Simpex news

A useful update has gone live within the UK Online Trade Tariff system that’s worth being aware of.

HMRC has introduced a “watchlist” feature that allows businesses to upload commodity codes and receive alerts when there are changes to duties, restrictions, or measures linked to those codes.

You can access it here:
https://www.gov.uk/trade-tariff

In simple terms, it helps traders stay on top of tariff movements without having to manually check updates all the time. For many businesses that will be a welcome improvement, particularly where commodity codes are regularly used across multiple shipments.

It also has some clear practical benefits:

• quicker visibility of duty changes affecting specific goods
• earlier awareness of new restrictions or licensing requirements
• reduced risk of missing tariff updates
• a more proactive approach to monitoring classifications

But it’s important to be realistic about what it does and doesn’t do.

It’s a monitoring tool, not a classification tool.  The accuracy of the commodity code itself still sits with the importer/exporter, and if the wrong classification is used, it can still lead to issues further down the line.

This is where experience continues to matter just as much as technology.

Please contact the Simpex team on how we can support you with the detail behind the declarations, from classification advice through to ensuring customs entries are completed correctly.