Each month, many U.S. businesses head to search engines and enter the phrase: “How long does customs clearance take?” This article will explain why this question should be IRRELEVANT to U.S. importers and, if it’s not, what you should do to ensure your customs clearance process is smooth and fast.
Why Do People Search on the Phrase “How Long Does Customs Clearance Take?”
If an importer is asking this question, then the company’s goods are probably stuck in Customs and they’re not getting answers from their customs broker or forwarder. Meanwhile, the one responsible is fielding testy emails from sales, and even the boss, about when the goods will become available.
A smaller group of people might be researching the question for the right reason: they’re estimating lead times for a new project to calculate door-to-door transit time.
In either case, the question should be irrelevant because customs clearance should occur prior to cargo arrival. Unless your goods are part of the 3% of ocean containers that are randomly inspected at import in the U.S., there is ample time, while the cargo is in transit, to file the necessary paperwork to clear Customs and have the goods available immediately upon arrival.
If that’s not happening, you need to work with your forwarder, customs broker and suppliers to figure out an effective customs clearance process.
Dimerco clears cargo on average five days prior to cargo arrival. Whether it’s five days or one day, it doesn’t much matter. The important thing is there should be no need to factor in extra time for clearance.
The Importance of Smooth Customs Clearance
Any kind of delay may throw your schedule out of whack and jeopardize your delivery promise date. In the event of a container inspection, how long customs clearance takes may depend on the type of exam. Here are the types of Customs inspections done in the U.S. and how long they can last:
- Random “non-intrusive inspection” (NII), also known as a VACIS exam. These will take 1–2 days, on average. Basically, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers just run your container through an x-ray machine. As long as no anomalies are found and the goods seen through the x-ray match the manifest description, the goods will clear quickly.
- Tail Gate exam. These are done at the ocean terminal, where the Customs officer breaks the seal of the container and looks inside. If everything is found in order, they release the container. These take 3–5 days, on average.
- Intensive exam. This is the most significant exam and requires the entire container to be trucked to an off-port Customs Exam Site (CES) where the container is stripped. CES personnel unload the container, segregate designated boxes and ready the goods for examination by a Customs Officer. This process can take 5–7 days, and even longer if the port or exam site gets backed up. Air shipment examinations usually only take a few days no matter the exam type, as they often happen on site, cargo is usually already broken down, and they involve smaller quantities than ocean freight.
Container delays have many potential ill effects. For one, you could miss your delivery window with a retailer and either have the order cancelled or pay a penalty. Delays also mess with final-mile delivery. Trucking companies depend on reliable schedules to stay efficient. When Customs inspections force you to delay or reschedule with truckers, there’s no guarantee that drivers and trucks will be available when containers are. This then leads to demurrage and detention charges.
On top of all these negative consequences, in the U.S. you pay for the inspection, with the cost of intensive exams easily reaching USD $2,500 and beyond.
You can’t do anything about random exams. But you want to do everything in your power to avoid having your cargo flagged by Customs officials and subject to delays.
Typical Causes of Customs Delays
Delays are usually a factor of late or incorrect paperwork – either by you, as the importer, or your overseas supplier. For instance, Importer Security Filings (ISF) must be submitted at least 24 hours before cargo is loaded onto a ship. If you’re late, you’ll pay a USD $5,000 fine and it could trigger an inspection.
Another trigger for U.S. Customs inspections, and a hot button issue right now with CBP, is the description of the merchandise on the bill of lading or airway bill. This is key because this description gets carried over to the manifest. Broad descriptions like “accessories” or “household goods” do not give Customs sufficient detail to know what it is you’re importing. Household Goods, for instance, could be pillowcases or large furniture – very different kinds of merchandise. Here are a couple of real examples of how poor merchandise descriptions led to delays.
- An importer was experiencing consistent delays in delivery of urgently needed replacement parts for a key customer because the description on the transport document was “replacement parts.” Replacement parts for what? Once the proper steps were taken to correct the challenge – properly describing the goods as AC unit replacement parts on the bill of lading and hiring a reliable broker that advocated for the company with CBP – future shipments moved smoothly.
- One importer was bringing in costume jewelry in the shape of a seashell. The description of the goods on the bill of lading was “seashell earrings.” Seashell jewelry requires clearance from U.S. Fish & Wildlife Services. That led to a 10-day delay because of a well-meaning, but improper, description for Customs purposes. Next time the goods were described as “silver earrings.”
