Customs Clearance & Brokerage from China

Overview

What this service covers

Customs clearance is the stage of a shipment where nothing physically moves and everything can stop. A declaration is a formal statement about what is in the box, what it is worth, where it was made and which tariff code it falls under. Customs compares that statement against your documents and, when they choose to, against the cargo itself. If the pieces do not agree, the shipment waits.

On the export side we build and file the declaration at the gateway your cargo leaves from. Ningbo, Shanghai, Qingdao, Tianjin and Xiamen are the five ports where our operational experience runs deepest, and we handle import and export through all major China airports and seaports. Freight and customs are handled as one file, so the HS code on the declaration, the description on the invoice and the piece count on the bill of lading come from one source rather than three.

At destination, who files the import declaration depends on the Incoterm agreed in your sales contract and on who is registered as importer of record in that country. We do not assume it. Before booking we set out in writing which party clears at each end, which duties and taxes fall on whom, and what the destination authority is entitled to ask for. The complete document set then goes out ahead of arrival, so the import declaration can be prepared while the cargo is still moving instead of after it lands.

The work that keeps cargo out of the inspection queue is unglamorous: consistency. One product description used everywhere. One HS code per product line, agreed before the first shipment and reused on every one after it. Gross and net weights that match between the packing list, the transport document and the DG declaration. Origin claims backed by the certificate the trade agreement actually requires. Holds commonly trace back to a document that contradicts another document, and correcting one after release costs far more time than getting it right beforehand.

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What's Included

What you get when you book this service

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HS classification agreed before you book

We classify on what the product is and does — material, function, degree of processing, whether it ships as a finished set or as parts — rather than copying whatever code a similar product used last time. You confirm the code before booking, and we keep it on file so repeat shipments declare identically.

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Export declaration prepared and filed at the gateway

We compile and lodge the export declaration at the port or airport your cargo leaves from, across all major China seaports and airports. If customs raises a documentary query, selects the shipment for physical inspection or requires an amendment, we handle the response and keep you informed of what was asked and what we filed.

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The six core documents, cross-checked against each other

Commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading or air waybill, certificate of origin, DG declaration where applicable and insurance certificate. We check them line by line against one another before filing: description, value, currency, piece count, gross and net weight, marks and numbers, shipper and consignee details.

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Incoterms mapped to who actually clears what

We write down who files the export declaration, who files the import declaration, who pays duty and import taxes, and where risk passes. Where the term on your contract asks a party to make a declaration it cannot legally make in that country — the common problem with EXW out of China, and with DDP into markets that require a resident importer — we raise it before the booking rather than at the border.

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Duty, import tax and preferential-rate advisory

What the duty is assessed on, whether freight and insurance sit inside the customs value under the term you are using, which import taxes apply at destination, and whether a preferential rate is available on your lane. Figures are shipment-specific, so we give you the basis and the rate your classification and destination point to rather than a round number.

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Certificates of origin and preferential claims

Ordinary certificates of origin, and the preferential forms required by the agreement in play on your lane. We tell you which form applies, what origin evidence you need to hold, and what the importing authority can ask you to produce later if the claim is reviewed.

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Dangerous goods declarations

DG is one of our specialisms. We build the declaration from your safety data sheet — UN number, proper shipping name, class and division, packing group, net quantity per package — and check it against the packaging, marks and labels actually on the cargo, under the rule set that applies to the mode you are shipping by.

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How It Works

From enquiry to delivery

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Product review and classification

You send product descriptions, materials, function and any HS code you already use, plus the destination country and the Incoterm on the sale. We review the classification, confirm it or propose a different code with the reasoning, and flag anything that needs a licence, permit or market registration before it can move.

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Shipment-specific document checklist

We issue a list of exactly what we need and when. Invoice and packing list at booking; certificates of origin and DG paperwork earlier, because those are issued by third parties and cannot be produced on the day of loading.

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Cross-check, then file

Before the declaration is lodged we match every document against the others and against the booking: description, HS code, value, currency, piece count, gross and net weight, marks, shipper and consignee. Corrections happen here. After filing, a change becomes an amendment, and an amendment costs time.

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Filing, customs response and release

We lodge the declaration at the loading gateway, answer any documentary query and handle the process if the shipment is selected for physical inspection. Once released, the bill of lading or air waybill is issued to match the declaration exactly — same description, same weights, same piece count.

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Destination pre-alert and handover

The full document set goes to you and to whoever is filing the import declaration, ahead of arrival, with the duty and tax position set out. Where an inspection, a pending licence or a decision to defer duty means the cargo has to wait, we can hold it in bonded or un-bonded warehousing rather than let charges build at the terminal.

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The file is kept for the next shipment

Classification, valuation basis, origin evidence and the final document set stay on record. Repeat shipments of the same product then declare identically, and if the entry is reviewed later you can answer from one consistent file.

