Deloitte, the business advisory firm, has made seven new appointments within its customs team. The team now comprises 11 customs specialists with extensive experience from a range of industries and government organisations.
The customs team, part of the Customs and Global Trade group headed up by renowned global trade expert, Stacey Winters, will be led by Howard Levene who has joined Deloitte as a customs Director from Delphi Automotive.
Howard has nearly 40 years experience, in particular in customs planning, across a range of sectors, most recently the automotive industry. He has previously held senior customs roles with Expeditors International, Circle International, PwC and HMRC.
Deloitte is taking a new approach to its customs team; recruiting many of its new people from industry, with experience of managing customs issues first hand. The team's strategy is focused on taking a practical approach to supporting clients across a vast number of international trade areas.
Howard Levene comments: "The introduction by the UK Government of Senior Accounting Officer sign off into the Finance Act 2008 has significantly raised the profile of tax, including customs duty, on the boardroom agenda. Any business trading internationally is subject to customs compliance and as such customs planning comes under closer scrutiny. Effective customs management is key - putting a strategy in place that ensures business will minimise costs whilst ensuring payment of the right amount of customs duty, at the right time."
Stacey Winters, head of the Customs and Global Trade group at Deloitte, says: "Tighter focus on risk management and supply chain security has dramatically changed the shape of customs management over the past decade. The modernised customs code, which is due to be implemented in 2013, will be the next point of focus for businesses as we expect to see the introduction of a number of major new changes.
"We're delighted to welcome Howard Levene and the new team members to Deloitte to help our clients navigate the complexities of customs compliance. Their extensive expertise will help us grow this exciting, new, modern customs practice into a market leading offering."