Customs Window Technologies, an Irish RegTech start-up which provides companies with a smart comprehensive system to address the increasing complexity and volume of customs declarations and associated compliance requirements, today announced that it has closed a €800k seed funding round.
The funding round, led by private and EIIS investors, with the support of Enterprise Ireland High Potential Start-Up (HPSU) funding, will be used by the company to scale into the UK market.
With over 91 million customs declarations submitted to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in 2023 and with further regulatory changes planned in the UK for 2025 likely to increase this number, the UK market represents a strategic expansion opportunity for the company.
Customs Window was founded in 2022 by Brian Murphy and Johnny Dunne and is headquartered at NexusUCD in Dublin. Mike Stalley, Founder and CEO of Fiscal Reps, a tax compliance software firm which he sold in 2017 to Sovos is among the private investors and will advise the company on its UK and international strategic growth plans.
Brian Murphy, COO and Co-Founder, Customs Window Technologies, said, “Customs Window was established partly as a response to Brexit, but also in response to a lack of compliance in the area of customs. The significant and ongoing growth in e-commerce and post-Brexit regulatory changes has put the issue of customs compliance in sharp focus not only here in Ireland but also in the UK and indeed across Europe.
In addition, what is often forgotten is that a company’s compliance obligations with customs live long after goods have been delivered. Our system addresses the compliance risks that companies face when dealing with customs authorities, removes the complexity out of the customs declaration process and protects customs datasets through time.”
Customs responsibilities in Europe and globally have not only become more complex, with more data and more details required than ever before, but the number of annual declarations has increased significantly. In Ireland alone, the number of declarations has gone from under 2 million in 2020 to over 54 million in 2023 driven by ecommerce, post-Brexit regulations and ever-changing EU regulations.
To address these issues Customs Window has developed a declaration system which uses advanced process automation and artificial intelligence (AI) to simplify and manage the data set required by companies for EU customs declarations. The system not only saves time and money for companies, but it can also reduce the stress experienced by supply chain and compliance managers engaged in the customs declaration process.
Customs Window provides clients, such as e-commerce platforms and logistics companies, with an integrated platform and open API to simplify the customs declaration creation and submission process. This enables clients to increase their declaration clearance rates and at the same time automate their processing of declarations while ensuring effective data management and reporting for compliance and risk management.
Customs Window is currently a participant in University College Dublin’s inaugural AI Ecosystem Accelerator Programme which is being delivered by NovaUCD in partnership with CeADAR, Ireland’s Centre for AI.
Johnny Dunne, CEO and Co-Founder, Customs Window Technologies added, “I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank our private and EIIS investors, along with Enterprise Ireland, for supporting Customs Window in our seed round which will enable us to expand by rolling out our system to new customers in the UK, a key target market for the company.”
Anne Lanigan, Divisional Manager, Technology & Services, Enterprise Ireland said, “Products and services from pioneering Irish entrepreneurs are gaining increasing recognition in their ability to address global challenges. Customs Window Technologies and their innovative solution is a prime example of this as they begin their journey to scale in new international markets. Enterprise Ireland is committed to supporting Irish-owned companies to start, grow and to achieve their global ambition, and we are proud to support and work with the Customs Window Technologies team, including through our Pre-Seed Start Fund and HPSU funding programmes, and congratulate them on this important milestone in their journey.”
Customs Window previously secured Enterprise Ireland PSSF (Pre-Seed Start Fund) funding of €100,000.