The Many Benefits of Hiring a Consultant

If your business imports or exports goods, you aren't usually obligated to work with a customs broker, and can manage paperwork and everything else needed to get those goods over the border on your own. However, as with any other service provider you might hire for your company, there are some very good reasons why you might use a customs broker, at least for preparing your paperwork and other such processes. Note when it's good to consider hiring a customs clearance service provider for your company, and why their work can be so invaluable.

You don't know the different GST and duties

When you move items in and out of the country, you usually need to pay taxes, duties, and other fees; however, these will all vary according to the items being shipped, the country from which they originate or the country to which you're shipping them, and other such factors. If you don't know the difference between taxes and duties and other such fees, or how to calculate them, it's good to hire a customs broker rather than trying to figure this out on your own, as any mistake can mean additional charges or having your items seized at the border.

If you don't know how to calculate these fees for your goods, you might also be overpaying, or paying unnecessary fees, and it's never good to rely on border agents to note this for you! There may also be different exchange rates that affect the calculations of these fees, and these rates can change often. This, too, is why it's good to rely on a customs broker, who is typically experienced in how to calculate these charges, and will know what exchange rates to use with each shipment.

Identifying your items

All items that are imported or exported need to be properly identified; however, this doesn't mean just a name and description of your goods. Most, if not all, countries have identifying codes that are used for items, depending on their use, manufacture, ingredients or raw materials used in production, and the like. Your customs paperwork may need actual tariff classifications and other such codes that properly identify your items; any improper identification can mean having the items seized at the border, or may mean higher duties and taxes than necessary. As with figuring your taxes, duties, and other fees, it can be good to rely on a customs broker to properly classify your goods on your paperwork, to ensure its proper transport over the border.