ISO 5401-2024 PDF

Full title and description

St ISO 5401-2024 — Audit data collection — Customs and indirect tax extension. This International Standard defines functional requirements and data element formats to support audit data collection specifically for customs duties and indirect taxes (for example, VAT and excise duties), building on the foundation provided by ISO 21378.

Abstract

ISO 5401:2024 specifies functional requirements that extend ISO 21378 to the tax and customs domain. It describes how tax auditors obtain audit data, the formats of data elements, and some content requirements needed for automated controls and audit processes. The standard covers transactions across supply chains (goods, services and works), domestic and cross-border operations (imports/exports), third‑party and intercompany flows, and movements within a single legal entity; it does not define taxability rules or tax calculation methods, which remain country‑specific.

General information

• Status: Published.
• Publication date: April 2024 (Edition 1).
• Publisher: International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
• ICS / categories: 03.120.20 (Audit data collection / accounting data).
• Edition / version: Edition 1 (2024).
• Number of pages: 33 pages.

Scope

ISO 5401:2024 applies to audit data collection activities related to customs duties and indirect taxes. The scope includes definition and exchange of data elements required for audits and automated tests, covering invoicing, tax calculation results and underlying parameters that ERP or tax/customs systems use. The standard is intended to support auditors and software implementers in extracting and exchanging audit-relevant records, but it does not determine tax rules or how taxes/duties are calculated (those remain a matter of national/regional law).

Key topics and requirements

• Extension of ISO 21378 audit data element model to capture customs and indirect‑tax‑specific attributes (e.g., VAT treatment, excise markers, customs procedure codes).
• Definition of data element formats and minimal content expectations to enable automated validation and audit sampling.
• Support for domestic, cross‑border, intercompany and third‑party transaction scenarios across the supply chain.
• Focus on interoperability with ERP and indirect tax/customs systems — enabling extraction, exchange and automated processing of audit data.
• Clarification that legal determination of taxability and duty calculations are out of scope; the standard concentrates on data needed to perform controls and audits.

Typical use and users

Primary users include tax and customs auditors, national tax/customs authorities (for designing audit data intake processes), external auditors performing tax-related reviews, software vendors (ERP, tax engines, audit tools) implementing data export and exchange formats, and compliance teams preparing data packages for audit. Organizations looking to automate tax‑related audit evidence extraction and to increase the efficiency of tax/customs controls will find the standard particularly useful.

Related standards

ISO 5401:2024 is explicitly built on ISO 21378 (Audit data collection, 2019), which provides the foundational accounting data element model and extraction guidance. It is also related to specifications for exchange formats and schemas such as ISO/TS 21377:2023 (XML/JSON/CSV exchange formats for audit data) and other ISO TC 295 work on semantic and logical data models for audit data services. Implementers should consider those documents together when designing data extracts and exchange interfaces.

Keywords

Audit data collection; customs duties; indirect tax; VAT; excise; data elements; audit exchange formats; ERP extraction; ISO 21378.

FAQ

Q: What is this standard?

A: ISO 5401:2024 is an International Standard titled "Audit data collection — Customs and indirect tax extension" that defines functional requirements and data element formats to support audit data collection specifically for customs and indirect tax audits.

Q: What does it cover?

A: It covers the data and format requirements needed for auditors to obtain and process audit data relevant to customs duties and indirect taxes (e.g., VAT, excise), including transactions across the supply chain and cross‑border operations; it does not establish tax rules or calculation methods.

Q: Who typically uses it?

A: Tax and customs auditors, external auditors, compliance teams, national authorities designing data intake for audits, and software vendors (ERP and tax/customs systems) are the typical users.

Q: Is it current or superseded?

A: ISO 5401:2024 is current — published in April 2024 as Edition 1. It is an active International Standard and serves as an extension to the earlier ISO 21378:2019 foundation.

Q: Is it part of a series?

A: Yes — it is part of the audit data collection family of standards developed within ISO/TC 295. It extends ISO 21378 and aligns with related publications that specify exchange formats and supporting models (for example ISO/TS 21377:2023 and other TC 295 work items).

Q: What are the key keywords?

A: Audit data collection; customs; indirect tax; VAT; excise; data element formats; ERP extraction; interoperability.