Don’t make the mistake of rushing to complete a form to save a few seconds, as that shortcut could cost you a few days in cargo delays.
Your suppliers also need to be disciplined in terms of how and when they complete paperwork. But in the end it’s on you to provide the guidance they need to manage the shipping process properly.
Are there situations when you can do everything right and Customs still flags your container due to a problem? Yes, if it’s LCL freight, which puts you at the mercy of the least compliant party in the container. If you’re one of 10 importers in a container and just one files their ISF late, you’re stuck.
Getting to the Root of the Problem
If Customs delays are a problem, you need to follow basic operational disciplines and identify the root cause of persistent problems to make sure they don’t keep happening. Leaving random inspections aside, for other Customs holds you can identify the reason by digging into CBP data. Types of U.S. Customs holds include:
- Manifest Hold– Based on incorrect, unclear or missing data on the carrier’s manifest, as well as ISF data.
- Statistical Validation Hold– Triggered by data discrepancies, such as when the monetary value or the weight listed for the cargo is significantly different than what is typically listed for similar cargo.
- Commercial Enforcement Hold– This broad definition addresses potential issues under either CBP regulations or those of other U.S. government agencies that regulate imports. CBP is the watchdog for all of them (e.g. FDA, USDA, FCC and others).
- PGA Hold– Many Participating Government Agencies (PGAs), such as the FDA or USDA can tell CBP to hold a shipment to ensure that it complies with the agency’s regulations.
- CET Hold (A-TCET)– This is triggered by the Anti-Terrorism Contraband Enforcement Team looking for drugs, guns and other illegal imports, like products that infringe on another company’s trademark or that pose a danger to consumers.
If you can’t determine the cause of the hold through readily available information, it’s possible to speak to a person at CBP about your issue – even the person who is looking at your cargo. To do this, it helps to work with an experienced customs broker who knows exactly where to go. If you don’t have an experienced customs broker, perhaps it’s time to find one.
Not to point fingers, but…once you learn why your goods were flagged, you need to find the source of the error. Was it your broker? Your foreign supplier? Someone on your team? Again, the important thing is to understand what went wrong and not make the same mistake again.
Tips on Getting to Zero Wait Time for Customs Clearance
Here are a few suggestions to minimize Customs inspections and delays.
- Become CTPAT-certified. Shipments by CTPAT-certified importers are assigned a lower risk value compared to importers who are not CTPAT-certified, reducing the likelihood of Customs inspection. CTPAT members are also assigned a CBP Supply Chain Security Specialist, an ambassador-like person at CBP that you can call for help when there’s a customs delay. NOTE: some commodities, like flammables and combustibles, are considered high-risk and will experience high inspection rates just by the nature of the goods, regardless of CTPAT status.
- Secure Continuous Customs Bonds. Customs bonds guarantee payment of duties and taxes that may be due on your imports. If you import regularly, you should buy a continuous bond that covers all imports into the U.S. for a year to alleviate any chance of delays for lack of bond coverage. You’ll find information on this in our Global Shipping 101 guide to international air and ocean shipping.
- Develop Clear SOPs. You want to lay out clear expectations – to your forwarder, customs broker and suppliers – about how and when shipping and customs documents are to be completed, and you want to hold them accountable. The form of this communication – handbook, process document, etc. – isn’t as important as clearly stating expectations in writing and having all your partners aligned. Your documentation should include a section on metrics and expected performance against these measures.
Your Best Antidote to Customs Clearance Problems in the U.S. is a Reliable Freight Forwarder and Customs Broker
As we said at the start, the question “How long should customs clearance take?” should be irrelevant if you have a buttoned-up clearance process with the right forwarding and customs broker partners in place.
With your partners, you should set the clear expectation that the customs entry will ALWAYS be filed in advance, and that the goal is for 100% of your imported cargo to be cleared prior to arrival. If that is NOT going to happen, your partner should proactively notify you of the problem and the cause so that quick action can be taken.
For instance, if your broker is up against a deadline because they have not received needed documents from a foreign supplier, you need to know that so you can take action. If your partners are more reactive than proactive, that’s a red flag you need to address – because it’s likely costing you significant time and money.
Are you experiencing customs clearance delays? Dimerco Express Group is a global freight forwarding company and 3PL that combines international transportation management with experienced customs brokerage and trade compliance services. Reach out today to start a conversation.
