Ten Things Your Customs Broker Wants You to KnowYour paperwork has to be legible. Customs doesn’t see the actual paperwork unless there is an audit. In all other cases, the broker reads the documentation and transcribes it into a program, so it’s important that we can read everything clearly, even when the paperwork has been scanned and photocopied many times before it reaches us.
We like questions! If you want to make a baseball player happy, ask them about baseball. If you want to make a customs broker happy, ask them about customs brokerage! Don’t be embarrassed to ask questions, even if they seem basic. You never need to apologize for not knowing something or being new to the process.
Accuracy matters. Over-declaring or under-declaring goods can cause serious problems and incur fines from customs. In serious cases, declaring your goods incorrectly can even constitute smuggling!
We don’t want to delay your shipment any more than you want it delayed. Our job is to clear goods quickly and accurately. Delays cause backlogs and angry clients. If we’re holding something up, there’s a good reason.
We don’t physically handle the goods. We can’t read labels, open boxes, or expedite shipping.
The HS tariff is extremely specific. We may need to contact you or your suppliers for details about products. If you think classifying a book is complicated, take a look at the chapter on shoes!
We always need to know the country of origin. The country in which the goods were manufactured has to be provided on every customs declaration, without exception. It’s very important that we provide the correct origin to customs, because the origin often determines the rate of duty.
We can’t lie to customs, at all, ever.
Importing often comes with a degree of uncertainty. Most shipments go smoothly, but on occasion goods coming into Canada can be subject to random inspections, unexpected fees for congestion or storage, or unpredictable delays. We do everything we can to anticipate and mitigate potential problems, but there will always be unknowns to factor into the decision to import.
We’re on your team! We want every clearance to go smoothly and our clients to pay as little as possible for their imports. We‘re happy to answer questions, talk to your vendors, provide certificate templates, look up HS codes, walk you through the import process, and provide whatever services we can. We’re here to help!
By Robin Smith, M.A., CCS. – Robin is a trade industry professional based in Victoria, BC.
Your paperwork has to be legible. Customs doesn’t see the actual paperwork unless there is an audit. In all other cases, the broker reads the documentation and transcribes it into a program, so it’s important that we can read everything clearly, even when the paperwork has been scanned and photocopied many times before it reaches us.
We like questions! If you want to make a baseball player happy, ask them about baseball. If you want to make a customs broker happy, ask them about customs brokerage! Don’t be embarrassed to ask questions, even if they seem basic. You never need to apologize for not knowing something or being new to the process.
Accuracy matters. Over-declaring or under-declaring goods can cause serious problems and incur fines from customs. In serious cases, declaring your goods incorrectly can even constitute smuggling!
We don’t want to delay your shipment any more than you want it delayed. Our job is to clear goods quickly and accurately. Delays cause backlogs and angry clients. If we’re holding something up, there’s a good reason.
We don’t physically handle the goods. We can’t read labels, open boxes, or expedite shipping.
The HS tariff is extremely specific. We may need to contact you or your suppliers for details about products. If you think classifying a book is complicated, take a look at the chapter on shoes!
We always need to know the country of origin. The country in which the goods were manufactured has to be provided on every customs declaration, without exception. It’s very important that we provide the correct origin to customs, because the origin often determines the rate of duty.
We can’t lie to customs, at all, ever.
Importing often comes with a degree of uncertainty. Most shipments go smoothly, but on occasion goods coming into Canada can be subject to random inspections, unexpected fees for congestion or storage, or unpredictable delays. We do everything we can to anticipate and mitigate potential problems, but there will always be unknowns to factor into the decision to import.
We’re on your team! We want every clearance to go smoothly and our clients to pay as little as possible for their imports. We‘re happy to answer questions, talk to your vendors, provide certificate templates, look up HS codes, walk you through the import process, and provide whatever services we can. We’re here to help!
By Robin Smith, M.A., CCS. – Robin is a trade industry professional based in Victoria, BC.
