What is customs clearance and international freight forwarding?

What is customs clearance?

In a literal sense, "reporting" refers to declaration, while "customs" refers to the customs office. In simple terms, customs clearance is the process of declaring to the customs.

Specifically, customs clearance refers to the process by which the consignor and consignee of import and export goods, the person in charge of inbound and outbound transport vehicles, the owner of inbound and outbound goods, or their agents, handle the entry and exit formalities for goods, articles, or transport vehicles and related customs affairs with the customs, including declaring to the customs, submitting and verifying documents and certificates, and accepting the supervision and inspection of the customs. Customs clearance is one of the necessary steps in fulfilling customs entry and exit procedures.

What is international freight forwarding?

International freight forwarding refers to the process of transporting goods from one country to another country using one or more modes of transportation. This process often accompanies international trade, which is generally referred to as international freight forwarding. However, international logistics generally also includes express delivery, which is not included in international freight forwarding. International freight forwarding typically involves container transportation, air transportation, and railway transportation.

The costs of international freight forwarding mainly arise in three places: the local area, international transportation, and the destination. During the import process, due to the relatively low profits of the freight forwarding agent at the destination, they often charge various fees for extended services, such as customs clearance fees, delivery fees, storage fees, and document exchange fees. It is better not to negotiate around these trivial fees but instead strive to negotiate a lump-sum package fee.