How Long Does Customs Clearance Take?

What does customs clearance mean? Customs clearance means the procedures that should be completed following the destination country's laws and regulations. During the customs clearance process, the goods, whether imported, exported, or transshipped, are under customs supervision and cannot circulate freely.

After going through customs declaration, inspection, taxation, release, and other customs clearance procedures, the goods can be released, and the owner or declarer can pick up the goods.

How long does customs clearance take? Usually, customs clearance only takes 1-3 days.

If the customs has doubts about the goods, the recipient needs to assist the customs staff in customs clearance. Besides, if your goods are sensitive, you may need to pay a customs fee before they can be released, or the goods cannot be cleared and can only be returned or destroyed.

This post can help you avoid many unexpected problems in the customs clearance procedure. Let's find out how it helps.

What Should I Know Before Shipping Goods To Other Countries

Understand item restrictions

Understand the restrictions on general items and avoid customs detention. Usually, imported goods can be divided into prohibited, general, and sensitive items. Banned items are forbidden to be transported, such as weapons, guns, flammable, explosives, living things, coins, antiques, etc. Suppose the customs inspect these items. In that case, the goods will be detained and even returned.

General goods have no effect on aviation aircraft in international transportation, such as combs, mobile phone cases, small accessories, and most daily necessities. These items are unlimited, and there is no need to worry about being detained by customs.

The last type is sensitive goods, such as electronic products, cosmetics, food, books, power banks, etc. These items require specific carriers. Otherwise, they cannot be shipped to the destination country.

Learn The Customs Policy Of The Destination Country

The customs policies of all countries worldwide are much the same, but some countries have different policies.

Countries that need you to declare ENS

ENS costs 25-35 US dollars per ticket for all European Union countries.

Countries where wooden packaging needs to be fumigated

Australia, the United States, Canada, South Korea, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Israel, Brazil, Chile, Panama.

Countries that require you to provide the certificate of origin

Cambodia, Canada, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka.

What Should I Do When Goods Detained by Customs?

If your goods exceed the tax-free amount, your goods will be released after paying the taxes following the customs requirements. In the second case, prohibited goods are impossible to claim back, and they will be confiscated or destroyed.

Prevent Goods Detention And Increase The Speed Of Customs Clearance?

Product Name

Make your product name as ordinary as possible. Do not use product names that easily attract customs attention, such as honey traps and foam bombs for bathing. Sometimes, not problematic products may cause customs inspections and disputes because the customer uses an inappropriate product name.

Product Material

Some of the materials described are anti-dumping, such as thermal paper, paraffin lamps, etc. The description of the goods does not mention thermal, paraffin, and tin paintings. If the product name contains words like metal plates, it will also be anti-dumping.

Importer Qualification Review

Before shipping the goods, consult the customs clearance agent to see if the client's importer qualification is authentic.

Complete Paperwork

Before sending the shipments, all required certificates, paperwork, box labels, etc., must be provided.

Sensitive Goods

It is recommended to use your importers or go through specific FBA logistics for sensitive goods. Products such as built-in batteries and supporting battery products need to undergo a particular FBA process.

What does customs clearance mean in international logistics? What should you do to prevent the detention of goods? Through this post, you can understand international shipping and customs clearance processes.

More Tips for You

8 Tips For How to Improve Warehouse Efficiency

Ecommerce Packaging Tips for Product & Shipping Package

Ultimate Guide : Local & Cross-border eCommerce Logistics Service

7 Ways to Lower Ecommerce Warehouse & Logistics Cost