Compliance

Compliance Audit

The Compliance Audit tool analyses customs documents — commercial invoices, packing lists, and certificates — against CDS requirements and flags errors before they reach HMRC.

Accessing the audit tool

Go to Compliance → Audit in the sidebar. The tool is available to all signed-in users.

Running an audit

• Manual (paste text) — paste the raw text of your document into the text area. Select the document type (e.g. Commercial Invoice, Bill of Lading) and click Run Audit.
• Upload a file — switch to the Upload tab, drag and drop a PDF or image, and freightcode® will extract the text via OCR before running the audit.

What the audit checks

• Required fields present (shipper, consignee, description, value, HS code, Incoterms)
• HS code format validity (must be 6–10 digits)
• Customs value completeness — is freight and insurance captured?
• Origin country stated and consistent with preference claims
• Document type matches content (e.g. a packing list should not be audited as an invoice)
• Any missing fields that CDS will reject at submission

Reading the results

After the audit completes, results are shown in two sections:

• Extracted fields — the values the system read from your document. Review these to confirm the extraction was accurate.
• Compliance findings — a list of issues, warnings, and confirmations. Each finding includes a plain-English explanation of what is wrong and how to fix it.

Linking audit results to a declaration

After running an audit, you can save the document directly to freightcode® and link it to an existing declaration. Select the declaration from the dropdown that appears in the upload step, and the document will appear in that declaration's Documents tab.