CTB Group
Who is CTB Group, your customs control tower in Belgium
CTB Group (Customs Trade & Business Group SRL) is a Belgian company based on the outskirts of Brussels. We support importers, non-EU producers and e-commerce operators in their import/export customs operations and in their regulatory compliance across Europe.
We act as a customs and EU compliance control tower: we prepare, structure and coordinate the data and documents required for cross-border trade, working closely with your freight forwarders, customs declarants, customs brokers and logistics partners.
Transparency note: CTB Group does not lodge customs declarations on your behalf. We prepare ready-to-file dossiers and we coordinate the operational ecosystem around your flows — customs representatives, freight forwarders, authorities, suppliers.
Our Founder
Vanessa Cavalcante Vieira
CTB Group was founded by Vanessa, a specialist in customs and international trade.
With a degree in Foreign Trade, Vanessa then specialised in customs and excise law at the University of Liège — University certificate – Customs specialisation (Tax Institute): the six customs courses of the specialised master's in Customs Compliance, a programme recognised by the European Commission — where she continues to train today in order to stay close to regulatory developments: the 2026 EU customs reform, the Belgian PLDA → IDMS transition, the roll-out of the future EU Customs Data Hub, CBAM, sanctions and CERTEX controls. She has also completed training in international logistics at Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV, Brazil).
This commitment to continuous learning is not incidental. Customs is a profession that constantly reshapes itself under the pressure of new European rules, national IT transitions, and shifts in global trade. To genuinely support a company or a non-EU producer, one must understand these changes before they become operational constraints.
This conviction — customs as a rigorous, evolving, and deeply strategic discipline — is what guides CTB Group every day.
Our mission
Making your customs procedures simple — for frictionless international trade.
We help your supply chain run smoother, more predictable, and fully compliant through:
- Rigorous customs documentation — commercial invoice, packing list, transport documents (CMR / AWB / B/L), Incoterms®, shipping instructions, certificates of origin, import and export licences;
- A proactive compliance approach — tariff classification (HS / CN codes), preferential and non-preferential origin, customs valuation, restrictions, sanctions, CBAM;
- Operational coordination with trusted partners who meet customs standards and deliver consistent service quality;
- Multilingual support in five languages: French, Dutch, English, Portuguese (Brazil and Portugal), and Spanish.
We manage shipments to and from the European Union as well as global trade flows, with particular focus on data quality and documentary traceability — factors that have become critical ahead of the EU Customs Reform 2026 and the future EU Customs Data Hub.
Our vision
The European customs landscape is undergoing a profound transformation. Between 2028 and 2030, the gradual rollout of the EU Customs Data Hub, the rise of the new EU Customs Authority based in Lille, the full deployment of CBAM, the abolition of the small-parcel duty exemption, and the growing demand for auditable, reusable data will redefine what customs work means. For companies and non-EU producers, these shifts are both a threat — that of being under-equipped to handle complexity — and an opportunity: turning customs data into a competitive advantage.
In this context, our ambition is clear: to become the leading customs and EU compliance control tower for companies, importers, and non-EU producers seeking frictionless access to the European market.
Concretely, within five years, we aim to:
- provide lasting support to companies that import, export, manufacture or distribute in the European Union, whatever their size or level of customs maturity, through our Control Tower retainers, turning the quality of customs data into a strategic asset rather than an administrative burden;
- Be the trusted partner for companies facing new CBAM obligations, the Belgian PLDA → IDMS / AES / NCTS / CCI transition, and CERTEX controls;
- Provide, through our Ready-to-Import Diagnostic, a clear risk map and corrective action plan ahead of every regulatory wave — so that our clients arrive prepared, not surprised;
- Strengthen our role as a multilingual orchestrator between Europe, Latin America, and Brazil, lowering the entry barrier for non-EU producers into the EU market;
- Build, together with our clients and our broker and freight forwarder partners, an ecosystem in which customs data is no longer a risk zone but a structural asset — reusable, auditable, and value-generating.
Within five years, we see CTB Group as the Belgian and European reference for customs preparation and orchestration, serving operators who lack the critical mass of a large group but deserve the same level of rigour.
Our values
- Documentary rigour — quality flows start with quality data.
- Transparency — we explain clearly what we do, and what we do not do.
- Anticipation — we work upstream, not in reaction.
- Multilingualism — we speak the language of your partners and your clients.
- IIndependence — we coordinate a network of trusted partners, free of conflicts of interest.
The files we handle
We do not publish our clients' names: customs compliance touches sensitive commercial data, and discretion is part of the service. Here, however, is the nature of the files that pass through our hands.
Brazilian wine imported and distributed in Europe
Excise duties, VI-1 certificate, labelling, origin and customs value, for distribution in France and Belgium.
Belgian religious articles exported to the United States
A flow where the proof of origin and the documents expected by the American buyer matter as much as the declaration.
Timber imported from Africa
Where customs compliance meets the EU deforestation regulation: traceability and due diligence.
Brazilian agri-food into the European Union
The EU–Mercosur corridor in practice: sanitary controls, certificates, direct coordination with producers in Portuguese.
Some of these are full assignments, others one-off interventions or collaborations with other firms on the parts they do not cover. We prefer to say so rather than display logos.
Our Services
Discover our customs compliance steering services, designed to secure your flows before shipment and coordinate the parties who file your declarations.