Recovering 87,450 PLN of overpaid customs for a parts importer
We conducted an audit of historical customs declarations from the last 23 months. We found tariff errors that the authority recognized as valid for a refund.
We helped AutoPart Silesia recover money that was unnecessarily stuck at the customs office. For nearly two years, the client paid inflated rates because no one verified the technical details of the imported spare parts.
The challenge
AutoPart Silesia imported 217 containers a year with components from China and India. Since September 2021, their system automatically assigned old commodity codes to new product groups. As a result, 423 customs declarations contained tariff errors, generating an average loss of 3,800 PLN per month. The company was unaware that changes in regulations from July 2023 allowed for lower fees for specific metal alloys used in their filters.
Our approach
Our team in Szczecin took full documentation from the last 23 months for a workshop. We delegated two specialists who manually compared commercial invoices with the actual technical specifications of the containers' contents. (It was tedious work, but numbers don't lie). We prepared evidence for 14 product groups, demonstrating that the chemical composition of the steel allowed for a more favorable customs rate.
The solution
Sloenka Logistic GR prepared and submitted a series of applications for rectification of customs declarations based on Art. 116 of the Union Customs Code. We had to prove technical parameters before the Tax Administration Chamber, which required obtaining certificates from manufacturers in Asia. Additionally, we corrected errors in VAT-7 declarations, which allowed unblocking the client's frozen capital.
Results
The full amount of 87,450 PLN went directly to the client's account in three tranches. The process took us exactly 154 days from the first audit to the last transfer from the authority. Thanks to the CN code change, AutoPart Silesia now saves about 4,200 PLN on every subsequent transport.
Timeline
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October 2023Audit of 483 customs declarations and catching CN code errors
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December 2023Obtaining missing technical certificates from suppliers in Asia
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January 2024Submission of correction applications to the Tax Administration Chamber
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May 2024Receipt of positive decision and refund of the last tranche to account
"I was afraid that correcting documents from two years ago would draw a tax audit on us. Sloenka showed specific paragraphs, and the cash returned after 5 months without any problems."