The international trade industry is regulated with an assortment of trade laws. Each country has its own set of regulations that it implements in order to control the import and export of goods across national borders. If you happen to be a company that does business internationally, you need to be familiar with the correct processes for importing or exporting your goods in an expedient manner.
Customs plays an integral part in the international commerce industry. The clearance process can be extremely complicated. Even if you are working with a customer broker, you need to make sure that your company is doing everything possible to get your goods to and from their international destination.
Should a Waybill and Detailed Declaration be Provided?
A waybill helps to ensure accurate and timely delivery of your goods. It contains information such as the consignor, consignee and shipping to and from. The waybill also covers liability and other terms and conditions. One of the first things customs looks for is the waybill.
The declaration form shows the invoice for the goods as well as the origin county of the goods. The more detailed you can be on the declaration the smoother customs clearance is likely to be. A detailed declaration demonstrates that you have nothing to hide and you’re declaring everything in the shipment.
What are Some Other Documents that Might be Needed?
If any part of your shipment contains perishables such as food, provide a health certificate. The health certificate helps to ensure that the perishables won’t be confiscated by customs out of an abundance of caution. Also, before shipping perishables at all, make sure they’re allowed to be imported in the recipient’s country to avoid loss of valuable inventory.
However, keep all the forms and documents that customs might need to inspect separate from and outside the actual freight. You don’t want customs to have to unpack freight in order to hunt for the documents they need to clear your shipment through.
Also, when possible, list FEINs for both parties on invoices. Customs will like to see this because it’s just one extra detail that helps track the identities of the sender and recipient.
Will the Freight be Checked that it is Completely Sealed?
One of the things that is overlooked when companies ship freight is ensuring that every container is completely sealed. Customs officials will check this because they want to make sure nothing in the freight has been added or removed since it left its origin. While you can’t “babysit” your freight en route, you can make sure all freight is completely sealed when it leaves your premises.
Whether you’re the sender or the recipient, these tips for smooth customs clearance will help to make your import or export project go as easily as possible.
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