The rate of physical checks at UK borders is below EU average and the number of audits of traders has significantly dropped since 2005-6. This is according to a report by the National Audit Office, which found that audits of traders have fallen by half for large businesses and two-fifths for small and medium businesses from 2005-6 to 2007-8. The chance of a trader receiving an audit also dropped from 18% to under 10%, the report showed. But the Revenue managed to clear most imported goods quickly with straightforward processes in place for submitting customs declarations and payments for non-EU imports. The report has found that the additional revenue from this compliance work is falling, while the level of errors detected is rising, particularly among new traders. According to the NAO, the UK imported £186bn of goods from outside the EU in 2007-8, of which 99% of declarations were processed electronically, with 90% of goods cleared immediately. Documents are checked for around 6% of imports each year and the department aims to clear 95% of these within two hours. But a recent quality review found an 18% error rate in these checks. The report says that the checks were only recently standardised, as only 2%-3% of imports are checked compared with the EU 9% average across the region. Additional checks are undertaken and irregularities identified but not reported. The NAO claims that the department needs to improve its reporting, develop a standard for the minimum level of checking and undertake testing to understand compliance levels. NAO head Tim Burr, said: 'HMRC has made it easier to import goods into the UK. The lack of information on compliance levels and the declining number of trader audits does however risk diluting the control the Department has over imports. 'It needs to develop 'minimum' levels for checks and trader audits, so that importers pay the right amount of tax and duty, and fully comply with the laws on prohibited and restricted goods.'