Customs Declarant
The role of customs declarant is a highly technical and detailed one, which is essential to maintaining the flow of goods in the logistics and freight forwarding sectors where cross-border goods shipments are being made. You’ll be checking consignments before they have left the factory or warehouse, whether that’s in person or via local teams charged with ensuring everything is in order.
As a customs declarant, you’ll find yourself dealing with customers, overseas departments of your own company and suppliers on a daily basis. You’ll also be dealing with the HMRC in the UK regularly, or the equivalent customs, duty and taxation bodies in foreign countries. In some roles, the job can be much deeper, visiting manufacturers and buyers to check up on their processes, stock and paperwork and making sure it’s compliant for the proposed contracts. Often, it is all done remotely, however, and this can open the role up to hybrid working arrangements for certain declarants.
The skills required
Primarily, you’ll be experienced in customs and duty procedures, but since that is a huge subject, some companies are looking for talent that’s experienced in a certain field, for example chemicals, pharmaceuticals or aviation. The number of years’ experience desired varies from business to business, but most are looking for at least 2 years, while others want as much as 5 years in the job.
You’ll be knowledgeable in customs classification, and should know your own jurisdiction’s rules inside out, while being a fast learner when it comes to getting to grips with the rules in other nations and specialised sectors. Your attention to detail and accuracy will be second to none, and you’ll be able to communicate complicated legal concepts succinctly and unambiguously.
Customs Declarant Jobs in Swindon
A town located in Wiltshire, around halfway between Bristol and Reading, Swindon is a busy place with lots of opportunity for those seeking Customs Declarant vacancies.
The town's early history goes back to a Saxon settlement that was called Suindune in the Domesday Book. For hundreds of years, it mainly subsisted as a market town, with the trade of cattle, corn and other agricultural produce, as well as horse sales.
During the 19th century, the area was known for its railway works, which built and repaired locomotives for the Great Western Railway - a train company that connected the south-west and Wales to London's Paddington Station.
Today, Swindon's economy is mainly based in the retail and service sector and there are a number of large shopping centres in the region.
The town is also home to several big businesses. For instance, Honda and BMW/Mini both have manufacturing sites in the area, while W H Smith's distribution centre and headquarters are also situated in Swindon.
Other companies based in Swindon or with major facilities in the vicinity include Motorola, Dolby, Intel, Nationwide Building Society, Arval and the National Trust.
What's more, Swindon is home to a book depository for Oxford's Bodleian library. The facility has 153 miles of shelving and enough space to house an estimated eight million tomes.
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Customs declarants needed now
Nothing can be left to chance with customs declarations, so logistics and import/export businesses are always looking for the most experienced declarants, and very competitive salaries are available for the right candidates.
If you’re looking at customs declarant jobs and have the skills and the experience, why not leave your details with us by registering below? We will get in touch when a relevant opening becomes available – it could be a life-changing decision.
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