Before shipping various goods, a shipper may wonder what customs clearance means and how it’s relevant to their shipping options. Every international ocean freight shipment must meet the quota of customs clearance in each country. Customs clearance is a necessary procedure in permitting goods that are transported to a country through an authorized customs broker. Within this process, there’s also information regarding shipments with imports and exports with parties involved in the process.
A customs broker can assist with HTS codes, which are based on product classification codes between 8-10 digits. The first six digits are HS codes and countries of import include proceeding digits that are provided for additional classification. In addition, determining the country of origin can be difficult to determine for Customs. Country of origin is important for marking. It is defined by the country that goods were assembled or the most work was put into the product.