Hassle free and quick Houston Customs Clearance by competent hands is must to clear your shipments and avoid levying of penalties or delays. As most of the companies do not have staff that is well acquainted with the ever changing custom laws, they appoint customs brokers who act as middlemen between Customs agency and other government agencies and the Company. So this middle man is the actual person who is responsible for immediate clearance of shipments in favor of the consignee.
The customs broker must be a licensed company having permit to operate in whole of USA in all cities. The company must be aware of latest agreements made by the Congress with other countries who export their products to the USA. Customs related rules and regulations change as agreements between the USA and countries that send freight ot he USA also change. A lot of import items from a particular country may be free of import duties while not, imported from other countries may not be. So each agreement is of importance in shielding the consignee against making extra payments for the duties.
The broker/consignee must produce completed Import Security Filing Form with copy of invoice to customs in case the shipment is by sea. For freights from air, road and railways, this form is not required to be submitted. Submission of the ISF form should be within 72 hours prior to ship departing from last port in USA otherwise penalties shall be imposed as admissible by rules.
To get faster clearance of the shipments and without delay, submit commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading, air way bill if the consignment is by air. All these documents should be properly filled out by the shipper so as to avoid delay in clearance of shipments. The customs broker sends emails to consignee at each step like submission of forms and release of consignment.
Remote Location filing facility acquired by the broker helps him to file documents in all cities of USA. The broker selected must own his software to expedite the communications otherwise they talk through their vendors and also get response through them, wasting valuable time and delaying the process. It also reduces the recurring cost in process.
The broker should have his own competent staff that is well versed with latest rules and regulations and eliminate disadvantages experienced by outsourcing the third man for services. It also reduces the fees charged by the broker for services they render. With experienced staff, they will not be required to incur expenditure on their training thus saving a lot and benefitting the customers.
The broker must be capable of handling all types of consignments ranging from meat, blood, flowers, perisables to large earth moving machines. He should have the ability to perform independently. It helps in safe running of the business as the customer is free to look after his own interests.
Houston Customs Clearance is a simple process with very few steps. Trained and experience custom brokers know each aspect of clearing the shipments and act accordingly.
