iCustoms for Claude

Ask Claude about your own iCustoms data — declarations, their status, and what HMRC said about them — in plain English, without leaving the conversation.

It cannot change anything

This connector reads. It cannot create a declaration, change one, submit one to HMRC, or cancel one — those abilities are not part of it. Ask Claude to file something and it will tell you it cannot, rather than trying.

Connecting

You need an iCustoms account with CDS enabled, and a Claude account.

In Claude, open Settings → Connectors. On Team and Enterprise plans an owner may have added it for everyone already, in which case it is already in your list.
If you are adding it yourself, choose Add custom connector and enter https://mcp.customscloud.co/mcp
Click Connect. A page on this site opens and asks for your iCustoms API key and secret. Find them in iCustoms under Settings → API.
That is the whole setup. It is a one-off.

Never type your API secret into a chat message

Anything sent in a conversation becomes part of that conversation's history. The sign-in page exists so that it does not have to be. Your credentials are stored encrypted and are never shared with Claude.

What you can ask

Your declarations

“How many import declarations do I have?”
“Show me my rejected declarations.”
“What is the status of declaration CCApp…?”
“Which declarations were submitted last month?”

Imports and exports are separate lists, so ask for both if you want the whole picture. On a busy account Claude gives you the exact total and the most recent few — ask for more, or narrow by date or status.

Why a declaration was rejected

“Why was MRN 25GB2K4… rejected?”

This is what the connector is best at. HMRC returns its answer as a list of validation codes buried in a technical message; Claude reads it back as which checks failed and which part of the declaration each one points at.

One limit worth knowing: HMRC sends the codes without descriptions. Claude can tell you which codes failed and where, but not what each code means — for that you need HMRC's published CDS error code list.

Commodity codes

“What HS code applies to leather jackets?”
“Classify frozen tuna fillets for GB.”

These are candidates for you to confirm, not a classification decision. They are 6-digit HS headings; a UK import declaration needs the full 10-digit code, which you resolve in the UK Global Tariff.

Currency

“Convert 4,500 USD to GBP.”

Uses the rate iCustoms applies to declarations, so figures match your dashboard.

What Claude can and cannot see

Claude sees only the iCustoms account you connect, and only when you ask it something.
Your API credentials are encrypted and never shared with Claude.
Colleagues who connect their own accounts see their own data, not yours.
Your declarations are not copied or stored here — they are fetched when you ask and passed straight to your conversation.

The full detail is in our privacy policy.

Disconnecting

Remove the connector in Claude at any time. To also erase the credentials held here, unlink from iCustoms — disconnecting erases them, and we no longer hold them in any form.

You can also simply regenerate your API keys in iCustoms: the connector stops working immediately, without touching Claude.

If something is not working

“iCustoms rejected those API credentials.” The key or secret is wrong, or belongs to a different iCustoms environment. Generate a fresh pair under Settings → API.
“No iCustoms account is linked.” Sign-in did not finish. Remove the connector and add it again.
“Not licensed for that module.” Your credentials are fine; that product is not enabled on your account.
Nothing comes back, or a tool fails repeatedly. Disconnect and reconnect. If it persists, contact us with the time and what you asked.

Support

support@icustoms.ai

iCustoms is a service of Clear Customs Group Ltd, registered in England and Wales (company number 13868707). This connector, and the iCustoms API it reads from, both run on customscloud.co.

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