Your margins are only as accurate
as your customs costs.
For a CFO, finance director or controller, the customs number is scattered across markets, brokers and spreadsheets. Gaston Schul makes it manageable: landed cost visible before goods move, overpaid duty recovered, VAT deferred, one view for the board.
THE COST OF CUSTOMS
The customs costs you
cannot see clearly.
Customs cost is spread across markets, brokers and invoices, so you can see the total leaving the business but not what is driving it or where to act.
A wrong classification, an unclaimed trade-agreement rate or a missed relief quietly overpays duty on every shipment, often for years before anyone notices.
VAT paid at the border and reclaimed later sits as financed cash, when in many markets it can be deferred instead, freeing working capital.
Landed cost lands after the fact, so margins move with duty and VAT you did not see coming, and budgeting becomes guesswork.
WHAT CHANGES
Customs as a number
you control.
Landed cost is modelled before shipping, not reconciled after, so you know the duty and VAT in advance and can protect the margin on the deal while you can still act on it.
We review classification, trade-agreement qualification and past entries, recover overpaid duty where it is owed, and keep the savings in place, so what you stop overpaying goes straight to margin.
One consolidated invoice across the markets we cover and board-ready reporting turn customs from a scattered cost into a single, forecastable line you can budget against and defend.
WHAT WE DELIVER
Where the savings come from.
Duty Optimisation
Classification reviews, trade-agreement qualification and recovery claims that find overpaid duty and stop it recurring, so you pay what you owe and not a cent more.
VAT & Fiscal Representation
Import VAT deferred rather than financed, with the fiscal setup handled across the markets you import into, so less cash sits waiting at the border.
Visibility & Cost Control
Landed cost modelled up front and customs spend reported in one place, so the number is visible before goods move and ready for the board.
Customs Health Check
A structured review that finds the overpaid duty, the recoverable VAT and the missed savings, with the value quantified and a plan to capture it.
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.
RELATED NEWS
Customs & Trade. Controlled.
Gaston Schul does more than lower your customs costs. 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 customs cost questions to clear answers.
Tell us what you import, from where, and into which markets, and an expert will show you where the duty, the VAT and the savings sit. No obligation, just a clear answer from people who know customs.
FAQs for finance roles
For finance: frequently asked questions
More than most finance teams can break down, because the spend is scattered across markets, brokers and invoices. We pull it into one view: duty, import VAT and the cost of errors and rework, so you can see not just the total but what is driving it and where it can come down.
We look for overpaid duty from wrong classifications, unclaimed trade-agreement rates and missed reliefs, and for import VAT that can be deferred rather than financed. Where money is owed back, we make the recovery claim. We quantify the value before you commit, so the saving is a number, not a promise.
Yes. We model landed cost before goods move and report customs spend in one place, often on a single consolidated invoice across the markets we cover, so you can forecast accurately and budget against a number you trust rather than reconcile surprises after the fact.
Because we are independent and privately owned, the advice on your duty and VAT serves your margin, not a sales target or an owner's agenda. What we recommend is what reduces your cost, and the reporting behind it is yours to take to the board.