Customs Process

USA

The customs department is more concerned about imports compared to exports. It is vigilant with every shipment that enters the home country or the importing country. The Asian customs are a bit more flexible when it comes to customs, and on the other hand, the US customs are one of the most rigid ones.

This chapter consists of basically three agencies involved in the process, namely –

Custom Agency
Your custom broker
You

CUSTOM AGENCY DUTIES

ENTRY– Filing of necessary documents must be done with the Customs before the shipment enters the country’s port or airport. The document of ISF must be submitted with the customs 24-hour before the shipment leaving the exporting country’s port. ISF filing helps the customs with the assortment of different shipments with regards to their urgency.

CLEARANCE–

Ocean freight is cleared within a span of 2 days if there are no issues or delays with the customs department. Airfreight is usually cleared within a span of 1-2 days after arriving at the airport.

The procedure followed by the customs department is-

Inspection of documents
Determination of all the applicable duties and charges
A Request for payment of duty is applicable.
Authentication of the payment of duties and release of the shipment

In case the shipment is not collected within 15 days of unloading it on the port it is sent to a storage facility, and the shipper has to bear the facility charges. If the shipment is still not claimed, then it is auctioned in open bidding.

INSPECTION– The Custom department is supposed to have an inspection of the assignment. It is conducted in the following cases:

When the shipment contains food, drugs, and animal products
Anything that can be harmful to the nation’s security and protection
You have a track of misdoings with them
When you are new and unknown about things in the industry
The inspection can have many types. A non-intensive inspection is quick and surface-based, whereas intensive inspection might take weeks and months for clearance.

CUSTOM CHARGES– The following are charged separately to you other than your shipment invoice.

Custom Duty-

It is calculated on the nature of the product, country of origin.

Merchandise Processing Fee- It is a mandatory legal fee.

Port Maintenance Fee

Custom Fines and Penalties.

CUSTOM BROKER RESPONSIBILITIES

ENTRY– The broker will assess, check, rectify all the necessary documents before filling them for shipping.

CLEARANCE-Custom brokers have a proper channel of communication with the Customs department during the entire process of shipping. Limited time is given for payment of charges and clearance of the shipment from the port.

Brokers will usually give you three days for dues payment even though the customs give them ten days for payment.

BROKER CHARGES

Customs Clearance Fees– The fee depends on the country.

ISF Filing Fee– At times the brokers separate the cost from the brokerage.

EDI Fee-It is charged for the cost incurred while sending documents to and fro between the authorities and the parties. You can enquire about it if it is shown in your bill and question them.

IMPORTER’S RESPONSIBILITIES

BEFORE THE SHIPMENT-

The customs related responsibility that you have to take care of are-

Check for the goods that are restricted in your country.
Have an estimation of the payable custom duty.
Provide proper documents to authorities.

DURING THE SHIPMENT–

Take out a customs bond.
Give proper information about the shipment to the authorities.
Verify the correctness of the documents that you will be forwarded to your broker.
Pay the customs clearance fees.

CANADA

Entry – Make sure to check the goods before importing to Canada.

See if the goods you are importing have any restrictions or regulations per se. You can find the list of items in Other Government Departments and Agencies: Reference List for Importers.

The procedure for the customs department is as follows:

Inspection of documents
Determining tariffs and duties
Collection of tariffs
Release of shipment

Clearance

You need your 14 digit transaction number assigned by CBSA to get your goods cleared. There are two ways of getting ones good, you can do it by yourself, provide the necessary documents, or do it through a licensed customs broker.

The procedure for the customs department is as follows:

Inspection of documents
Determining tariffs and duties
Collection of tariffs
Release of shipment

Inspection and Permits

The CBSA inspects the goods that enter the country on behalf of the other agencies of the government. One should go through the goods that require permits.

Firearms, Food, Cultural property, Nuclear material, clothing labels technology and endangered species.
Consumer goods, radio communications, explosives, body parts, human pathogens and transportation goods also require permits.
It requires you to mark the originating country while importing goods.

Custom charges

Determine the custom charges according to the rates of goods. It depends on the trade agreements. All the necessary points of the requirements need to be fulfilled to take advantage of that duty rate.
The rate depends on the origin of the country.
Check if the goods are taxable under GST, excise tax or excise duty.
Check the value of good before importing. Customs Act has six methods of determining the value.
Keep track of the amount of duty and taxes.

Custom Broker Responsibility:

Entry
Entry
The broker will check and rectify your documents. They will submit those documents on the client behalf.
Clearance
During the release of goods, the broker is responsible for submitting documents on your behalf.
Estimation and payment of taxes and duties

BROKER CHARGES

The broker fee solely depends on the broker and the client. The CBSA does not regulate the charges and intervenes in fee disputes.

IMPORTER’S RESPONSIBILITIES

BEFORE THE SHIPMENT

The customs related responsibility that you have to take care of are-

Check for the goods that are restricted in your country.
Have an estimation of the payable custom duty.
Provide proper documents to authorities.

DURING THE SHIPMENT

Take out a customs bond.
Give proper information about the shipment to the authorities.
Verify the correctness of the documents that you will be forwarded to your broker.
Pay the customs clearance fees and taxes.

Summary

Customs brokers look after the clearance and filing of necessary documents.
You are responsible for making the payments and pay the necessary changes.
If your shipment is not inspected, then the clearance is relatively quick and easy.