Customs Special Interest Group

A qualified and accredited customs professional, Anna is a leading international trade and customs specialist and commentator, having worked as a practitioner before joining the Chartered Institute of Export and International Trade in April 2023.

She represents the Chartered Institute at industry and government forums, while advising public and private sector clients on trade compliance and customs facilitations.

A regular speaker at UK and European events and at government working groups, Anna is industry chair of HMRC’s Joint Customs Consultative Committee, its forum for consulting with key trade stakeholders on customs procedures and regulations and represents the Chartered Institute at the EU - UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement Domestic Advisory Group.

With expertise in interpreting UK and EU regulations and their impact on business, Anna’s current focus is on the changes within the customs landscape, including the UK’s Border Target Operating Model, the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), and EU’s Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) as well as the EU customs reform.

Before joining the Chartered Institute, Anna was customs lead at a major UK manufacturing retailer, developing its customs compliance policy and processes for post-Brexit trading.

Philippa Evans heads up the Tariff and Quota Policy Implementation team in His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs. Working with international trade policy and operational colleagues across the UK government, Philippa’s team are HMRC’s experts for the UK’s Integrated Tariff dataset.  Helping to steer the development of policy to ensure deliverability within the UK customs declaration system and at the border; whilst supporting the UK trading community in understanding the tariff implications and preparing accordingly.  Within this, running the UK’s Online Trade Tariff is a key aspect of Philippa’s portfolio and she has been leading its ongoing development since 2020.

Philippa has worked in the UK Government for over 23 years, almost entirely within the customs and international trade area.  This has included representing the UK at EU committees for classification and the development of the 2016 delivery of the EU Customs Code; coordinating the development of the UK’s customs legislation and guidance updates in preparation for EU Exit; and, most recently, leading on the UK Customs Tariff.