Views: 347 Author: Site Editor Publish Time: 2022-05-23 Origin: Site
Different countries have different requirements and regulations on the import and export of goods. We must understand the import and export details of each country so that there will be no problems at critical times. What are the regulations to be aware of? Customs requirements for US are here and you are on the right page.
In this AMS guide is divided into 7 parts：
AMS (Automated Manifest System, American Manifest System, Advanced Manifest System), according to U.S. Customs regulations, that is, all goods to the United States or to a third country through the United States must be declared to the U.S. Customs 24 hours before shipment. The information of AMS is directly sent to the U.S. Customs database by using the system designated by the U.S. Customs, and the U.S. Customs system will automatically check and reply. Otherwise, the cargo will not be able to get on board.
The United States (AMS): The implementation began in 2004. The United States is the initiator of the anti-terrorism declaration. The first origin is the 9/11 incident in 2011. In addition to AMS, the US is required to declare ISF 10+2, which is unique to the US.
Canada (ACI): Started in 2004, it is almost the same as the American AMS, but the name is different. ACI is the abbreviation of Advance Commercial Information, which refers specifically to the Canadian Anti-Terrorism Manifest. That is, all goods to Canada or goods to a third country via Canada must report the cargo information to the carrier 48 hours before departure, and the carrier must declare to Canadian customs through the ACI system 24 hours before loading. Like the American AMS, it is mainly to prevent terrorists from using ships to launch attacks on ports.
Since the implementation of AMS declaration, combined with the supporting security provisions and ISF introduced later. The information of goods imported from the United States is accurate and clean, the data is complete, and it is easy to track and inquire. It not only improves homeland security, but also greatly reduces the risk of imported goods and improves the efficiency of customs clearance.
Following the United States, countries such as Mexico, Canada, the European Union, South Africa and China have all followed the example of AMS in the United States and implemented the pre-shipment manifest declaration system in order to effectively avoid risks and protect their homeland security and people's interests. For safety reasons, more and more countries will implement this pre-transshipment declaration system in the future.
A complete AMS includes House BL Number, Carrier Master BL No, Carrier Name, Shipper, Consignee, Notify Party, Place of Receipt, Vessel / Voyage, Port of Loading, Port of Discharge, Destination, Container Number, Seal Number, Size/ Type, No. & PKG Type, Weight, CBM, Description of Goods, Marks & Numbers, all these information are subject to the content of the bill of lading provided by the exporter.
It mainly refers to the import of general goods, that is, the logistics channel from China to the United States is air or sea, or the mode of combined transportation (non-mail channel, non-express channel).
Most of the general goods imported are worth more than 2,500 US dollars. For general goods greater than 2,500 US dollars, the US customs requires that they must be formally imported, regardless of whether the tariff is 0, and the formal import must require an IOR (importer of record) This IOR must have a bond. There are two types of bonds. One is one-off, which is suitable for importers to formally import less than twice a year, and the other is called annual bond, which is suitable for importing more than twice a year. Without bond, IOR cannot clear customs. The cost of bond will be determined according to the value of imported goods and the amount of customs duties. Generally, the annual bond cost of general goods is between 400 and 800 US dollars.
The IOR can be divided into two types, one is the US entity company, that is, the importer is in the United States, and the other is the use of a Chinese shipping company to buy bonds, that is, shippers to buy bonds. Either situation is fine.
The second situation is that the United States is very special. Many Chinese exporters or sellers do not know about it. In fact, if you are doing business in the United States for a long time, and there is no physical company in the United States or a partner you recognize in the United States, it is best to send it domestically. The form of the consignor acts as an importer for US imports and purchases bonds. However, it still needs a company in the United States that can provide the consignee as a consignee, and also needs his tax ID. The consignee company can use a logistics company or others.
To buy a bond, you need the company's tax ID. If it is a US entity company that provides the IRS paper, you need the ID of the company owner. If it is an overseas company, that is, the consignor to buy a bond, it is necessary to provide an overseas business license, a corporate passport or an ID card.
Then import customs clearance in the United States needs to be entrusted to a customs broker (in theory, IOR can clear customs by itself, but if you do it yourself, it may not be particularly cost-effective. Of course, large IORs often have their own inhouse brokers, which is another situation), if It is the first time to import, and you need to provide POA, customs declaration power of attorney, BOND information, packing list of goods, commercial invoice of goods, logistics waybill (airway bill or bill of landing) with the customs broker. For air transportation, as long as the planes fly together The customs declarer on the US side can make the declaration. Usually, the aircraft is completed without landing customs clearance, and then the customs system will give the customs declarer instructions, release, inspection, and so on. If released, you can go to the airport to pick up the goods.
