all activities.
The foundation of our business partnering model is a combination of our consulting expertise in customs matters and our operational experience.
Newsletter
Global Customs
In this newsletter, we inform you about country-specific and international legal texts and regulations.
Customs Advisory
Multinational companies must comply with numerous statutory provisions, which present them with major challenges. We help our clients overcome these challenges using a structured strategy that is tailored to their individual requirements.
Customs law consultancy
We prepare expert reports and individual information on customs issues for our clients. These include customs classifications, support in obtaining binding customs information and determining customs values. We advise with regard to origin of goods and preferences. We also support clients with respect to anti-dumping measures, as well as with questions relating to customs and international trade law exports.
Our WTS experts are also available to clients to advise on: applying for customs exemptions (tariff suspension or quota) as well as an analysis to reduce customs charges through the use of preferences. Our services also include a review of import tax notices and assistance with the preparation of remission and/or refund requests.
Litigation
We conduct appeal proceedings for our clients (opposition, refund and remission proceedings) and represent them in legal and appeal proceedings right up to the ECJ. Our experts support with the defence in fines proceedings as well as in criminal matters under customs and international trade law.
Organisation and process consulting
At WTS, we provide customs consultation in connection with a tax compliance management system. We also formulate customs and organisational structures and procedural simplifications for customs warehousing, finishing processes, customs preferences as well as simplified import and export procedures.
Our WTS experts provide support in applying for Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) status as well as with monitoring and approval management. We help draft working and organisational instructions and develop purchasing and sales concepts for our clients that have been optimised in terms of tax and customs.
WTS customs status check
As part of our customs status check we carry out internal analyses of the legal processes for customs and international trade. From this analysis, we can determine whether there is any action that must be taken due to company-specific or legal developments, with the aim of minimising risks. It also enables us to uncover any optimisation potential (for example in the form of cost savings or procedural improvements). In doing so, our priority is to create transparency and (legal) certainty for our clients (for example with regard to the requirements for an effective compliance management system).
Audit support
We prepare our clients for external audits through internal audits. We also accompany customs audits, preference audits and international trade law audits. In addition, we analyse audit reports and use them to derive policy recommendations.
Export controls
Our experts advise on current import/export restrictions as well as on individual export control issues. In addition, we implement export control policies to minimise the liability of the management and prepare the design and set-up of internal compliance programs.
Digital customs
End-to-end customs process
Further information on the end-to-end customs process can be found here.
