It is a fact that import-export companies operate in a highly complex and constantly changing legal environment. Many of them devote a great deal of effort and resources to complying with customs and trade regulations, but these efforts often fall short of the desired results.

The problem: The weakest link in the risk management process is often "qualified staff in the departments most concerned and regular training of the staff and managers involved". The solution: The CPD certificate certifies that your staff have the necessary knowledge and that they are constantly improving it. 

Your staff will be able to demonstrate that they have the most up-to-date knowledge (thanks to weekly legal updates and discussions within the CPD group) and that they have in-depth knowledge of the EU customs and trade compliance aspects and issues relevant to the company (which they learn not only from the training materials but also from the programme leaders and peers).

If you are a novice in the field of customs and trade compliance or have only a fragmentary knowledge, we recommend that you complete the EU Customs Clearance and Trade Compliance course before taking part in the CPD programme. The course will provide you with the necessary systematic background knowledge.

The CPD certificate certifies that you know EU law and are constantly improving your knowledge. You will be able to demonstrate that you have the latest knowledge (thanks to the weekly legal updates and discussions in the CPD group) and can discuss in depth various aspects and issues related to EU customs and trade compliance (which you will learn not only from the learning materials but also from the programme leaders and your colleagues). You will also be able to say that you are gaining your knowledge from renowned European customs and trade compliance experts who have worked on the Union Customs Code (Michael Lux), who have held positions of heads of customs (Anthony Buckley), who have written books on the subject (Dr Andrew Grainger) and many others whose prepared materials (articles and videos) you will use and some of whom you will meet during the programme.

You must at least have a general understanding of customs and trade compliance (not necessary in the EU) to be able to participate meaningfully in the programme. The learning material is designed for different levels - from beginner to expert - and covers a wide range of topics, bearing in mind that customs and trade compliance is a very complex area where there are no experts for everything. You may be an expert in some areas (e.g. export control) but a beginner in others (e.g. customs valuation).

Please plan about one hour per week to update your knowledge by reading the weekly EU law news (which you will receive by email) and to study new (or other, chosen by you) learning materials or work on the assignments.

You will meet with the programme leader instead, at a time convenient for you.

You have several options: You can contact the programme coordinator, send the question to everyone (programme colleagues and leaders) by email or write in a members only WhatsApp group, or you can contact programme leaders.

Certificates are awarded at the end of each year. If you start the programme later, we will discuss with you individually how you would like to proceed - whether to make more effort to receive the certificate for that year or to start learning with the group and receive the certificate the following year.

Yes, you will receive a certificate for the period during which you participated in the CPD programme and for the credits earned.

The certificate is verified by the Customs Knowledge Institute and CustomsClear. In the EU, there is no government recognition or standard for a Customs and Trade Compliance CPD programme.

The CPD programme was developed by CustomsClear, the customs and trade compliance knowledge platform, and the Customs Knowledge Institute, the network of customs and trade compliance experts (and those who want to become one).

One of the options would be to take a job in customs and trade compliance in an international company trading with or operating in the EU. The CPD certificate certifies that you know EU customs law and are constantly improving your knowledge. You will be able to demonstrate that you have the latest knowledge and can discuss in depth various aspects and issues related to EU customs and trade compliance.