and International Trade
CIOT Global Trade Live Panel Recording · 14 April 2026
Preparing for a Customs Audit
HMRC gave you the CDS data. HMRC is now enforcing. See how MyCustomsInfo® turns raw declaration data into an audit-ready evidence trail.
HMRC has given you the data. HMRC is now enforcing.
Two developments have reshaped the UK customs audit landscape in the last six months.
First, HMRC hired 5,500 new compliance officers in 2024 to tighten enforcement. The post-Brexit leeway is over. Audit frequency is up, audit scope is up and duty recovery action is up.
Second, HMRC’s free Customs Declaration Service data reports service is now fully live. Previously known as MSS reports, the service is now free to every trader. Businesses can download the declaration data filed in their name by brokers and intermediaries.
Businesses now have no excuses left for non-compliance.
On 14 April 2026, the Chartered Institute of Export and International Trade hosted Preparing for a Customs Audit, a Global Trade Live panel bringing the two developments together. The panel brought in Tom McGroder (Director Global Trade Compliance Excellence EMEA, Cargill), Charlotte Richardson (Trade Compliance Specialist, Adtran) and Dominic McGough (Founder and CEO, CustomsPlus®), hosted by CIOT Executive Editor William Barns-Graham with customs leadership from Caroline Rowden and Ilona Kawka.
Dominic’s fireside covered digital tools to help you understand your customs data. The central point: free CDS data is the starting line, not the finish line.
Panel guests
Three takeaways carried through the session
- The three pillars still decide the audit.
Classification, valuation and origin. HMRC audits whether your declarations reconcile against the invoice, the proof of origin, the supplier specification. When reconciliation fails, the audit finds the weakness.
- Raw CDS data does not pass the reconciliation test.
The free HMRC service delivers declaration data, not the commercial documents behind it. Without reconciliation, a CDS download is a data dump.
- Businesses who self-audit beat businesses who wait.
Running declaration data against invoices and evidence regularly surfaces errors early. Voluntary disclosure of an honest mistake carries far less cost than an HMRC finding.
MyCustomsInfo® was built for this reconciliation. The platform ingests CDS declaration data and matches it against invoices, proofs of origin and supplier specifications, producing the audit-ready evidence trail HMRC expects.
Watch the full panel recording
45 minutes. Hosted by the Chartered Institute of Export and International Trade. Recorded Tuesday 14/04/2026.
Recording courtesy of the Chartered Institute of Export and International Trade. Captions and transcript available via LinkedIn.
See how MyCustomsInfo® reconciles your CDS data
Book a 30-minute demo. We will walk you through how MCI ingests your CDS declaration data, reconciles it against your commercial documents and surfaces the under and overpayments your brokers did not flag. No slides. Your data, live.
- Ingest CDS declaration data directly
- Reconcile against invoices, proofs of origin and supplier specs
- Flag under and overpayments before HMRC finds them
- 84-month audit-ready document archive
Where MyCustomsInfo® fits
Built around the three pillars the audit actually tests – classification, valuation and origin.
Compliance Monitor
Continuous oversight of your CDS and ACE declaration data against HMRC and CBP rulesets.
Learn moreAudit and Reconciliation
Automated matching of declarations against invoices, proofs of origin and supplier specifications. 84-month document archive.
Learn moreOn-Demand Reports
Entry Audit Report, Broker Action Letter and Compliance Audit Report generated on demand.
Learn moreChartered Institute member?
MyCustomsInfo® is available to CIOT members through the Chartered Institute’s customs compliance service. Visit the CIOT MyCustomsInfo® page for member access details, or book a demo with our team direct.
Want to talk to a customs practitioner?
Operated by CustomsPlus Ltd (Company No. 12327750), registered in England and Wales. ISO 27001:2022 certified.