A Right to be Heard (RTBH) letter means HMRC has already reached an intended decision, most often refusing an application or confirming that duty and import VAT are owed, and is giving you a fixed window to respond before that decision becomes final. It is not a request for more information out of curiosity. It is the last formal opportunity to change the outcome before it is locked in.
The window is short: 30 calendar days from the date on the letter, not from the day you open it. Respond with the right evidence inside that window and HMRC has to consider it before finalising anything. Miss it, and the intended decision goes ahead, whether or not it was actually correct.
1. What a Right to be Heard (RTBH) letter actually is
A Right to be Heard letter is HMRC's way of telling you, in writing, what it intends to decide before that decision is made final. It can relate to a customs authorisation application, such as AEO status or a special procedure, being refused, or to a post-clearance demand for underpaid duty and import VAT, sometimes called a C18. Either way, the letter sets out HMRC's reasoning and gives you a defined period, almost always 30 days, to submit anything that might change the outcome.
2. Why the letter exists in the first place
This step exists because HMRC cannot legally finalise most adverse customs decisions without giving the business affected a chance to respond first. In practice it usually follows one of two situations: an authorisation application has been reviewed and HMRC intends to refuse it, or a customs audit or compliance check has found something HMRC considers underdeclared, and HMRC intends to issue a demand for the duty and import VAT it believes is owed.
3. What happens if you don't respond in time
If the 30 days pass without a response, HMRC proceeds exactly as the letter said it would. There is no informal extension built into the process, and once the decision is confirmed, disputing it moves out of this stage entirely and into a formal review or tribunal process, which takes longer, costs more, and starts from a position where HMRC's figures are already the default.
Businesses often treat a Right to be Heard letter as procedural, something to acknowledge rather than act on. Handled that way, a demand that might have been reduced or withdrawn with the right evidence becomes a confirmed debt instead.
| Stage | Respond within the window | Miss the window |
|---|---|---|
| HMRC's position | Must consider your evidence first | Automatically confirmed as sent |
| Outcome range | Often reduced, sometimes withdrawn in full | Fixed at the figure in the letter |
| Next step if you disagree | Still inside the original process | Formal review or tribunal, a separate and slower process |
4. What a strong response actually includes
A response that actually changes HMRC's decision usually does a few specific things: it addresses the exact point HMRC raised, not the general subject area; it supplies documented evidence for that point, not an assurance that everything is fine; and it goes in early enough inside the 30 days to leave room for HMRC to ask a follow-up question, since a submission on day 29 leaves no time for that.
For a duty demand, that evidence is often proof of origin, correct tariff classification, or valuation records that weren't available or weren't submitted at the time of the original declaration. For an authorisation refusal, it's usually evidence that directly answers whatever compliance gap HMRC identified, rather than a restated case for why the application should be approved.
5. Why a generalist accountant or freight forwarder often can't help here
A Right to be Heard response isn't a bookkeeping task or a shipping question. It sits specifically inside customs compliance: which HMRC rule the decision relies on, what evidence actually satisfies it, and how the 30-day process itself works. General accountants and freight forwarders are rarely the ones who prepared the original declaration or hold the customs-specific evidence HMRC is asking about, so they're often not positioned to respond to the substance of the letter, only to confirm it arrived.
Frequently asked questions
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It's a letter setting out a decision HMRC intends to make, most often refusing a customs authorisation or confirming a demand for underpaid duty and import VAT, before that decision is finalised. It gives you a fixed period to respond with anything that might change the outcome.
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Normally 30 calendar days from the date on the letter itself, not the date you receive or open it.
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The intended decision goes ahead as stated in the letter. Challenging it after that point moves into a separate, slower formal review or tribunal process rather than this initial stage.
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Evidence that directly addresses the specific point HMRC raised, such as proof of origin, correct classification, or valuation records, submitted with enough time left in the 30 days for HMRC to follow up if needed.
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Both. It appears most often in HMRC's own guidance in relation to authorisation decisions, but the same right to respond before a decision is finalised also applies in practice before many post-clearance duty demands, which is where Readyset sees it most often in day-to-day compliance work.
