Brokerage Customs – An Introduction

Brokerage customs or customs brokerage is a profession that provides assistance to importers and exporters to enable them to clear goods through customs barriers. The people or organizations involved in customs brokerage are known as customs brokers.

Customs brokers are involved in the preparation of documents and their submission electronically. They have to calculate taxes, excises and other duties on behalf of their clients .Their work also includes the arrangement of communication between an importer or exporter and the authorities.

Customs brokerage in United States Of America involves the preparation and submission of various documentation, in order to get clearance from various government agencies such as the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and some other departments.

People engaged in customs brokerage have to gain proper knowledge of both the Tariff Schedule, which is a list that includes the duty rates for all imported items, and the Federal Regulations for Importations that are mentioned in the Code of Federal Regulations vol 19 or CFR-19.

Sometimes, a customs broker has to advise an importer about the requirements to mark the country of origin or the requirements for precise paperwork. This knowledge helps the client to avoid costly delays and merchandise seizures.

Customs brokerage also helps the client as it supplies them with information about the specialization involved in various transactions. It could involve apparel or perishable products. Traders can acquire the services of individuals or organizations providing customs brokerage at various inland ports, airports, and harbors that receive international traffic.

Customs brokerage services also include the shipment or delivery of cleared merchandise at a local address through the use of relationships with trucking companies and other transport companies.

Customs brokerage also involves an examination of and a background check of every potential broker before that broker can be cleared to become a licensed customs broker. Customs brokerage does not have any government linkage that means a customs broker cannot be deemed as a government employee. Some people often confuse customs agents with those involved in customs brokerage, which is an erroneous contention. This confusion is because in some countries the term customs agents refer to customs brokers.

All firms and individuals engaged in customs brokerage require a Power of Attorney on file, before they are allowed to perform any transaction on behalf of any importer or exporter. This document allows the individual or organization who provide customs brokerage to perform transactions for the customs business only. The power of attorney document contains the US tax reporting number, and clearly specifies the nature of the importer or exporter as to whether that is an individual, a corporation, a sole proprietor, or a partnership. Therefore, brokerage customs or custom brokerage is the perfect service for people engaged in export and import services in the United States.