Terms & Conditions

1. Who You Are Contracting With

These Terms form a contract between you (the "Client") and PSMITH MANAGEMENT CONSULTING ME - FZCO, a company established in the United Arab Emirates (IFZA licence 74519), trading as "The Import Recovery Group" ("IRG", "we", "us"). IRG is the sole contracting party; there is no separate UK company, and no other entity is party to this agreement. Our registered office and a UK address for service are given in clauses 12 and 13.

IRG identifies and recovers overpaid customs duty for UK businesses. We do not claim import VAT back from HMRC: where import VAT looks wrong, we flag it to you so that you can correct it on your own VAT return. We review customs declarations submitted to His Majesty's Revenue & Customs ("HMRC") and prepare repayment claims. Depending on the claim, it may be submitted to HMRC by you or by a specialist import or customs adviser we choose, and you agree that we may use such third-party specialists to deliver our services. Any repayment is made by HMRC directly to you; IRG does not receive or handle repayment monies and assumes no liability for any customs debt.

IRG is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. Our services are commercial and consultancy in nature. We are not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority ("FCA") and our services do not constitute financial advice.

Business customers only. You confirm that you are entering into this agreement in the course of your business, trade or profession and not as a consumer, and that the individual signing the Letter of Authority is authorised to bind the business named in it.

2. Our Services

Subject to these Terms and a signed Letter of Authority ("LOA"), IRG will:

1. Review your historic import declarations (C88 entries), C79 VAT certificates, and related customs documentation to identify potential customs duty overpayments, and flag to you any import VAT that looks wrong so that you can correct it on your own VAT return;
2. Prepare amendment requests and/or repayment claims and arrange their submission to HMRC, as described in clause 1;
3. Liaise with HMRC and manage correspondence relating to such claims;
4. Keep you informed of progress and outcomes.

The scope of the review, including the periods to be reviewed, will be agreed with you prior to commencement and confirmed in writing.

3. No Win, No Fee

Our fee arrangement is strictly contingency-based:

1. No recovery, no fee. If we are unable to recover any amount on your behalf, you owe us nothing.
2. Where a recovery is made, our fee is the percentage stated in your Letter of Authority, calculated on the net amount of cash actually received by you from HMRC in respect of overpaid customs duty. No fee is charged on import VAT, including any import VAT you correct on your own VAT return after we flag it. Minimum fee. Where that percentage comes to less than £1,000 on a claim, our fee for that claim is £1,000 or half of the net amount you received, whichever is lower. For example: £1,200 received, fee £600; £3,000 received, fee £1,000; £5,000 received, fee £1,250 (25%). The minimum fee applies once per claim, not per instalment. If nothing is repaid, there is no fee. Our fee does not apply to any amount that HMRC credits, sets off or applies against an underpayment, assessment, penalty or interest, nor to any underpayment correction, penalty or interest: only to cash you actually receive.
3. VAT. IRG is established in the UAE; for UK business customers our services fall under the VAT reverse charge, so no UK VAT is added to our fee and you account for any VAT due through your own VAT return.
4. We will invoice you upon confirmation of repayment by HMRC. Payment is due within 14 days of invoice.
5. If a recovery is made in instalments, our fee applies to each instalment as received. The minimum fee applies once per claim, not per instalment: it is worked out on the total net amount repaid on that claim.
6. We do not charge disbursements unless you have agreed them in writing in advance. If nothing is recovered, you pay nothing.
7. Introducers. If you were introduced to us by an adviser (for example your customs broker), we may pay them a share of our fee. We will tell you who and how much before you sign.

4. Your Obligations

To enable us to carry out the services effectively, you agree to:

1. Provide accurate, complete, and timely information and documentation when requested;
2. Notify us promptly of any correspondence received from HMRC relating to the claims we are pursuing on your behalf;
3. Not independently contact HMRC regarding these specific claims without first informing us;
4. Ensure that the individual signing the Letter of Authority has actual authority to enter into this agreement and bind the business named in it; that individual and the business warrant that such authority exists;
5. Where the Letter of Authority is signed electronically, you consent to the use of electronic signature and to our retention of the associated audit record (including timestamp, IP address and signing metadata) as evidence of execution, and agree an electronic signature has the same legal effect as a handwritten one.

5. Our Obligations

IRG will:

1. Act in your best interests and with reasonable skill and care;
2. Keep you informed of material developments in your case;
3. Handle your data in accordance with our Privacy Policy and UK GDPR;
4. Maintain confidentiality of all information provided by you, subject to clauses 6 and 7.

6. Data Protection

For the purposes of the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, IRG is the controller of the personal data it processes in connection with these services, including your company information, contact details, import declaration records and related HMRC correspondence.

