Planning to start an imported food business, inquiring about the time required for imported food customs clearance through an agent, worried about affecting food freshness and causing inventory backlog. The best answer states that customs clearance time is not fixed, with normal declaration taking 1-3 business days, and sampling inspection requiring 10-20 business days, also influenced by food type, customs inspection, and documentation. Choosing a good agent company can shorten the time.
How Long Does Customs Clearance Import Agency Customs Declaration Usually Take? Come and Find Out!
Resolved
I recently have a batch of goods that need to go through customs clearance import agency customs declaration. I haven't dealt with this before and am not very clear about the process and time. I want to ask how long customs clearance import agency customs declaration takes? Will the customs declaration time vary greatly depending on the goods? In addition, are there any factors that can cause the customs declaration time to be extended or shortened? I hope experienced friends can tell me.
Trade Expert Insights Answers
The time required for customs clearance import agency customs declaration is not fixed and will be affected by various factors. In general, for normal declarations with complete documents, ordinary goods can complete the customs declaration and clearance process in 3-5 working days.
If the goods involve special regulatory conditions, such as requiring permits or inspections and quarantine, the time may be extended to 7-10 working days, or even longer. This is because processing these additional procedures takes time, such as applying for permits and sampling for inspections and quarantine.
In addition, customs inspection will also affect the customs declaration time. If the goods are randomly selected for inspection and there are no problems, it may increase by 1-3 working days; if problems are found during inspection, such as discrepancies in declared information or goods not matching actual goods, customs declaration cannot be completed until the problems are resolved, and the time is difficult to estimate.
During holidays, the customs declaration time will be postponed because the customs and relevant departments are on holiday and do not process business. Therefore, try to avoid holidays when arranging import customs declaration.
If the customs declaration documents are not prepared completely and are repeatedly supplemented and modified, the customs declaration time will definitely be extended. It is crucial to prepare accurate and complete documents in advance.
Different ports have different levels of busyness, and the customs declaration time also varies. Busier ports have longer waiting times, so customs declaration may be slower; relatively quieter ports will be faster.
The complexity of the goods affects the customs declaration time. Simple daily necessities are declared quickly, while complex goods such as chemicals have longer customs declaration times due to strict regulations.
The efficiency of agency customs declaration companies varies. Professional and efficient companies like Zhongmaoda can quickly handle various issues and speed up the customs declaration process.
Changes in customs policies may also affect customs declaration time. In the early stages of the implementation of new policies, customs declaration speed may slow down due to unfamiliarity with the process.
The transportation method can sometimes affect the customs declaration time. Ocean shipping is relatively slow, while air freight may be faster due to differences in cargo arrival and processing speed.
If an enterprise has a good credit rating with the customs, the probability of customs inspection during declaration is low, and the declaration speed can be accelerated.
If there is an urgent situation with imported goods, applying to the customs for expedited processing may shorten the customs declaration time, but it must meet the relevant conditions.