Boom-lift imports: decide which orders can proceed

That turns every affected order into a finance-capacity decision. A commercially sound order can still stall when its guarantee competes with other shipments for the same bank, bond or cash headroom.

The Guarantee Headroom Gate gives commercial and finance leaders one repeatable allocation process. It separates evidence stops, commercial stops and capacity decisions before any security is reserved.

In this note

• Freeze one capacity snapshot for unreserved orders.
• Confirm the evidence needed for the applicable rate.
• Calculate security and test order contribution.
• Sort every eligible order before allocating capacity.
• Give each stopped order one action, owner and release condition.

Start with the published mechanism

Trade Remedies Notice 2026/23 applies to specified boom lifts originating from China with a maximum working height of at least six metres, along with certain assembled or ready-to-assemble structural sections. Separately presented individual components sit outside the published product description.

The measure can run for no more than six months from the day after publication, or until a definitive remedy is imposed sooner. Importers must provide security during that period. The notice and HMRC guidance allow a bank guarantee, bond or cash.

The guaranteed amount becomes payable only if a definitive measure is imposed. For the live order decision, it still occupies finance capacity.

A named-exporter rate requires a valid commercial invoice with the prescribed declaration and the correct additional code. If the invoice or declaration is missing, the notice applies the residual rate. That evidence check comes before any commercial calculation.

Use one cohort and one snapshot

Define the unreserved cohort: every affected order known at the cut-off time that expects to use the same facility during one period and does not already hold a reservation.

Record a snapshot ID, period, cut-off time, total approved capacity, active reservations carried forward and starting capacity available. Carry each active reservation once and exclude its order from the unreserved cohort. If a reservation is formally released, remove its amount from committed security at the same transition and return the order to the next cohort where appropriate.

An added order, approved capacity change or period move creates a new snapshot. Replay the unreserved candidates while protecting active reservations. This removes row-entry bias and prevents an existing reservation from being counted twice.

Screen every order before allocation

Confirm the evidence

Record shipment, customer and order-owner references, then confirm product scope, non-preferential origin, producer or exporter, additional code, prescribed invoice declaration and customs-value evidence.

An unresolved field routes the order to Confirm evidence. Record the import or customs lead, the exact release condition and a next review date. No security is allocated while that stop remains open.

Calculate the secured amount

Use one calculation:

Secured amount = customs value × applicable provisional rate.

A £400,000 customs value at 16.25% requires £65,000 of security. A £250,000 customs value at 28.12% requires £70,300.

Keep the result separate from the final landed-cost forecast. The secured amount uses capacity now, while final liability depends on the definitive outcome and its terms.

Test the order economics

Commercial and finance leaders should agree one contribution figure after the company's financing and contractual recovery assumptions. Compare it with the approved minimum contribution floor.

An order below the floor routes to Revise commercial terms, owned by the Commercial Director. Record the required contribution, owner and review date. Equality with the floor passes.

Build the priority list

Put every order that passes evidence and economics into one list. Derive a priority date from the earliest evidenced date on which failure to clear or deliver creates a non-discretionary customs, carrier or executed-contract consequence. A target date or internal preference does not qualify.

Sort eligible orders by:

1. evidenced deadline before no evidenced deadline;
2. earliest priority date;
3. higher confirmed contribution;
4. lower secured amount.

An order without a genuine fixed deadline follows every dated order. If candidates stay tied after all four tests, the Managing Director records one selection and rationale. Security for the tied set and later candidates remains unallocated until that decision.

Allocate capacity once

Walk the sorted list from top to bottom. An order receives Proceed when its secured amount fits the running balance. The Finance Director records the reservation and carries the reduced balance to the next row.

A no-fit order receives Capacity decision. Its amount is not deducted, so a later lower-security order can still proceed if it fits. The Finance Director is accountable for selecting and recording exactly one next action before the row can close:

• Request additional capacity, with Finance retaining ownership.
• Revise shipment timing, transferred to the Operations Director.
• Revise order shape or terms, transferred to the Commercial Director.
• Pause order, transferred to the Commercial Director.

The selection record includes the supporting evidence, action owner, release condition and next review date. Until that record exists, the order stays held at Capacity decision.

Worked allocation

Assume snapshot CP-2026-09-A covers 1 to 30 September 2026, with a cut-off at 09:00 on 1 September. Approved capacity is £130,000, there are no active reservations and the company requires at least £60,000 of confirmed contribution per order. The figures and exception evidence are invented to show the method.

Order B receives capacity first because its evidenced 12 September deadline is earlier than Order A's 15 September deadline. Finance records a £70,300 reservation.

Order A exceeds the remaining balance by £5,300. The Finance Director selects Request additional capacity because the example includes a documented facility request path for that amount. A different company could select another action and must record the evidence supporting it.

If the extra capacity is approved, snapshot CP-2026-09-B carries Order B's £70,300 reservation once. Order B stays outside the unreserved cohort. Total approved capacity of at least £135,300 leaves at least £65,000 for Order A, which can proceed if every other input remains current.

Order C remains with the import or customs lead until its invoice declaration, additional code and rate treatment are confirmed, or residual treatment is accepted and the security is recalculated.

Keep an auditable order register

The register needs one row per order and these fields:

• snapshot ID, period, cut-off time and active reservation state;
• shipment, customer and order-owner references;
• product scope, origin, producer, code, invoice and valuation evidence;
• official rate, secured amount, contribution and floor;
• deadline type, date and evidence reference;
• sequence, capacity before and capacity after;
• final route, selector where needed, accountable owner, release condition and review date.

Finance owns snapshots, reservations and capacity-action selection. Commercial owns the contribution assumption. The import or customs lead owns evidence stops. Operations owns an evidenced timing revision. The Managing Director resolves a final tie.

Red flags for the next review

• A named-exporter rate appears without the prescribed invoice declaration and additional code.
• Active reservations re-enter the unreserved cohort.
• Capacity is reserved before the eligible cohort is sorted.
• A deadline has no evidence reference.
• A capacity decision closes with no selected action or named owner.
• Changed capacity is added to an old snapshot.

The immediate board test is whether management can reproduce which affected orders have confirmed evidence, acceptable economics and an approved place within capacity.

Record the result in the cohort register. Customs, legal, banking and tax specialists retain responsibility for shipment-specific advice and guarantee-instrument terms.

Sources

• Trade Remedies Notice 2026/23: provisional anti-dumping duty on boom lifts originating from China.
• HMRC: check when you need to pay anti-dumping, countervailing and safeguard duties.
• Trade Remedies Notice 2026/16: registration of imports of boom lifts originating from China.
• TRA public case AD0075.

Earlier registered imports can carry a separate retrospective boundary under Notice 2026/16 if a definitive remedy is imposed and the legal conditions are met. Importers with goods entered from 1 April 2026 should obtain shipment-specific advice.