Customs for FMCG, built for volume and speed.
The same products, moving in large volumes, week after week, to distribution centres and retailers across Europe. Gaston Schul runs customs for FMCG brands, so your regular flows clear reliably and your customs costs stay efficient at scale.
WHO WE HELP
Packaged consumer goods, moving at volume.
This page is for brands and manufacturers of packaged consumer goods: household and personal care products, beauty, and ambient packaged food and drink. If your goods are fresh, chilled or frozen, or need veterinary or plant health checks at the border, our Food & Perishables page covers those controls. Many brands have both, and we handle them together under one operating model.
THE CHALLENGES
What FMCG customs has to keep up with.
Your flows repeat every week, and so does the risk. One recurring data error or missing document can hold the same goods again and again, and a held lorry means a missed delivery slot.
Seasonal demand, product launches and supply disruption can push volumes up quickly. Declarations and documents have to keep pace without the quality dropping.
At high volumes, small differences in duty, procedures and handling add up. Overpaid duty and unclaimed trade agreement savings often go unnoticed.
Many brands import raw materials and packaging as well as finished products. Each flow has its own classification, origin and procedure, and they all need to work together.
Classification, labelling and product rules differ between markets, and the UK, Switzerland and Norway each have their own customs systems. The same product can need different paperwork in each.
When each country uses its own broker, the same product can be classified differently and costs are hard to compare.
WHAT YOU GET
One customs model, across Europe.
Visibility of your customs activity, costs and exceptions across Europe, so you know what is clearing and where attention is needed.
Consistent processes for your regular flows, measurable performance and exceptions handled to one standard.
Reliable customs information behind your sourcing, distribution and market-entry decisions.
HOW WE HELP
Full-service customs for FMCG, from sourcing to distribution.
Gaston Schul handles the customs behind your regular flows under one operating model, so your goods are treated the same way across Europe.
Customs Clearance
Import, export and transit declarations prepared from agreed data and documents, filed accurately and in a timely manner, with volumes planned with you ahead of peaks.
Classification support
Consistent codes across your range, raw materials and packaging, with the reasoning recorded and support for Binding Tariff Information applications where they help.
Gaston Schul's Digital Portal
Up-to-date declaration status, document access and exception alerts in one place.
Customs Control Tower
Several distribution centres and brokers coordinated to one standard, with performance measured, one set of data and a single point of contact.
SPECIALIST SUPPORT
Specialist support, where your business needs it.
DISTRIBUTION
A central distribution centre, set up for customs.
Many FMCG brands serve several markets from one distribution centre. Depending on your flows and the country, running it as a customs warehouse can suspend duty and import VAT while goods are stored, with duty settled when goods are released into free circulation. Whether it suits you depends on your volumes, your markets and the arrangements you already have. Our advisors assess the options, and where a warehouse makes sense, we help you obtain the authorisation and support it day to day.
"Gaston Schul provided the clarity and reassurance we needed at a decisive moment. Their technical expertise and practical guidance allowed us to move forward with confidence."
Lisa Eastwood, International Finance Director, Kamado Joe
FREE GUIDE
Two guides for FMCG brands.
INSIGHTS
The latest on FMCG customs.
Customs & Trade. Controlled.
Gaston Schul does more than clear your goods. We connect it all and run it as one. That is what one full-service operating model gives you, across all your customs and trade in Europe: the clarity to see, the control to govern, and the confidence to decide.
GET IN TOUCH
From FMCG customs questions to clear answers.
Tell us what you make, where it comes from and how you distribute across Europe. An expert will talk through your clearance, your distribution flows and your customs costs, and where they could work better. No obligation, just a clear answer from people who know customs.
GOOD TO KNOW
Customs for FMCG: frequently asked questions
Yes. Gaston Schul has its own teams in 14 European markets, with an alliance network reaching further, all under one operating model. Your clearance, classification and procedures are handled to one standard, and our Customs Control Tower can coordinate any other brokers you use.
By agreeing the data and documents for each regular flow up front, checking them before goods arrive, and fixing recurring errors at the source rather than shipment by shipment. Customs decides which goods it checks, but complete and accurate data is the best way to avoid holds.
Yes. We plan peaks, launches and seasonal changes with you in advance, so declarations can be prepared before goods arrive and quality holds as volumes rise.
We build one classification record for your finished products, raw materials and packaging, with the reasoning for each code, and apply it to every declaration we file. New products are classified before they ship, and where a product is high-value or borderline we can support applications for Binding Tariff Information.
Often, yes, where your goods meet the origin rules of the agreement. We check the rule for each product, collect the supplier evidence and claim the preference, so the saving holds up in an audit.
Possibly. A customs warehouse can suspend duty and import VAT while goods are stored, but whether it suits you depends on your flows, the country and your existing arrangements. We assess the options and, where it makes sense, help you set it up and support it.
Sometimes. It depends on where you import, where you sell and whether you have a local entity. In some countries a non-resident importer needs a fiscal representative, and in others it makes import VAT easier to manage. We advise on the right setup and can act as your fiscal representative in many of the markets we cover.
In selected markets. Excise goods move under their own rules, and each country sets its own rates and registrations. Our excise support is available in a number of the markets we cover and depends on the service you need, so we will confirm what we can offer for your flows.
Yes, on our Food & Perishables page. Fresh and perishable goods bring their own controls, such as veterinary and plant health checks, and we handle them alongside your packaged goods under the same operating model.