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Fit

When this is the right service — and when it is not

Best for

Products whose classification is not obvious — mixed materials, assemblies shipped as parts, kits and sets, or goods that change form during processing
First shipments on a new lane, whether Europe, Central Asia and Russia, North America including Mexico, or South Asia and the Gulf, where you have not yet dealt with that country's import requirements
Dangerous goods, where the declaration, the packaging, the marks and the mode's rule set all have to agree with each other
Oversized, out-of-gauge and project cargo moving on several legs, where one document set has to survive every handover between modes
Repeat programmes — e-commerce, spare parts, multi-SKU consignments — where the same code, description and origin claim must be used shipment after shipment
Sales contracts on EXW, DDP or any term where the party responsible for clearing is not resident in the country where the declaration has to be made

When another mode fits better

Brokerage does not fix problems that start upstream. If your product needs an import licence, a market registration, a product certification or a resident importer of record at destination, no declaration substitutes for it — that work has to be completed before the cargo ships, usually by the buyer, and we would rather say so at enquiry than at the border. We will also not declare a value below the real transaction value, describe goods as something they are not, or split a consignment to sit under a de minimis threshold; those shortcuts turn a one-off delay into a penalty and a standing inspection flag. If your buyer has nominated their own broker at destination, or you are selling on EXW or FCA terms where clearance is contractually theirs, our brokerage is a layer you do not need — ask us for the document pack instead and we will make sure their filing has everything it requires. And for personal effects, zero-value samples or small express parcels, a courier's own clearance is usually the simpler route; freight brokerage is built for commercial consignments.

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Reference

Incoterms 2020: who files the declaration and who carries the duty

These are the standard rules — your contract of sale governs, and we confirm the split in writing before booking.

Incoterm (2020)	Export clearance	Import clearance & duty	Watch for
EXW — Ex Works	Buyer	Buyer	A foreign buyer often cannot file an export declaration in the country of origin. FCA usually fits better.
FCA — Free Carrier	Seller	Buyer	The recommended term for containerised cargo handed over at a terminal or the seller's premises.
FOB — Free on Board	Seller	Buyer	Sea and inland waterway only. Risk passes once goods are on board, not on arrival.
CFR / CIF — Cost and Freight / Cost, Insurance and Freight	Seller	Buyer	Sea and inland waterway only. Seller pays main carriage, but risk still passes at loading. CIF obliges only minimum insurance cover unless you agree more.
CPT / CIP — Carriage Paid To / Carriage and Insurance Paid To	Seller	Buyer	Any mode, including multimodal. CIP requires all-risks level cover; CPT requires no insurance at all.
DAP — Delivered at Place	Seller	Buyer	Seller carries to the named place but is not responsible for import formalities, duty or unloading.
DPU — Delivered at Place Unloaded	Seller	Buyer	As DAP, except the seller also unloads. The only Incoterm that obliges the seller to unload.
DDP — Delivered Duty Paid	Seller	Seller	Seller pays duty and import taxes, which often requires a resident entity or fiscal representative at destination.

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Proof

A shipment we have already run

10+ specialised containers delivered to Mexico

Equipment was matched to each piece of cargo — standard FCL, flat-rack and open-top according to dimensions — and documentation kept aligned across more than ten separate container movements rather than treated as one bulk shipment.

Read the full case study

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FAQ

Customs Clearance & Brokerage — common questions

Customs Clearance & Brokerage is one of our ten service lines, and we quote it alongside the freight so you can see the whole position before you book. Separate from our own charges are the official and third-party charges the shipment attracts — duty, import taxes, inspection fees, certificate issuance, licence fees. Those are set by authorities and issuing bodies, not by us. We identify which ones apply to your shipment and show them in the quote rather than letting them appear later.

Responsibility for a declaration sits with the declarant and the importer of record, which is why we ask you to confirm the classification rather than quietly filing one on your behalf. Our part is to do the work properly: classify on the product's material, function and processing, explain the reasoning, and flag where a product could reasonably fall under more than one heading so you can decide with the facts in front of you. Send us the product specification and we will come back with the code we would file and why.

A hold is usually one of two things: a documentary query, where the authority wants clarification or an extra document, or a physical inspection, where the cargo is opened and checked against the declaration. We respond to the query or handle the inspection process, and we tell you what was asked and what we provided. If the cargo has to wait, we can move it into bonded or un-bonded warehousing instead of accruing charges at the terminal. A mismatch between two documents is a common cause of holds, which is why the cross-check happens before filing.

We prepare and file the export declaration at the China gateway. What happens at the other end depends on the Incoterm and on who is the importer of record in that country — in many cases the law requires a resident party to file. We prepare the document set the destination declaration is made from, send it ahead of arrival, and set out the duty and tax position. Tell us the destination country and the term on your contract and we will map who files what before you book.

At booking: commercial invoice and packing list, with product descriptions that match what is physically in the cartons. Earlier than booking: certificates of origin, DG paperwork and any licence or permit, because those are issued by third parties and cannot be produced on the day of loading. Cut-offs differ by gateway and by mode, so we send a shipment-specific checklist with dates rather than a generic list.

Yes — dangerous goods are one of our specialisms, across air, sea, rail and road. Send the safety data sheet at enquiry stage, not at booking. The UN number, proper shipping name, class and division and packing group determine whether the cargo can travel on the mode you had in mind, what packaging it needs and how it must be marked and labelled. We build the declaration from the SDS and check it against the packaging and marks on the actual cargo.

Where your goods genuinely meet the origin rules of an agreement covering the lane, a preferential certificate of origin can reduce the rate applied at import. Eligibility is decided by the origin rules for that specific product, not by us, and the rules vary by agreement. What we do is tell you which certificate form the lane requires, what origin evidence you need to keep, and what the importing authority can ask you to produce if the claim is checked later.

Yes. We offer bonded and un-bonded warehousing, which gives you somewhere to put cargo while a query is resolved, a licence is finalised, or duty is deliberately deferred. It also keeps containers from standing at a terminal while storage, demurrage and detention accrue. Tell us the moment you think a shipment may need to wait, so we can arrange it before charges start.

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Guides related to this service

Customs & Compliance Guides

Customs clearance, with every document checked against the others before we file