If your business exports or imports goods, then customs clearance is an obstacle you cannot help but navigate. 

What is customs clearance? Simply put, it is the procedure you need to follow in order to get your goods across international borders in a legal fashion. 

To clear your goods, you need to declare them to the customs authorities upon entrance or exit of a given country. This is true for individuals – and is equally true for import-export businesses. The point of customs clearance is to ensure that all relevant duties and taxes are paid in full and that compliance with pertinent regulations is achieved. 

In order to clear customs, detailed information about the shipment needs to be provided. This includes the origin, destination, content and value of the shipment. You may also be required to provide supporting documentation. This might include invoices, bills of lading, hazardous materials authorization, import licenses, or any number of other specific documents.

So, how does the process of releasing your goods play out?

Document inspection: the first order of business when shipments arrive at international ports, is their inspection by the relevant customs authorities. During this stage, the customs officials carefully inspect the documents to ensure all items associated with the shipment are present and accounted for.

Documents which may be required include: proof of insurance, packing list, port spending, invoice, transportation invoice, pre-shipment inspection certificate, air waybill/ inland bill of lading / ocean bill of lading.

Only once the documents are verified will the shipment be cleared for entry. 

Tax and duty payment

Once the shipment is inspected and all required import documentation is filed, it is time to pay off taxes and duties for your goods. Only then will the goods be released from delivery. How many taxes? That depends on many factors – the declared type and value of the goods, and the local customs laws.

For instance, you may choose to deliver your shipment DDU (duties unpaid) – in this case you will need to arrange for payment with the customs authority in the destination country before you can deliver the goods. 

In contrast if you choose to deliver your shipment delivered duty paid (DDP), all taxes and duties are part and parcel of the goods prices, and no more payments prior to delivery are necessary.

Shipment release 

Once custom services complete inspection and assessment of your goods, they will be released from holding warehouses, enabling you to take possession and move them to their final destination.

As you can see, the customs clearance process is complex and can vary in duration and cost depending on how well you prepared for it. It is critical you be aware of the potential costs involved in importing/exporting goods. Being aware of the costs in each scenario will enable you to budget your business accordingly, achieve custom clearance status as expeditiously as possible – and avoid late payment penalties.

Or… you can make use of the good services of Maurice A. Raphael, your shipping and customs representative of choice. We will go over your shipment, select the optimal declarations and payment schemes, and get your goods through all stages of customs clearance as expeditiously as possible. What’s more, we will take full charge of all shipping concerns, door-to-door.