Knowing Customs Brokers And How You Can Choose One!

Commercial importers are probably aware of the complicated rules, regulations, and compliance needs that are applicable for imports. If you are getting goods to US from an offshore location, you must adhere to these norms and must ensure that the necessary duties and taxes are paid as applicable. Most importers have little or no clue as how importing works or tariff codes are applied, which is precisely why they end up paying huge amounts in fines and penalties.

Who is a Customs broker?

A Customs broker, for the uninitiated, basically helps clients with imports. This may refer to a person, association or company, but the role is almost similar. Many services, like Clearit import broker, also work as consultants for their clients, offering them advice on trade agreements, tariff codes, changes in regulations, technology updates and so on. All brokers are licensed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

While there is no law that states that hiring a Customs broker is necessary for importing, you might want to get their help in getting the shipment cleared without any delays and mistakes in paperwork and application of duties and taxes. Here are some of the things you need to check before selecting a service.

Start with the basics

Does the Customs broker have a good team of real agents, who are around to offer help? Do they have a website, where they can get information on your shipment for further processing? Do they only deal with US citizens only? Do they deal in all kinds of shipments like air, truck, ocean and inland?

These are a few basic questions you must ask before selecting a Customs broker. It is also important to check if they work as consultants and can help in simplifying the way you deal in imports. Reputation counts in this industry, and sometimes, just because a Customs broker is close to your location doesn’t mean they are reliable. A considerable part of the process is done online, so you should definitely consider expertise and experience more than anything else.

Final word

Working with a Customs broker can help in getting everything right about imports. Besides calculation of duties and taxes, they can also assist in asking for refunds, and you can ask as many questions as required for processes and things related to the procedure. Check online right away and hire the best Customs broker you can find.