Steps involved in a customs clearance process

 Customs clearance is an important step itself that has to take place before any international shipment is delivered. It can be a time taking process that might take up to a week. 

You can always hire a customs clearance service provider for the completion of the task. The customs broker you will hire will act as both the importer and the exporter in the clearance process.  

Your customs clearance broker is in charge of dealing with all the regulations and legislations of the customs as they pertain to trade law such as custom tax, tariffs, penalties, quotas, and international shipping. 

The task of your customs clearance service provider is to make sure that all the goods being exported and imported, fulfill the criteria of the customs declaration. 

Customs clearance: An introduction

Customs clearance must be completed by the shipper before the goods are exported or imported internationally.  

This procedure verifies that all the applicable taxes and duties on the cargo have been already paid and also, all the required documents are fulfilled.  

If a package clears customs, the shipper will produce documentation stating the due payments. It makes it possible for the package to get processed ahead and finally delivered.

If a shipment still requires a clearance, customs will detain it until the proper documents and taxes are provided. 

Furthermore, different customs and trade limitations exist on a worldwide scale.

As a global firm that imports and exports goods internationally, it is important to hire a customs clearance service provider with sufficient knowledge. 

Let’s now discuss the steps in the customs clearance process:

• Verification of documents 

In this step, a customs official confirms that all documentation has been completed, including the shipment invoices with the relevant shipping label and all the fees of bank transfers.  

Commercial invoices are required for overseas shipments to include all paperwork and the correct value of the items.

After the paperwork has been verified, the products will be recognized by the document that includes the information of the shipper and the recipient.  

The document may contain some additional information like the date of export and airway bill number. 

• Checking by the customs officer 

This includes the verification of taxes and duties levied on a shipment. A customs officer conducts all the verification of the documents on the basis of the customs law in the importing country and the type of merchandise being shipped. 

They will make sure that all the documents are completed. 

• Payments 

This is the payment of outstanding taxes and fees for the shipment. There are two types of payment known as delivered duty unpaid and delivered duty paid.  

DDU covers all the costs involved in transportation to ensure a safe and secure shipment. 

And DDP label means that all the taxes and duties have already been paid for the shipment. 

• Shipment release 

Now, that all the documents and taxes have been cleared, shipments are now ready to be released as per the trade laws.  

Make sure to hire an experienced and reputable customs clearance service provider to ensure that all the documents are completed accurately and the shipment is done safely and securely on time.