When you turn to BCR for customs assistance, you receive the utmost care from one of the oldest and most pre-eminent Customs Brokerages in Australia. In fact, we were one of the first Australian Customs brokers. In Sydney in 1902, BCR forerunner Frank Cridland Pty Ltd. received corporate licence number 31 following the passing of the Customs Act in 1901. We are passionate Customs Brokers, driven to be considered the most accurate and compliant within the industry.

We regularly achieve the highest Customs audit results. We believe we are not only exceeding the industry benchmark, but protecting our customer’s interests and reputation with all barrier-control departments. As Customs Brokers and an Australian Trusted Trader service provider, we strive to exceed industry benchmarks, whilst protecting our customer’s interests and compliance with all regulatory barriers and requirements.

Customs Brokerage

As an Australian importer, do you experience delivery delays with your current customer brokerage involving the Australian Border Force (ABF) and the Department of Agriculture (DOA)?

You may be uncertain if your current Customs Broker is looking after your needs to minimise your duty exposure by integrating existing and applying for new tariff concession orders (TCO) or by requesting documentation when preferential duty rates apply. At BCR, our expert Customs Brokerage team ensures the highest level of compliance is achieved with your customs and biosecurity (quarantine) needs.

Customs Consultancy

Australian importers and exporters must receive only the most accurate customs-related advice to ensure their declarations are in compliance with Australian Border Force (ABF) regulations. Did you know there are a number of  customs consultancy services available to  reduce customs import duty and Goods & Services Tax (GST) or to better prepare for a customs audit?

Our expert Customs Brokers have an extensive knowledge of government legislative requirements to enable you to stay compliant and reduce duty & tax exposure. BCR can act as your strategic partner for customs consultancy and compliance reviews, audits and legal advice involving Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), tariff concessions orders (TCOs) and more, to allow you to save customs-related costs to improve cash flow and profitability. No matter where you are located; Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth or one of many regional locations, we will come to you. We provide extensive services, including:

Services

  • Expert legal advice
  • Tariff and Valuation Advices
  • Duty Drawback applications
  • Import duty refunds
  • Biosecurity Import Permit applications (Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment DAWE – Formerly known as AQIS)
  • FTA and Preferential Origin Advice
  • Tradex Advice
  • GST exemptions/rulings
  • Standard contractual obligations (What is this?)
  • Compliance Review
  • Documentation review of import declarations prior to  ABF audits, attendance at audits
  • Representation at the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT)
  • Customs consultancy

Australian Trusted Trader Accreditation

Do you import regular volumes freight to Australia or frequently export to other countries? Would you like to receive a more seamless trading experience and reduce your customs regulatory burden when exporting to foreign markets? BCR is an accredited Australian Trusted Trader (ATT) that provides specialist consulting services to assist importers and exporters with the ATT accreditation process.

ATT is a voluntary trade facilitation initiative that recognises businesses in Australia with a secure supply chain and compliant trade practices. Accreditation rewards businesses with a range of trade facilitation benefits and brings Australia in line with major international trading partners, joining over 70 countries with similar Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) programmes. See below to view the advantages of becoming an Australian Trusted Trader.

Benefits

  • A dedicated Account Manager who will be the point of contact between the importer/exporter and Border Force.
  • Priority service when requesting advanced rulings on tariffs, valuation and country of origin.
  • Differentiated examinations of shipments coming into Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Brisbane and other parts of Australia as the accredited ATT business will be considered low risk.
  • Mutual recognition arrangements with key trading partners around the world, enabling Australian Trusted Traders to access trade facilitation benefits of the reciprocal trading partners, which will reduce the customs regulatory burden for Australian exporters entering foreign markets.
  • Deferral of duty payments on imported goods for a set period of time.
  • Streamlined reporting arrangements to reduce the administrative burden involved in importing and exporting goods.

Why should you become ATT accredited?

