Customs Asia Pacific Manager - Tax

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We connect and develop people with diverse talents all over the world. For you, this means a variety of ways to progress.

Not only your performance but also your personality matter to us, regardless of gender, age, ethnicity, orientation, and background.  At BASF, careers develop from opportunities. 

Objectives of the Position:

The Customs Asia Pacific Manager (Tax) is responsible for overseeing and managing all duty, import and export tax-related activities with the corresponding cost and benefit from the international operations. This role ensures strict compliance with customs regulations, track and monitoring the cost developments and coordinates with various internal and external stakeholders to optimize duty and import-export tax savings.

Main Areas of Responsibilities and Key Activities 

• Conduct cost-benefit evaluations on duty, import export tax topics to ensure compliance and maximize operational efficiency.

• Analyse duty, import export tax data and forecast trends to proactively identify opportunities to optimize operational cost and potential financial impact when custom legislation changes.

• Collaborate with finance, tax, and business unit to optimize duty, import export tax and present strategies to internal stakeholders. 

• Track and monitor progress from exemption, deferment, and suspension including associated financial impact and benefit.

• Analyse issues related to tariff classification and strategized approaches to minimize duty, import and export tax impacts.

• Prepare and oversee duty, import and export cost development reports and dashboards for management with findings and recommendation. 

• Monitor duty drawback and payment, refunds, incentives, aging and the impact on penalty and fine control.

• Establish and monitor the Key Performance Index for customs operations activities in the regions. 

Requirements 

• More than 5 years experiences in international import and export operations in managing custom related topics.

• Possess a solid understanding of customs legislation with strong knowledge and experiences in customs administration, import and export procedures, classification, valuation, licensing and compliance matters.

• Demonstrated experience in applying for and managing customs and tax exemptions.

• Strong analytical skills to assess and recommend the most suitable facilities for various business sectors within the regions.

• Excellent organisational and communication abilities for effective liaison with regulatory authorities and internal stakeholders.

• Travel will be required. Working Experience Technical & Professional Knowledge 

The BASF Service Hub Kuala Lumpur (BASF Asia-Pacific Service Centre Sdn Bhd) is strategically located in the capital city of Malaysia. Since its inception in 2005, the hub has expanded from 130 employees to over 1,300 employees currently and is expected to keep growing. As an ISO 9001:2005 certified organization, the Service Hub Kuala Lumpur is committed to delivering high quality expertise and services in finance, people, supply chain, EHSQ (environment, health, safety, quality), product safety and digital. We take pride in providing our business services to BASF companies and affiliates across 20 markets in the Asia Pacific region and beyond. Moreover, we offer our services in 8 different languages to cater to the diverse needs of our stakeholders. Our focus on competency and technology-driven solutions allows us to consistently deliver exceptional services, thereby contributing to the success of our businesses. BASF also has two other regional hubs located in Berlin, Germany, and Montevideo, Uruguay, which cover the European and American regions.

BASF Service Hub Kuala Lumpur was recognized with nine prestigious awards in 2024, reflecting its commitment to creating a vibrant, inclusive, and empowering workplace. These awards include winning the title of Operational Excellence in HR at the GBS Asia Awards 2024, multiple accolades at the Life at Work Awards 2024, where the hub was recognized as First Runner-up for Workplace Excellence (International Organization) and CEO Champion (International Organization), as well as Second Runner-up for Best International Organization. The hub also won the title for Excellence in Learning Tech Advancement System and a Certificate of Excellence in Talent Management and Leadership at the HRD Awards 2024. Furthermore, the hub secured a Bronze Award for Excellence in Digital Transformation at the HR Excellence Awards 2024 and received a Bronze Award for Human Resources Impact and an Honorary Award for Creative Talent Management Impact at the SSON Impact Awards Asia 2024.

At BASF, we create chemistry for a sustainable future. Our ambition: We want to be the preferred chemical company to enable our customers’ green transformation. We combine economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility. Around 112,000 employees in the BASF Group contribute to the success of our customers in nearly all sectors and almost every country in the world. Our portfolio comprises, as core businesses, the segments Chemicals, Materials, Industrial Solutions, and Nutrition & Care; our standalone businesses are bundled in the segments Surface Technologies and Agricultural Solutions. BASF generated sales of €65.3 billion in 2024. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchange in Frankfurt (BAS) and as American Depositary Receipts (BASFY) in the United States. Further information at www.basf.com.