The Customs Traders (Accounts and Records) Regulations 1995

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations require customs traders to keep and preserve records containing information about their businesses and about their dealings in customs goods as defined in section 20(3)(a) of the Finance Act 1994. Compliance with these Regulations will assist HM Customs and Excise, when carrying out periodic audits of a customs trader’s business, to check the accuracy of customs declarations and protect the revenues derived from customs duties.

Regulation 3 sets out the requirements for keeping and preserving commercial records.

Regulation 4 requires particular customs traders to keep and preserve a copy of every supplementary or simplified declaration made by them or on their behalf, or alternatively to keep and preserve a record of all the information set out in such declarations.

Regulation 5 enables the Commissioners to specify, in a notice, additional and alternative records to be kept and preserved.

Regulation 6 requires certain records to be kept and preserved in such a way that it is readily apparent that they relate to a particular customs declaration. This requirement may be satisfied by an audit trail adequate for such purposes or some other method of demonstrating the connection with the declaration (for example by cross-referencing).

Regulation 7 deals with the form that the required records may take.

Regulation 8 explains the time when the obligation to keep records commences.

Regulation 9 requires customs traders to preserve their records for four years or such lesser period as the Commissioners may require.