Responsibilities of a Licensed Customs Broker – Infographic
A customs broker is a licensed individual that offers services involving the shipment of imported goods as well as clearing the required documentation for export shipments and collecting taxes.
Many licensed customs brokers today tend to have connections with freight forwarders, shipping lines, private institutions, and even the trade authorities in order to serve as the intermediary between importers and the government.
Having a licensed customs broker is highly beneficial, especially if you’re a business owner looking for more customers abroad. Transporting your products is going to be quite an arduous process, with all of that complicated paperwork that must be complied to a given period of time. To lessen your stress and focus more on managing other aspects of your business, a licensed customs brokerage service is the key.
To make you more aware of what licensed customs brokers do, here is a list of their duties that are highly beneficial for businesses that need immediate help in product shipping:
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Facilitate Customs Transactions
A licensed customs broker shall help their clients with all the required documents for clearing the imported goods from the receiving customs department. He/She must prepare the entry form which indicates essential information such as the source country, classification code, total weight, and quantity of the goods. Additionally, the broker can also handle other paperwork related to exporting goods.
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Represent Their Clients
Since they mostly deal with customs authorities, customs brokers shall be the representative of their clients when it comes to customs-related transactions. A customs broker should be ready to enlighten their clients about the latest changes in customs laws and regulations.
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Review the Classification of Goods
Errors in classifying goods can result in additional expenses in taxes and duties, so a licensed customs broker prevents this from happening by reviewing the classification of their client’s goods.
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Payments of Duties and Fees
After the review and calculation, all of the expenses in customs duties must be properly calculated by the broker and gets it paid directly from the account.
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Record Keeping
A customs broker must be liable to maintain the confidentiality of all transaction records and documents of their clients. And similar to what freight forwarders do, customs brokers should also keep track of their clients’ shipped goods to ensure its safe arrival upon the destination.
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