Customs clearance in China & Customs clearance in Australia/USA/UK
DAKA International Transport Company provide customs clearance service in China and customs clearance service in Australia/USA/UK.
Our Services
Table of Contents
1. Who will handle customs clearance?
Companies or individuals can make customs clearance for their importing and exporting. But as customs clearance is a very complicated process, it is a big challenge for small and medium-size companies. Most companies will choose a customs broker to make customs clearance.
DAKA International Transport Company specializes in international shipping from China to Australia/ from China to UK, and from China to USA. DAKA Transport can work as your customs clearance agent when you need to ship products from China to Australia/USA/UK.
Customs clearance is a key factor to evaluate if an international shipping agent is professional and experienced. Stuck in customs is one common reason for the big delays in international shipping.
Every country made different rules to manage the customs brokers. In most countries, customs brokers need to get license from government before they can operate. In China, the government manage the customs brokers by diving customs brokers into 5 levels that is AA, A, B, C, and D. AA are the best customs brokers and have good credit. Usually, customs will release AA’s declaration in a very fast and easy way. D is the worst customs broker, and Chinese customs will usually make customs inspections on their products. That’s one reason why customs clearance agency fee is different between different customs brokers.
2. How will DAKA transport make customs clearance?
DAKA International Transport is a shipping agent and customs broker.
We specialize in international shipping by sea and air from China to Australia/USA/UK door to door. DAKA Transport works as a customs broker, and we can make customs clearance in both China and in Australia/USA/UK.
Customs clearance in china
DAKA International Transport Company was founded in Shenzhen China in 2016. From the very beginning, we start customs clearance in China. Till now we have around 10 years experience in Chinese customs clearance.
DAKA International Transport Company is an AA customs broker in China, authorized by Chinese government. With offices in other Chinese ports and cities, we can make customs clearance in all seaports and airports in China. In a word, no matter which Chinese address you need to ship products from, we can handle Chinese customs clearance.
DAKA Transport can make customs clearance for both general products and complex cargo. Complex cargo includes chemicals, foods, and second hand machines, etc which require special license or docs.
DAKA Transport understands Chinese customs policy and rules very well. Before you ship your products out from China, you can contact DAKA Transport to check if your products are legal to import or export and how much is the duty/tax. Also, you can ask DAKA Transport what kind of customs docs to be prepared in advance.
Customs clearance in Australia
DAKA International Transport Company mainly specializes in door-to-door shipping from China to Australia by sea and by air.
When we offer door to door shipping , we must include australia customs clearance in our shipping service.
DAKA cooperated with several Australian agents and can provide Australia customs clearance service in different ports of Australia including Sydney , Melbourne, Brisbane, Fremantle, Adelaide, Townsville, Darwin etc.
DAKA Transport knows Australian customs law a lot. Before you ship products from China to Australia, we will advise if your products are legal to import from China to Australia and what kind of customs docs needed. So that we can avoid that your cargo may get stuck in Australian customs.
Customs clearance in USA and in UK
Our second main business is door-to-door shipping from China to USA/UK. We can make customs clearance in USA and UK and deliver the cargo to consignee’s door.
The USA’s customs clearance procedure is complicated. Take sea shipping from China to USA, for example, first we need to make ISF filing and AMS filing before vessel departs from China. If you did not do this, you can not make USA customs entry when vessel arrive at USA port. And there will be a fine from USA customs, which will cause extra money.
Besides USA customs require consignee to provide a bond before customs clearance. A bond in USA is like insurance. When consignee refuse to pay the invoice from USA customs including duty/tax/fine/other charges, the USA customs can get the money from the insurance company.
DAKA International Transport Company can provide UK customs clearance when we ship your products from China to UK. First, we will send all shipping information to our UK agent, including how many products /vessel information/ vessel departure and arrival time/ port of loading, and port of discharge etc. Then we will coordinate with your Chinese factory to get commercial invoice/packing list and send the docs to our UK agent to prepare UK customs docs. After vessel arrives, my UK agent will make UK customs clearance and contact the consignee in UK to pay UK duty/tax. If everything goes smoothly, UK customs will release the cargo, then my UK agent will deliver the cargo to consignee’s door
Need Help Clearing your cargo?
