What to retain.
WHAT TO KEEP FOR EVERY TRANSACTION
Purchase order and contract Commercial invoice Packing list Transport documents Certificates of origin and product certification Customs declaration and assessment Evidence of duty and charges paid Agent invoices and receipts Payment records Insurance documents Correspondence of significance
HOW LONG
Per the retention periods required by customs and tax authorities.
WHY THEY MATTER
Post-clearance audits occur, sometimes years later.
WHAT AUDITS EXAMINE
Whether classification was correct Whether valuation was accurate Whether preferences claimed were justified Whether duties were paid correctly
WHAT HAPPENS WHERE RECORDS ARE ABSENT
Assessments made against you, on the authority's basis.
WHAT TO ORGANISE
By shipment, with a reference.
WHY BY SHIPMENT
Queries arrive about specific consignments.
WHAT TO RECORD ALONGSIDE
The landed cost calculation for each.
WHY
It is what tells you whether importing that item actually works.
WHAT TO REVIEW
Landed costs across shipments, over time.
WHAT THAT REVEALS
Cost creep, agent inefficiency, and exchange effects.
WHAT TO DIGITISE
Everything, backed up.
WHAT TO KEEP IN ORIGINAL FORM
Anything evidencing title or certification.
WHAT TO MAINTAIN
An index.