Our lawful bases are (a) performance of our contract with you, to deliver the agreed services, and (b) our legitimate interests in operating, administering and protecting our business, pursuing claims and maintaining records. Where we send you marketing about our services, we rely on our legitimate interests, and you can object at any time: use the unsubscribe link in any email or reply 'stop', and we will stop.

International transfers. Because IRG is established in the United Arab Emirates, which the UK has not recognised as providing an adequate level of data protection, your personal data will be transferred from the UK to the UAE. We make such transfers under the UK International Data Transfer Agreement (IDTA) or the UK Addendum to the EU Standard Contractual Clauses, together with any supplementary measures needed to ensure your data receives protection essentially equivalent to that under UK law. A copy of the relevant transfer mechanism is available on request.

We have appointed a representative in the UK under Article 27 of the UK GDPR (details in our Privacy Notice). We will not share your data with third parties except as needed to perform the services (e.g. HMRC and any specialist we use under clause 1), as required by law, or with your consent. Full details, including your rights and our retention periods, are in our Privacy Policy at importrecoverygroup.co.uk/privacy.

7. Confidentiality

Both parties agree to keep confidential all non-public information received from the other party in connection with the engagement. Either party may disclose such information to its professional advisers, and we may disclose it to HMRC and to any specialist we use under clause 1, in each case only as needed for the services and on a confidential basis. This obligation survives termination of the engagement for a period of five years.

8. Our Liability

1. IRG will carry out its services with reasonable care and skill but cannot guarantee a specific outcome or recovery amount. The outcome of claims is subject to HMRC's decisions, which are outside our control.
2. Subject to paragraph 4 below, IRG shall not be liable for any indirect, consequential or special loss, including any indirect loss of profit, business, opportunity or goodwill, arising from or in connection with the services. This does not exclude a repayment you lose as a direct result of our breach, which is subject to the limit in paragraph 3.
3. Subject to paragraph 4 below, our total liability to you for all claims arising from or in connection with the services, whether in contract, tort (including negligence), breach of statutory duty or otherwise, shall not exceed the greater of (a) the total fees paid or payable by you to IRG under the relevant engagement and (b) £5,000. Because our fees are contingent and may be low or nil, this fixed floor is included so the limit represents a fair and reasonable allocation of risk that leaves you a meaningful remedy; you agree this limit is reasonable given the nature and contingent price of the services.
4. Nothing in these Terms limits or excludes any liability that cannot lawfully be limited or excluded, such as liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, or for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation.

9. Cancellation & Termination

1. Either party may terminate the engagement by providing 14 days' written notice to the other.
2. You may cancel this engagement within 14 days of signing the Letter of Authority at no cost, provided a claim has not, at your request, already been submitted to HMRC (by you or by a specialist under clause 1) within that period. If you ask us to have claims submitted during that period, you agree we may do so and this cancellation right ends in respect of any claim submitted.
3. If you terminate after a claim has been submitted to HMRC (by you or by a specialist under clause 1) and that claim later results in a repayment to you, the fee under clause 3 remains payable on that repayment (calculated on the net cash actually received by you), reflecting the work completed. No fee is payable on any claim that does not result in a repayment to you.
4. IRG may terminate immediately if you provide false or misleading information, or if continued engagement would require us to act unlawfully.
5. On termination, we will return your documents and transfer any outstanding claims to you or your nominated representative.

10. Complaints

If you are unhappy with our service, please contact us in the first instance at [email protected]. We aim to acknowledge all complaints within 2 business days and resolve them within 14 business days. If we are unable to resolve your complaint to your satisfaction, you may seek independent dispute resolution.

11. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. Any new version will be published at importrecoverygroup.co.uk/terms with a new version number. The version referenced in your Letter of Authority governs your engagement: we will not apply updated Terms to existing engagements without your express agreement.

All prior versions remain permanently accessible at their original URLs for reference.

12. Contracting Party

Your contract for these services is with PSMITH MANAGEMENT CONSULTING ME - FZCO, a company established in the United Arab Emirates (IFZA licence 74519), trading as "The Import Recovery Group". Its registered office is IFZA Properties, Dubai Digital Park, Dubai Silicon Oasis, Dubai 342001, UAE. A United Kingdom address for the service of documents is given in clause 13.

13. Governing Law & Service of Process

These Terms, and any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with them (including non-contractual disputes), are governed by the law of England and Wales, and both parties submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

As we are established outside the United Kingdom, we maintain the following address in the United Kingdom for the service of documents and legal process, at which we may be served in connection with these Terms: The Import Recovery Group, U2 Newburn Estate, Shelley Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE15 9RT. Service at that address is effective service on us.

14. Entire Agreement

These Terms, together with the signed Letter of Authority, constitute the entire agreement between you and IRG in respect of the services. They supersede all prior discussions, representations, and agreements.