Our customs brokers ensure your goods clear customs without any issues.
3. What is a customs broker?
A customs broker is an agent who can make customs clearance for companies or individuals during international shipping. A customs broker understands customs policy and rules, and they can finish the complicated customs clearance in an easier way. And with the help from a customs broker, you can know in advance if your cargo is legal to import or export and what kind of docs need to be prepared in advance.
Below are the detailed jobs of a customs broker
Customs declaration agency
A customs broker will help you prepare customs docs in advance. A customs broker can submit these docs into customs system on behalf of you. A customs broker can make sure the completeness and accuracy of customs docs to save time and money for you.
Customs inspection assistance
When your cargo meets customs inspection, normally the customs officer will not contact importer or exporter directly. They will contact your customs broker. The customs broker needs to open the packages on site according to customs instructions and answer any questions asked by a customs officer.
Customs duty and tax assessment
Before you start importing or exporting, you can ask a customs broker how much is the customs duty and tax so that you can know your cost in advance. Also, a customs broker will tell you how to save duty/tax in a legal way. For example, when you ship products from China to Australia, DAKA Transport, as a customs broker, will instruct you to save duty by providing FTA/COO certificate to enjoy duty concession in Australia.
Customs laws inquiry
You can ask a customer broker in advance if your products are legal to import or import. Some products are banned to import or export. Some products can only be imported or exported with special license or docs . For example, electric cigarettes are banned to import from China into Australia. And when you need to import vehicles from China to Australia, you need to get a vehicle entry approval from Australian government.
4. What is customs clearance?
Customs is a government organization. Customs clearance means the process that we report to customs the cargo information when we need to ship cargo in and out of a country. Only after customs release the cargo, the cargo can go in and out legally. We call it customs release.
Customs clearance includes import customs clearance and export customs clearance. For example, when we ship products from China to Australia, we need to make export customs clearance before cargo leave China. And we need to make import Australia customs clearance in Australia before cargo enter into Australia.
Customs clearance process
Customs Declaration
It means we put the cargo information in customs docs and tell customs what are the products, the material, the production procedure, quantity, trade term, how much is the cargo value etc. Usually,the docs were sent to customs via customs system in each country.
Customs docs are a set of professional docs in accordance with customs law,including packing list, commercial invoice, bill of lading,etc. Customs in different countries require different docs. Customs declaration need to be done by professional customs broker or custom clearance agent like DAKA International Transport Company.
Documents review and customs inspection by customs officer
After customs officers receive the docs, they will check completeness and accuracy of documents. The customs may also check if the docs are in accordance with the cargo. That is what we call customs inspection. Customs inspection may take from several hours to multiple weeks.
Duty/tax payment
After customs checksthe docs and cargo, they will issue a duty/tax invoice. Importer or exporter or their agents need to pay the customs invoice to get cargo released. Take shipping from China to Australia, for example, Australian government will issue AU Duty and GST invoice on the importing. Most products from China to Australia are duty-free as China signed a free trade agreement with Australia. However,Australian GST can’t be avoided even under free trade agreement as long as your cargo value exceeds
Customs release
That is the last step. After customs checks your docs and products are legal and customs duty/tax invoices are paid, they will give a customs release. Then cargo can be shipped out or in legally.
5. Customs clearance documents
Different countries have different requirement on customs docs. Take clothes for example, Chinese customs docs include commercial invoice/packing list/bill of lading/contract/customs entry list. Australian customs docs include commercial invoice/packing list /bill of lading/packing declaration.
And different customs docs are required for different kinds of products. For example, in China, when we make customs clearance for furniture, if the furniture is made by raw wood, we need to provide commodity inspection form. However, if the furniture is not made by raw wood, we have no need to provide inspection form.
Below are the general customs docs required:
- Bill of lading: This is usually required for import customs clearance. Export customs clearancewill not require bill of lading. Bill of Lading is a doc issued by vessel owner or its agent. It means the cargo is on the airplane or the vessel. The bill of lading mainly shows shipper/consignee information, vessel information, cargo information.