  • Specialist and in depth knowledge of existing ISO certifications, SAFE Framework and Risk Management Compendium and where/how to leverage, and apply to existing compliance programs and audits to reduce cost and complexity.
  • Specialist and in depth knowledge of risk, governance, data management and IT security, internal controls, policy and procedure suites.
  • Working with a service provider who is ATT accredited across freight forwarding, customs and 3PL and has gone through the verification process.
  • Based on our accreditation, we can work with your business and Australian Border Force to speed up the process of ATT accreditation.
  • One consulting organisation that works across the same industry horizontal (freight forwarding, Customs and 3PL) to offer suggestions for collaboration, improvement and streamlining of operations ability for BCR to work with you to leverage program benefits for importers and exporters as they come online.
  • Comprehensive assistance with the application process, technical assistance and auditing capabilities.

Tariff Concession Applications & Advice

It is no secret today’s supply chains compete against other supply chains in the quest to squeeze out costs. Your biggest competitor may be importing a similar product duty free and you are looking for a way to reduce your Customs-related expenses. You may be paying Customs duties on imported products that cannot be sourced in Australia.

With the BCR experts in customs clearance and consulting you can be confident that you are not paying unnecessary duties. We first review the product’s classification, if dutiable, then evaluate the use of any existing Tariff Concession that may apply to the product. If successful, we will apply the Tariff Concession on all future imports and process duty refunds on previous shipments.

If a Tariff Concession is not immediately available, we have a proven process that allows us to complete an application for the product and successfully obtain the Tariff Concession on your behalf. BCR’s comprehensive Customs Broker Tariff Concession capabilities include:

Capabilities

  • Tariff Concession application
  • Tariff advice application
  • Important declaration amendment, duty refund
  • Customs compliance review

Duty Drawback and Tradex Advice

If you are an Australian importer who exports products that contain imported components, you may be able to claim a drawback (refund) of duty that was originally paid. In addition to this traditional means of saving on customs duties paid after goods are exported, the AusIndustry Tradex Scheme allows importers who export to gain an exemption of duty and Goods & Services Tax (GST) payments at the time of import.

Services

The BCR customs experts are your partner for duty drawback and Tradex exemptions. Allow us to process your duty drawback claims using one of 3 methods available by Customs to facilitate a refund of import duty. We provide exporters of imported products with advice and assistance through the Tradex Scheme to improve your cash flow by an upfront exemption of import duty and GST. We can also provide additional guidance in the reporting requirements and limitations in place for the Tradex Scheme to ensure compliance and establish a streamlined process to reduce your associated expenses. BCR capabilities include:

  • Duty drawback claims
  • Tradex Scheme requirements
  • Customs clearance
  • Customs consultancy
  • Export declarations

Customs Compliance

If you are an Australian company that imports or exports, you have to deal with customs issues. Significant costs are at stake if you do not stay abreast of the Australian Border Force (ABF) rules and regulations. You need qualified staff to review complex information and to ensure customs declarations are current with legislative requirements. The Customs experts at BCR can assist with all your customs-related needs including critical compliance and data integrity reviews on dutiable imports. As an importer or exporter, you may need these solutions:

Customs audit & compliance review

  • Our expert Customs consultants will conduct a thorough review, including discovery within our internal review system to examine the accuracy of lodged declarations.
  • This service is particularly beneficial prior to a Customs audit, when you can provide us with any pertinent information that could be viewed favourably by Customs.

Capabilities

WHY YOU SHOULD USE BCR FOR CUSTOMS BROKERAGE

If you aren’t experienced with international shipping, then the regulations surrounding the clearance of goods across borders can seem very daunting to deal with. While it’s important for these regulations to exist, navigating them efficiently and avoiding delays requires expertise in customs brokerage.

At BCR, we provide you with this professional expertise. We leverage our knowledge of compliance procedures to ensure that your goods don’t experience any unnecessary delays in getting where they need to be. There are a lot of factors at play when it comes to dealing with federal Australian and international agencies that inspect shipping, and BCR is able to ensure that your cargo meets compliance standards so that you have nothing to worry about.

As one of the first established customs brokerage firms in Australia, you can trust that BCR has the knowledge and experience to ensure your goods get the green tick of approval when entering or leaving the country.