Thursday, 8 March 2012

US Customs Broker | Licensed Service with a Personal Touch

US Customs Brokers refers to the individuals or corporations that help the importers and exporters who ship goods in and out of the United States, to meet the necessary federal requirements . The Customs brokers who operate inside the United States and deals with the U.S. Cutoms and Border Protection are referred to as US customs broker. These brokers are licensed,empowered and governed by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Customs brokers act as middlemen to the importers and exporters in their dealings with the CBP. In return for submitting the necessary details and payments to the CBP, the importers are charged a certain fee. Currently, almost 11,000 such licensed U.S.

Customs Brokers are present in the United States. They are responsible for the preparation of documents and electronic submissions. They act as the link between the importer/exporter and the authorites. A US customs broker knows the duty rates of imported items and are thorough with the federal rules. Customs brokers are qualified personnel who obtain license only on passing the Customs Brokers license exam with a minimum of 75 percent. Before clearing the exam, these brokers are subjected to stringent background checks to verify their reliability and dependability. All U.S Customs Brokers are American citizens.

They have no affiliation with the U.S government and are not government employees. They are either self-employed brokers or brokers employed by customs broking corporations. Customs brokers are responsible for arranging the transhipment,i.e local delivery of the imported goods. The US Customs broker mainly operate in the major airports and shipping ports that handle international cargo traffic. Some customs brokers specialize in certain categories of imported items, which may include food items, luxury goods etc. The customs brokers are responsible for obtaining the necessary clearances and legal approvals from the appropriate government agencies to ensure and facilitate the delivery of imported goods.

These brokers are often required to obtain clearance from government agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) , the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Fish and Wildlife service, among several others. They advise importers regarding the necessary paperwork requirements for their specific shipment which are subject to visa requirements. Customs Brokerage companies are responsible for fast clearance of shipments internationally by ensuring that all the legal requirements are taken care of. They form the basis for effective communication between the importers/exporters and the customs, hence are required to be updated with the latest policies and federal requirements.

Tuesday, 6 March 2012

Customs Brokers In USA

Customs Brokerage is one of the globally known profession which deals with the "clearing of goods" through customs barriers for importers\exporters in different ports.
The process undergoes legal documentation of preparing, notifying, calculation of taxes, fare, duties, shipping on ports, payment etc. US customs broker acts as the communicating link between the trading authority and government authority.

Customs Brokers are those individuals who owns or work in a customs brokerage firms and are not government employees. The rules for different firms are different and changes accordingly with the place and legal discipline of the particular country. US customs broker needs to pass the examination first and get licensed under "US CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTIONS".

Customs Brokers in USA works accordingly ; they will first prepare and present the documents to the legal authority such as agriculture, pisciculture, food and drug firm and go through the regulations under "CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS" title 19 also known as "19 CFR".

Customs brokers must be updated with the newest Tariff schedule, duties list, rates of items, and government regulations. The Customs brokers undergoes the enquiry about the country of origin from the client,shipping visa requirement, knowing the requirement to avoid the costly delays and seizure of merchandise.

Customs Brokers US can be located inland ports and major ports(airports and harbour) as well with the global traffic. US customs broker arrange all the shipment, delivery and payment of cleared merchandise with different companies. Customs Brokers are a link of importers and exporters of one port to another under legal jurisdiction.

The major "Customs Brokerage "agencies of USA that deals with the profession are
Food and drug Administration( FDA), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Fish and Wildlife Services( FWS).