In this era of globalization, international trade has of lately drawn a lot of attention, with people seeing many profitable business opportunities in this area. However, though import and export trade may look like a pretty simple but it is hardly so with the scores of formalities involved. These formalities need to be involved or else the shipment might be denied entry and a penalty may also be levied on the importers. There are many times when customs clearance of a shipment may stall this can may cause delay in clearance of goods and causing huge losses to the importers. This is where Cap Intl the customs broker Houston comes into the picture. Customs brokers are agents that ensure that their client’s shipment is cleared by Customs as soon as possible in exchange for a small fee. To ensure a speedy clearance, people need to ensure that their documents are properly filled out or else their shipment may be seized. A customs broker helps put people in this process. If people are looking for a reliable customs broker Houston they need not look any further than Cap International, which is a licensed customs brokerage, operating in Houston for the past 29 years. In their capacity as an import broker with a license, the company offers to clear imported products not only from customs offices but also get clearance for imports from various government agencies. In other words, the company gets clearance for imports from the Agriculture department, EPA, Food and Drug department, Federal Communications Commission, DOTS, Fish and Wildlife department along with Alcohol and Firearms departments among many others.
In order to gain clearance for a shipment, importers need to assemble a few documents and give it to the customs broker Houston, the minimum documentation required are described below:
- Commercial Invoice- This is the main document that is needed by the customs to not only classify the products but also evaluate the duty to be levied on the imported products. Moreover, it is mandatory that the commercial invoice is written in English or at least it must be accompanied by the invoice’s translation in English.
- Packing List- This list contains all the details about the items included in the imported shipment. All the items along with their weight, even those contained in individual packages, must be mentioned in the list. This lists the number of items and their marks as well. People should make the list in such a way that if the customs official is looking for any item, that official may be able to find that item by consulting the list. The easier it is for the official to locate the items, the quicker the shipment would be cleared at the customs.
- Bill of Lading- It is a kind of receipt that is given by the carrier for the shipment. The bill of lading contains various details of the shipment like the final destination of the shipment, its weight, the number of items in the shipment, the container in which the items have been placed and even the name of the carrier.
- Or Air Waybill- This is also a type of a receipt given by the airline for the merchandise imported.
Depending on the product and the country of manufacture other documents maybe required.
Once Cap Intl the customs broker Houston submits these documents and they have verified the imported goods, they shipment gets cleared from the Customs of their final destination.
