Import
Import Customs Clearance
Your cargo stays on the terminal until CBP releases it, and CBP releases nothing until the entry reads correctly.
On licensing
Marine Forwarding Company of Virginia works as a freight forwarder and customs clearinghouse agent. Our licensed customs broker agent holds the licence issued under 19 CFR Part 111 and transacts customs business for our clients.
The sequence, and the deadlines inside it
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Importer Security Filing
We transmit ISF at least 24 hours before your container loads at the foreign port. Late or wrong filings draw liquidated damages up to $5,000 each, and CBP does issue them. See ISF filing.
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Booking and arrival notice
The carrier issues an arrival notice around five days out. We check the bill of lading against your commercial invoice and packing list before anything reaches CBP.
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Classification
The HTSUS code sets your duty rate. Two defensible codes can differ by several percent of cargo value, so we work the classification rather than accept the shipper's guess. See .
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Entry filing
We file through ACE, either in advance for release on arrival or as an entry summary within 15 calendar days. Advance filing costs nothing extra and saves demurrage.
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Bond
Formal entries need a customs bond. We size single entry against continuous for your volume. See customs bonds.
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Partner agency filings
FDA, USDA, EPA, DOT and FWS attach to specific commodities. See .
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Release and delivery
CBP releases, the delivery order is issued, and the cargo is collected. Free time at the terminal is limited, so drayage is arranged against the expected release.
Landed cost, before you commit
Duty forms one line of several. A realistic landed cost adds the merchandise processing fee, the harbour maintenance fee on ocean cargo, any Section 301 or antidumping duty attaching to your classification and country of origin, terminal handling, drayage and chassis rental.
We prefer to hand you that whole number before you place the order than surprise you after the vessel sails.
Exams and holds
CBP flags containers from careful importers with clean records too. The cost arrives as days held and inspection fees. The terminal keeps charging demurrage while your box sits in the queue, the carrier charges gate fees and CBP charges exam fees. The x-ray and the trucking to and from the port each carry their own charge. In many cases CBP chooses the shipments it pulls at random, so an importer has to budget for these fees in case CBP selects a container. You pay the fees before CBP releases the container. We track the hold and answer CBP's requests for information as they come, so the container keeps moving. Exporter and importer both have to deliver error-free documentation to their broker ahead of vessel arrival.
Related
Next step
Tell us what you are moving.
Send the commodity, the weight and dimensions, the origin and destination, and your target sailing. That gives us enough for a firm quote.