After that, the customs broker will give the importer a form called CBP7501. This document is very important. This is the certificate of import from the United States and is issued by the US customs. It will clearly contain various details and charges, etc. Including tariff, MPF, customs code of goods, value, consignee, etc.
For the tariff part, generally small and medium-sized customers pay to the customs broker, and the customs broker pays it to the customs. There is no situation in the United States where the customs declarer does not pay the customs, let alone worry about the customs broker overcharging tariffs (but the customs broker will charge a customs advance payment procedure fee), as long as you get the 7501 form, it will explain everything, and again this form is very important. If you have a large amount of customs duties, you can open an account with U.S. Customs and deposit money in it to pay for the customs duties. After the customs duties are generated, the customs will directly deduct the money from this account.
There is no tariff opaqueness in the United States. If you feel that the customs and customs have overcharged, use this 7501 or other credentials to communicate with him. If it fails, go to court. These are normal situations and are also the power of American importers.
Besides, because the IOR is the owner of the goods, the customs and the customs broker only have a relationship with him, so why it is best for the shipper to buy the bond, which means that the ownership of the goods is still in his own hands, and there will be no trouble.
TIPS:
Therefore, if you find any logistics company, you must ask clearly, who is the importer, because who is the importer, who owns the cargo rights. If the logistics company tells you that it can be all-inclusive, keep an eye on him and ask him who is the importer and who owns it. It is best for you to sign an agreement with the importer to prevent the transfer of the goods from being unclear when the time comes, and whoever is the importer will bear all the responsibilities for imports from the United States, including tariffs, FDA, inspection and storage fees, US port logistics fees, etc. .
There are various trade methods for exporting goods to the United States. For some goods, the US import customs clearance fees and taxes are paid by the shipper. In this case, the US customs clearance bank will require the Chinese exporter to sign a POA power of attorney before shipping. Similar to the customs declaration power of attorney required for customs declaration in my country. There are usually two ways of customs clearance:
1. Clear customs in the name of the consignee in the United States
That is, the American consignee (consignee) provides POA to the American agent of the freight forwarder, and also needs the Bond of the American consignee.
2. Customs clearance in the name of the consignor
That is, the shipper provides POA to the freight forwarder at the port of departure, and the forwarder transfers it to the agent at the port of destination. The US agent helps the shipper to apply for the importer's customs registration number in the United States, and the shipper needs to buy Bond.
Precautions:
1. The above two customs clearance methods, no matter which one is adopted, must use the US consignee's tax ID (Tax ID, also known as IRS No.) for customs clearance. IRS No. (The Internal Revenue Service No.) is a tax identification number registered by the US consignee with the US Internal Revenue Service.
2. In the United States, customs cannot be cleared without Bond, and customs cannot be cleared without tax ID.
1. Customs declaration
After the customs broker receives the arrival notice, if the documents required by the customs are prepared at the same time, it can apply to the customs for customs clearance within 5 days of preparing to arrive at the port or arriving at the inland point. Customs clearance by sea usually informs the release within 48 hours, and air transport within 24 hours. Some cargo ships have not yet arrived at the port, and the customs have decided to check. The vast majority of inland points can make a pre-clear declaration (Pre-Clear) before the arrival of the goods, but the results will only be displayed after the arrival of the goods (i.e. after ARRIVAL IT).
There are two ways to declare to the customs, one is electronic declaration, and the other is that customs need to review written documents. Either way, we must prepare the required documents and other data information.
2. Prepare customs declaration documents
(1) Bill of Lading (B/L);
(2) Invoice (Commercial Invoice);
(3) Packing List;
(4) Arrival Notice
(5) If there is wood packaging, a Fumigation Certificate or a Non Wood Packing Statement is required.
The name of the consignee on the bill of lading needs to be the same as the consignee displayed on the last three documents. If it is inconsistent, the consignee on the bill of lading must write a Letter of Transfer before a third party can Clearance. S/ & C/'s name, address and telephone are also required on the invoice and packing list. If this information is missing in some domestic S/ documents, it will be required to supplement.
3. Turn off
If inland customs clearance is required, we need to provide I.T.#, effective date, place of departure and place of termination for transit. Inland customs will use I.T# to control and release.
4. Release the goods
(1) In the previous ABI system, the dock of the shipping company was directly connected to the customs, which means that if the customs released the goods in the ABI, both the shipping company and the dock could see it.
After the trial implementation of AMS, large-scale shipping companies such as Evergreen, APL, Maersk, COSCO, CSCL, etc. are also connected to AMS, but the terminal does not have it, so the customs release in AMS, these shipping companies and NVOCC AMS FILER can be seen simultaneously, The shipping company helps the terminal system to be updated at the same time. Relatively small shipping companies, such as Sinotrans, LYKES, GWS, etc., do not have network AMS, so they can only release the NVOCC letter of guarantee and the copy of the customs pass (CUSTOMS FORM 3461) by faxing the NVOCC AMS FILER. These shipping companies receive the fax Then manually update the dock system.