- Commercial invoice: A commercial invoice is a doc to tell customs how much the cargo value is. Then customs officer will use the commercial invoice to calculate duty and tax. Duty and tax is usually some percentage of cargo value for example,5% or 10. Someone may lower the cargo value to pay less duty and tax but there is risk. If the customs doubt the cargo value, customs officer may require consignee provide payment proof to demonstrate the commercial invoice is correct
- Packing list: A packing list is to show customs how your products are packed. For example,how many cartons or pallets? Also in the packing list, there is weight and cubic meter. When there is customs inspection, customs officer will check the products’ quantity and weight etc according to the packing list.
- Other docs:As customs in different countries require different customs docs, there are some other docs may be required when we make customs clearance:
- (1). Certificate of origin: This is kind of doc issued by government to demonstrate the origin country of the products. In Australia certificate of origin is also called as FTA certificate. With COO/FTA certificate, most products can be duty free when we ship them from China to Australia.
- (2). Packing declaration: This is a doc required by Australian customs for each sea shipment. The packing declaration doc is to demonstrate the package of your products are legal according to the Australian customs law. If there is raw wood in the packaging, you need to make fumigation accordingly and put a fumigation stamp on the raw wood
- (3). Fumigation certificate: This is required by customs normally when your products or packaging contain raw wood.
- (4) Other special permit：Some products, like food/vehicles etc, were limited to import or export. When we prepare customs docs, we should consider these special permits approved by local government.
6. How to clear customs smoothly?
There are many factors which will affect customs clearance. But we can summarize in two aspects: one is to make customs docs correct and, another way is to optimize customs process.
Make customs docs correct
First, you need to understand the customs law and policy of origin country and destination country. And you need to connect the two countries’ customs policy together. For example, shipping aluminum materials from USA to Australia is OK. But when you ship from China to Australia, there will be anti-dumping duty. The customs docs need to be prepared under the guide of customs law and policy
Secondly, you need to know your products well so that you can tell your customs broker the correct product information to make docs. For example,you need to understand the material of your products and production procedure, etc. Sometimes, during customs inspection, the customs officer may ask questions about your products beyond the customs docs. Your customs broker may ask for your help, as your customs broker can not know the products better than you
Optimize customs process
After we have the correct customs docs, you need to find a reliable customs broker like DAKA International Transport Company to optimize the customs clearance process.
For example, customs in some countries support pre-clearance. Take shipping from China to Australia, for example, before vessel arrives at Australia, we can make pre-clearance in the Australian customs system. And customs officers can check the customs docs and estimate if there is any risk in advance. After vessel arrive at Australia, cargo can be customs released immediately if there is no customs inspection.
And customs process can be optimized by a professional customs broker if they know which process your cargo is in and coordinate with customs officers’ jobs well in advance.
Another way to optimize customs process is to get customs AEO certification. AEO is short for Authorized Economic Operator, advocated by World Customs Organization (https://www.wcoomd.org/) . If your company can get customs AEO certification, it means your company has very good credit in customs system and the customs clearance process on your products will be much easier than other companies. AEO certification is well recognized in many countries’ customs systems.
7. FAQ
Have questions? We have answers
The customs clearance price in each country is different. In China for general products the customs clearance fee can vary from USD25 per customs entry, to USD75 per customs entry depending on customs broker’s level. As we mentioned above in China, the government classified all customs brokers into 5 levels which are AA, A, B, C, and D.
In China normally, if there is no customs inspection, customs release should be within several hours after you made customs entry in customs system. But if there is customs inspection, the customs clearance time will depend on how long the inspection will take. Inspection may take from several hours to several weeks, depending on what kind of inspection.
HS code is for a code in Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System. This system is developed by World Customs Organization (WCC) to classify different products in the world. As there are many different kinds of products in the world, World Customs Organization apply an unique code to each product. For example, in China HS code for men coat is 6203120000, and HS code for football is 9506621000. HS code in each country is a little different as WCC only stipulates first 6 digits, and starting from the 7th digit, each government can set its own.
There is risk to do that. If customs officer doubts the cargo value you declared, they may make inspection and ask you provide payment proof or buying link to demonstrate the cargo value is correct.
Yes, DAKA International Transport Company can make Australia customs clearance and also handle USA/UK clearance. DAKA Transport specializes in door-to-door shipping by sea and air from China to Australia/USA/UK. We can make customs clearance in both China and Australia/USA/UK.
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