Customs documentation and coordination
Most border delays are document problems, not inspection problems.
What this covers
We prepare and coordinate the documentation that accompanies a shipment, and we work with licensed customs agents in the jurisdictions where formal representation is required. Where an entry must be lodged by a licensed broker, it is lodged by that broker — we coordinate the file, we do not claim a licensed capacity we do not hold.
The work that actually prevents delays happens before departure: confirming that the commodity description, the tariff classification, the values, the weights and the origin statement agree with each other and with the cargo. A shipment stopped because the invoice and the packing list disagree costs more than the time it took to check them.
How the shipment runs
Comparison
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| Declaration | The individual document lodged with the customs authority for a consignment |
| Clearance | The process and the outcome — cargo released by customs for onward movement |
| Brokerage | Acting as a licensed agent in another party’s name before the authority. A licensed capacity |
Documents you receive
- Commercial invoice, consistent with the contract and the cargo
- Packing list matching the actual packing, marks and numbers
- Transport document — bill of lading, air waybill or rail consignment note
- Certificate of origin where preferential or non-preferential origin must be evidenced
- Commodity-specific certificates: fumigation, phytosanitary, health, inspection