(2) The terminal/shipping company releases the cargo. The terminal and the shipping company are connected to the network. If the freight is prepaid and the bill of lading is released electronically, as soon as the customs release, the terminal will automatically release the goods to the truck company. American customers do not need to exchange orders, so the American agent has no way to help deduct the goods, which is completely different from China. Therefore, if the loading port has not received the freight from the customer, do not make the shipping company's B/L telegram release or prepay the freight.
(3) For the goods released from the inland to the inland, the shipping company will give a PICK UP# after customs clearance. The agent will notify C/ after getting the PICK UP#. The truck company will pick up the goods with this number. This number will wait: A. Cargo arrives at the yard and is loaded and loaded from the train. B. After the customs release, C. After the shipping company releases, it can be obtained. If any item is missing, it cannot be obtained. Therefore, inland goods need to take a long time to track, until C/receives PICK UP#.
1. About Bond
Bond is actually a proxy for import insurance. Specifically, when the importer fails to pick up the goods or abandons the goods for uncertain reasons, the US Customs not only conducts the expected auction of the goods, but also can apply to the insurance company to claim other operating expenses of the goods imported into the United States, such as stockpiling. fee etc.
Note: Not buying Bond is equivalent to not filing with U.S. Customs. Even if ISF is sent, it cannot be imported for customs clearance. At the same time, the goods will be rejected by the customs and may require a fine after they arrive at the port.
Check the official website of U.S. Customs Information to know, The U.S. Customs and Border Protection Bonds (CBP Bonds). Bond is a kind of US importer, that is, the party who undertakes the guarantee of customs affairs, and needs to buy a deposit. In order to prevent importers from fines due to certain factors, the US customs can deduct money from Bond, so all goods imported into the United States need to buy Bond.
If the value of goods imported into the United States for commercial purposes exceeds $2,500, or if the import of goods that fall under the entry control requirements of other US federal agencies (such as firearms or food, etc.) Bond.
The guarantors of the U.S. Customs Service Guarantee are all companies certified by the U.S. government. The U.S. Department of Treasury website (https://www.fiscal.treasury.gov/surety-bonds/list-certified-companies.html) publishes and updates the list of surety companies eligible to provide U.S. Customs guarantees (Treasury Department Circular 570).
2. Types of Bond
Since it is a Bond that acts as an insurance, it will definitely be divided. According to the age of Bond, it is divided into the following two categories:
A. Year Bond [Continuous Bond]. From the literal meaning, you can know that the annual bond only needs to be purchased once a year, which is more suitable for shippers who have frequent import and export logistics during the year. Continuous Bonds that can provide guarantees for multiple customs operations.
B. Single Bond [Single Transaction Bond], referred to as STB for short. Some goods may have dumping risks, and the US customs will accordingly require them to purchase STB to avoid losses.
In addition, the current US Customs provides a new guarantee business, namely intellectual property sample bond (IPR Sample Bonds) applicable to intellectual property rights holders, and intellectual property sample bond is a kind of continuous guarantee.
In addition to the above-mentioned bonds that are only applicable to customs matters, businesses can also use Consolidated Bonds. This guarantee not only guarantees customs compliance and customs duties, but also guarantees the guaranteed person's compliance with other import and export laws and regulations.
3. How to calculate the guarantee amount of continuous guarantee?
The minimum insured amount for both types of Bond is $100. Taking the customs affairs guarantee of the importer or customs broker as an example, the minimum guarantee amount of the continuous guarantee is calculated based on 10% of the total amount of duties, taxes and fees paid by the guaranteed person in the past 12 months. Also, add items such as the amount of unpaid taxes and fees.
The continuous guarantee is valid for one year or until the importer or guarantor cancels the guarantee letter. U.S. Customs will periodically review whether the continuous guarantee is sufficient to ensure the compliance and tax liability of the insured. It is important to note that the guaranteed amount is not the premium. Premiums are paid to the guarantor.
4. How to choose Bonds?
Enterprises can choose SingleTransaction Bonds, STB, or ContinuousBonds. The cost of continuous guarantee for the same customs business is obviously higher than that of one-time guarantee, but the cost of continuous guarantee is evenly shared on each customs business guaranteed, which is obviously more cost-effective than one-time guarantee.
Which Bond to choose depends not simply on the amount of guarantee and premium, but on the frequency and type of business that the company imports goods into the United States. For occasional imports, a one-time guarantee is recommended. Continuous Bonding is the best option in terms of efficiency and economy if goods are frequently imported into the United States and through various ports of entry.
