Professional Ethics and Practitioner Responsibilities
This domain tests the boundary between serving a client and breaking the law. The exam frames it as short scenarios: a client asks for something improper, or a practitioner holds confidential data. The answer is almost always grounded in the declarant's independent legal duty of truthful declaration.
Core obligations
- Truthful and complete declaration. The declarant is responsible for the accuracy of what it files, even where the client supplied the underlying data.
- Confidentiality of commercial information obtained through the engagement, extending beyond the end of the engagement.
- No bribery of customs officials, no facilitation of forged invoices, contracts or certificates of origin.
- Dual agency: a practitioner may not act for both buyer and seller in the same transaction without full disclosure and consent.
- Record retention for three years, and continuing competence on tariff and regulatory changes.
Consequences of breach
- Practitioner sanctions range from warning to suspension of practice and revocation of registration.
- Enterprise consequences include credit downgrading and loss of authorised economic operator benefits, which affects clearance speed and inspection rates.
Worked example
A client asks the practitioner to declare a machine at 60% of its invoice value to reduce duty. The correct response is to refuse, explain that customs can recover the shortfall for three years with a 0.05% daily late fee and impose a fine of 30%–200% of the evaded duty, and record the advice in writing. If the client insists on submitting false documents, the practitioner should decline to act rather than sign the declaration.
Traps that cost marks
- Believing the client's signature on the declaration transfers liability away from the declarant.
- Assuming confidentiality obligations end when the engagement ends.