Senior Customs Declarant Specialist

Role Purpose

We are looking for an experienced Senior Customs Declarant to support the expansion of our B2B customs clearance activities in Liège while also contributing to daily B2C customs operations. This is a senior operational and development role combining hands-on declaration work, customs compliance, customer onboarding, process design, system implementation and business support.

The successful candidate will act as a customs subject-matter expert for complex B2B flows and help build scalable, compliant and commercially viable customs solutions. The role will also provide operational support for high-volume B2C and e-commerce customs activities, including exception handling, data-quality controls and customs response follow-up.

Key Responsibilities

1. B2B Customs Declarations and Compliance

• Prepare, submit and follow up B2B import customs declarations, including H1 declarations and the related amendment, invalidation and presentation processes.
• Handle standard and complex customs procedures, including 40 00, 42 00, returned goods, temporary admission and other relevant import regimes.
• Prepare and manage transit movements, including T1 and T2 declarations through NCTS.
• Validate customs classification, customs value, origin, Incoterms, licences, supporting documents and applicable TARIC measures.
• Ensure compliance with the Union Customs Code, Belgian customs requirements and internal customs-control standards.
• Manage customs duties, import VAT, deferred payment arrangements, customs guarantees and guarantee references.
• Follow up customs releases, documentary controls, physical inspections, blocked declarations and customs-related incidents.
• Prepare amendments, invalidation requests, regularisation files and post-clearance corrections when required.
• Maintain complete and auditable customs records for internal controls, customer reviews and customs audits.

2. B2B Customs Business Development

• Support the development and expansion of the company’s B2B customs clearance activities in Belgium and across relevant European flows.
• Analyse new customer flows and determine the most suitable customs procedure, representation model and operational setup.
• Lead or support the customs onboarding of new B2B customers, including the review of EORI and VAT data, powers of attorney, representation agreements, guarantees, deferred payment arrangements, product data and licences.
• Design practical customs solutions for different customer profiles, product categories, origins, destination countries and transport modes.
• Work with commercial, operational, finance, procurement and IT teams to assess the feasibility, risk, cost and implementation requirements of new customs projects.
• Contribute customs expertise during customer meetings, tenders, implementation workshops and solution-design discussions.
• Identify regulatory and operational risks before new B2B flows are launched and propose effective mitigation measures.
• Develop customer-specific customs SOPs, operational requirements, escalation paths and service descriptions.
• Support customs pricing models by identifying declaration costs, guarantee costs, duty and VAT funding requirements, system costs and operational workload.

3. B2C and E-commerce Customs Operations

• Support daily B2C and e-commerce customs operations, including high-volume low-value import flows and H7-related activities where applicable.
• Review and resolve B2C declaration exceptions, customs rejections, data-quality issues and blocked consignments.
• Verify the correct use of IOSS data, VAT information, intrinsic value, transport costs, product descriptions, HS codes and supporting data.
• Follow up customs response messages, release statuses, inspections, controls and operational escalations for B2C consignments.
• Support corrections, invalidations, returns and other post-declaration activities linked to B2C flows.
• Coordinate with warehouse, line-haul, customer-service and IT teams to protect clearance speed and operational continuity.
• Contribute to B2C data-validation rules, exception dashboards and automated risk controls.
• Provide operational backup during peak periods, incidents, new-flow launches or customs-system disruptions.

4. Process and System Development

• Develop, document and continuously improve customs SOPs, work instructions, control points and escalation procedures.
• Translate customs regulations and operational needs into clear business and system requirements.
• Work with IT teams and customs software providers on Belgian IDMS, H1/H7 processes, NCTS, customs response messages and data validation.
• Participate in user acceptance testing and analyse XML, API, XSD, business-rule and customs rejection messages.
• Define automated controls for HS codes, customs values, VAT numbers, origin, licences, guarantees and supporting documents.
• Improve declaration accuracy, customs release lead time, exception visibility and data completeness.
• Develop operational KPIs and reporting for both B2B and B2C customs activities.
• Identify opportunities to automate repetitive customs tasks and reduce manual intervention without weakening compliance.

5. Stakeholder Management and Team Support

• Act as a senior customs contact for internal operations, commercial teams, customers and external partners.
• Communicate with Belgian Customs, customs offices, external brokers, software providers and relevant government authorities.
• Provide clear and commercially practical customs advice to customers and internal stakeholders.
• Coordinate with warehouses, transport teams, finance teams and customer service to ensure timely customs clearance.
• Support and coach customs declarants and operational colleagues on complex cases and recurring issues.
• Escalate material compliance risks, customs debts, penalties and operational disruptions to management.
• Deliver customs training and knowledge-sharing sessions for operational and commercial teams.

Required Experience and Qualifications

• At least 5 years of hands-on experience in customs declarations, customs brokerage or customs operations; more extensive experience is strongly preferred.
• Strong practical experience with B2B import customs clearance in Belgium or another EU Member State.
• Experience in developing, implementing or expanding B2B customs activities, customer solutions or customs-operating models.
• Working experience with B2C, e-commerce or high-volume low-value customs operations.
• Strong knowledge of the Union Customs Code and Belgian customs requirements.
• Practical experience with H1 import declarations, B2B customs procedures and transit operations.
• Good understanding of customs classification, TARIC, customs valuation, origin, import VAT, customs duties, guarantees, deferred payment and direct or indirect customs representation.
• Experience with procedures 40 00 and 42 00 and with T1/T2 transit declarations.
• Experience handling customs inspections, declaration rejections, amendments, invalidations and post-clearance corrections.
• Ability to interpret regulations and convert them into workable processes, controls and system requirements.
• Strong analytical skills, attention to detail and the ability to manage multiple flows and priorities independently.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with Belgian IDMS, NCTS, PLDA.
• Experience with H7, IOSS and B2C e-commerce customs processes.
• Experience with H1 and B2B customs processes
• Experience in multimodal logistics environments, including air cargo, ocean freight, rail, express and parcel operations, preferably involving high-volume customs clearance.
• Experience with customs-system implementation, API/XML message analysis, testing or data-mapping projects.
• Experience working directly with Belgian Customs or recognised customs software providers.
• Knowledge of Belgian VAT arrangements, fiscal representation, postponed accounting and customs authorisations.
• Experience supervising, coaching or technically supporting junior customs declarants.
• A customs-related qualification, certificate or relevant degree is an advantage.

Language Requirements

• Professional proficiency in English.
• Professional proficiency in French.

Key Competencies

• Strong customs judgement and compliance awareness.
• Business-oriented, solution-driven and able to balance regulatory requirements with operational reality.
• High level of ownership, accountability and accuracy.
• Clear communication with customers, authorities and cross-functional teams.
• Ability to build structured processes in a developing business environment.
• Strong problem-solving skills and resilience under operational pressure.
• Ability to challenge incomplete, inconsistent or non-compliant customer data.
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced international logistics environment.

Key Performance Indicators

• Declaration acceptance and accuracy rate.
• Customs rejection, correction and exception rate.
• Average customs-clearance lead time for B2B and B2C flows.
• Number and quality of successfully onboarded B2B customers and customs solutions.
• Compliance with customs procedures and internal control requirements.
• Timely resolution of customs inspections, blocked declarations and operational exceptions.
• Quality and completeness of customer and declaration data.
• Progress in customs process standardisation, system implementation and automation.
• Contribution to the growth, service quality and profitability of the B2B customs business.
• Customer and internal stakeholder satisfaction.