Customs4trade (C4T)

What Customs4trade (C4T) does

Customs4trade (C4T), founded in 2004 and headquartered in Mechelen, Belgium, is a cloud-native SaaS provider of customs and excise compliance automation serving enterprises engaged in international trade. The company operates the Customs Automation System (CAS), built on Microsoft Azure, which targets companies handling at least 1,000 customs declarations annually. CAS is a modular platform comprising six interchangeable modules — Declarations, Special Procedures, Excise, AI Product Classification, Insights, and Master Data — supplemented by a Public REST API for ERP and WMS integration with OAuth 2.0 authentication and webhook notifications. The company is registered in Belgium as Customs4trade NV (KBO 0869.621.133) with a regional office in Wigan, United Kingdom, and serves enterprise customers across automotive, FMCG/food, manufacturing, and retail verticals.

C4T generates revenue through modular SaaS subscriptions sold via direct enterprise field sales and inside sales motions, with quote-based annual pricing that supports a land-and-expand model where customers start with high-impact modules and add functionality over time. The company has raised approximately €21 million across four funding rounds between 2019 and 2023, including a €17 million Series C led by 83North in June 2021 earmarked for US market expansion, and a €4 million round in April 2023 supporting product development and UK/Europe expansion. Documented enterprise customers include Flora Food Group, Danone, Kia, Tata Steel, SC Johnson, Pernod Ricard, Thyssenkrupp, De Beers, Agristo, Reynaers Aluminium, and BrewDog, with reported customer outcomes including 65x faster declaration turnaround, 46% annual cost savings versus customs brokers, and declarations released in under 5 minutes.

Operationally, C4T holds ISO 27001 certification, is GDPR-compliant, and is certified as a Great Place to Work (2025). The platform covers multiple customs jurisdictions with a single connected system, supporting import/export/transit declarations, customs warehousing, inward/outward processing, end-use procedures, EMCS excise management, and AI-assisted TARIC classification. The company executed a full platform rebuild with CAS 3.0 in June 2026, signaling continued technology investment. The go-to-market is API-first for ERP/WMS integrations and field-sales-led for direct enterprise engagement, with demand generation supported by whitepapers, webinars, customer case studies, and SEO around trade compliance keywords.

Name

Customs4trade (C4T)

Legal name

CUSTOMS4TRADE NV

Website

https://customs4trade.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Customs4trade (C4T) is a Belgian cloud-native SaaS company offering the CAS customs compliance platform for enterprises with 1,000+ annual declarations, serving automotive, FMCG, manufacturing, and retail customers across Europe with planned US expansion.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Customs Compliance Software

akta.pro primary industry

Customs Brokerage Workflow & Case Management Software (TLAEAOAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Customs Declaration & Filing (Import/Export Entry) Platforms (TLAEAOAA), Customs Classification & Valuation (HS/HTS, Origin, Duty Optimization) (TLACAFAC), Export Customs Clearance (Export Declarations & AES/EEI) (TLACAFAB)

Keywords

• Customs compliance software
• Trade compliance automation
• Excise management software
• Customs declaration SaaS
• AI product classification

Headquarters

HQ city

Mechelen

HQ country

Belgium

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Operations

Revenue model

1. SaaS Platform Subscriptions (CAS): Modular SaaS subscription model where customers purchase individual CAS modules (Declarations, Special Procedures, Excise, Classification, Insights, Master Data) and add modules as they grow. The platform targets companies with at least 1000 annual declarations, ranging from small businesses to multinationals.
2. API Access and Integration Services: Revenue from API access for enterprise customers integrating CAS with their ERP/WMS systems. Enterprise integrations requiring custom development and support services represent additional revenue streams.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Customs4trade (C4T) provides CAS (Customs Automation System), a cloud-based SaaS platform built on Microsoft Azure that automates customs declarations, special procedures, excise management, AI-powered product classification, analytics, and master data management for companies engaged in international trade. The modular platform targets enterprises handling at least 1,000 customs declarations annually and integrates with ERP/WMS systems via REST APIs to enable automated, end-to-end customs compliance across multiple jurisdictions.

