About Customs Brokers
A customs broker's job involves detailed tasks that revolve around the importation of goods and services into the country. They are involved in almost every aspect of the transition of the goods from arrival to their ultimate and varied destinations throughout the country. In essence, the customs broker acts on behalf of the entity importing the goods and ensures a smooth transition from a foreign port to the final destination dock or warehouse of the product.
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Function
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Customs brokers are the men and women working on behalf of individuals or organizations importing or exporting goods or products into countries. The duties of a customs broker are many. They are responsible for obtaining and preparing proper documentation to allow goods to entire the county legally. According to federal reports, each year in countries such as Canada and the United States, customs brokers clear millions of shipments both entering and leaving these countries.
Misconceptions
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Customs brokers do more than just prepare the documentation or paperwork to get goods brought into the country. They handle every aspect of the importing and exporting of goods, including the handling of necessary funds such as import or export taxes and duties. Customs brokers work with goods entering the country over the sea, on the ground or through the air.
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Significance
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The customs broker works as the middleman between the importers and government agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration (also known as the FDA) and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). They are responsible for the collection of billions of dollars each year in customs duties (also known as tariffs), which is a form of tax levied against imports and some exports.
Benefits
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As an importer, the services of a custom broker can benefit you beyond just getting your products into the United States or Canada. Brokers can handle many tasks for you, including warehousing and distribution of your goods and shipping across state lines and across other countries as well. They can even provide sales leads and shipment consolidation for you. This takes many time-consuming and tedious details out the hands of local shipping managers and places these tasks in the hands of brokers who perform such functions on a routine basis, helping imports to arrive on time with less chance of complications.
Considerations
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Individuals who decide to clear their shipments into the country themselves should be aware that there may be extra fees involved and that they will have to be knowledgeable of customs laws and how to properly prepare documentation just to get goods unloaded in the United States or Canada. Not being aware of the requirements on each type of import can cause delays or even the seizure of the merchandise. Importing and shipping restrictions have become even more complicated as a result of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, making the use of a customs broker's knowledge all that more valuable.
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