Product overview

Customs4trade (C4T) offers CAS (Customs Automation System), a cloud-based SaaS platform with a modular architecture. The core CAS platform provides end-to-end customs compliance automation, supplemented by six interchangeable modules: CAS Declarations for import/export/transit filing, CAS Special Procedures for customs warehousing and duty optimization regimes, CAS Excise for EMCS and tax warehouse management, CAS Classification for AI-powered goods classification, CAS Insights for analytics dashboards, and CAS Master Data for article and business partner data management. The platform also exposes a Public API for ERP/WMS integration.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CAS (Customs Automation System): A cloud-based SaaS customs compliance solution built on Microsoft Azure, designed to automate customs declarations, special procedures, and excise management for companies handling at least 1000 declarations annually.

Products and services

• CAS (Customs Automation System) A cloud-based SaaS platform that automates customs declarations, special procedures, and excise management for companies engaged in international trade. The platform enables end-to-end customs compliance automation including declaration filing, product classification, analytics, and master data management, with multi-country coverage from a single connected system.
• CAS Declarations

Quantifiable outcome

• 65x faster declaration turnaround (22 minutes average vs previous manual process)
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers29 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• MicrosoftcoreTechnology or Integration · 7 December 2025CAS is positioned as a Microsoft Azure-based customs compliance solution, leveraging Microsoft's cloud ecosystem and enterprise relationships for go-to-market leverage.
• Microsoft AzurecoreTechnology or IntegrationCAS platform is built on Microsoft Azure cloud infrastructure, providing scalable, secure cloud-native delivery. This strategic technology partnership ensures platform reliability, security certification, and performance.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• MIC Customs Solutions: MIC Customs Solutions is a German provider of customs declaration and trade compliance software targeting enterprise importers/exporters. It directly competes with C4T's CAS platform on automated declaration filing, customs classification, and multi-country coverage in the DACH and broader European market.
• Descartes Systems Group: Descartes is a Canadian-listed logistics technology company with a deep customs and trade compliance software portfolio (Descartes Visual Compliance, CustomsInfo, etc.). It overlaps directly with C4T on customs declaration automation, HS classification, and regulatory content, serving similar multinational enterprise customers.
• AEB (Assist Corporate): AEB is a German provider of customs, export control, and trade compliance software serving European enterprises. Its product scope (declaration filing, classification, sanctions screening) closely mirrors CAS modules, and it competes head-to-head for the same DACH/EU enterprise buyers.
• Zetes: Zetes is a Belgian supply chain and mobility solutions provider with customs and trade compliance offerings. Its Belgian origin and European footprint put it in direct competition with C4T in the Benelux and broader EU customs automation market.
• Integration Point: Integration Point provides global trade compliance and customs automation software (now part of E2open). It targets similar enterprise use cases — automated declarations, HS classification, denied-party screening — and competes directly for multi-country customs management RFPs.
• Magaya: Magaya provides customs brokerage and freight forwarding automation software, including declaration filing and compliance workflows. It targets similar SMB and mid-market logistics/customs broker customers and overlaps with CAS in cross-border trade compliance.

Broad incumbents

• Avalara: Avalara is a larger, US-listed tax compliance platform that has expanded into customs/duty calculation, classification, and cross-border compliance. It competes with CAS for enterprise tax-and-customs automation RFPs, typically as part of a broader tax-compliance bundle.
• SAP Global Trade Services (SAP GTS): SAP GTS is the global trade management module within SAP's ERP suite, offering customs declaration, classification, and compliance management. It is the default incumbent for SAP-centric multinational customers that C4T targets with its API-led ERP/WMS integration strategy.
• Oracle Global Trade Management (Oracle GTM): Oracle GTM is Oracle's trade compliance and customs management offering within its SCM/ERP cloud suite. It competes with CAS for large enterprise customers running on Oracle ERP, offering customs as part of a broader supply chain software stack.

Emerging players

• Hurricane Commerce: Hurricane Commerce is a UK-based cross-border trade compliance specialist focused on duties, tax, and customs data for e-commerce retailers. It represents an emerging competitor with partial overlap to C4T, particularly for cross-border e-commerce and DDP scenarios rather than industrial customs.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/customs4trade

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds4 records

Investors4 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Customs4trade (C4T)