Customs clearance
When shipping goods to/from the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), an importer/exporter should fulfil certain customs formalities, primarily to file a customs declaration.
The umbrella term for these operations is “customs clearance”.
What exactly is customs clearance?
We at IFCG divide this process into two phases (demonstrated below for the case of import into EAEU ):
1. Preparation phase (pre-arrival)
It requires to:
- draw up commercial documents (contracts, invoices, etc.) compliant with customs regulations;
- obtain permits (licenses, notifications, certificates, etc.);
- calculate and pay customs duties;
- prepare statutory and other required documents for further registration as importer/exporter, etc.
2. Customs operations (post-arrival)
It requires to:
- deliver goods to a customs warehouse (TSF, temporary storage facility);
- carry out preliminary inspection of the goods (if necessary);
- declare goods;
- communicate with customs authorities (respond to queries, clarify cargo-related issues);
- handle goods inspection (if required by customs);
- release goods from customs;
- receive them (and the declaration with a “Customs cleared” stamp) at the TSF.
Who is a customs representative?
Since the customs procedures are complicated and specific, the EAEU laws introduced customs representatives.
These are companies with a license to provide customs clearance services.
What do we offer?
As a licensed customs representative, we offer two business models:
1. Full customs clearance
An integrated package of services including:
- preparation of all the necessary documents (including import licenses and permits);
- filling out customs declarations;
- filing documents to a customs post, etc.
2. Specific operations on your behalf
In this model, we can fill in and file a customs declaration, arrange inspection of your goods and so on.
IFCG makes customs clearance easy:
-
Explain your situation and send us a product description
Our team will:
— figure out optimal import/export and customs clearance options;
— identify the necessary set of documents;
— provide you with the detailed calculation of costs and terms.
If you have any questions, we would be happy to answer them. -
Together with you, we go through preparation phase
We help you do all the paperwork (commercial and shipping documents, permits) in compliance with customs regulations. If required, our experts will draw up and translate these documents (contracts, invoices, goods description) and obtain import licenses and permits.
We negotiate on challenging issues with customs in advance. It prevents delays and other customs-related contingencies. -
We arrange customs formalities upon arrival of goods
You don't need to visit the customs post — we manage all communications with customs, answer their queries and questions on your behalf.
Ultimately, you will get your goods and a customs declaration with a “Customs cleared” stamp.
How do we work?
Russian customs is known to be among the most demanding and unpredictable regulators. Hence, when giving advice to our clients, we try to explain in plain language all the subtleties, requirements and potential risks of import/export operations.
IFCG experts have a good command of English and can easily communicate with international partners. Our foreign clients especially appreciate our ability to address all the issues directly with the seller of goods.
We can also assist with EAC (Eurasian Conformity) Marking for each type of product. It is now mandatory in all the EAEU countries.
If customs clearance of your shipment requires a special permit (e.g. a license, notification, certificate, etc.), we can do preparatory work on obtaining it from a relevant state agency.
No need for additional intermediaries. Unlike many other customs representatives, we have a dedicated team with relevant expertise for such assignments.
That said, we do not require permits unless they are a must.
We closely interact with customs and know what reasons to give to prevent unnecessary paperwork.
On average, customs formalities take just 1 working day (from the date of goods’ arrival at the TSF).
We prevent delays and other contingencies, as we thoroughly prepare documentation and communicate with customs post administration on probable challenges of a specific shipment.
For long-term cooperation, we are ready to discuss flexible pricing based on the volume and number of shipments.
Thus, the more goods you ship, the less you spend on brokerage services.
What do our clients value most?
HONESTY AND TRANSPARENCY
Just as a good dentist will never treat a healthy tooth, IFCG will never waste your time on unnecessary paperwork, including permits (certificates, notifications, etc.). We closely cooperate with customs and know what reasons to give to prevent extra papers!
ALWAYS IN TOUCH
The interests of our clients come first, along with our commitment to high performance. If required, our clients can reach us 24/7 (even on weekends and holidays) with urgent issues related to goods release and get them solved.
RELIEF
You don't need to contract additional intermediaries — we know how to obtain permits from various state bodies.
TOP-QUALITY SERVICES
We are committed to deliver tailored approach to every single task, be it that of a giant corporation or an SMB representative. We seek long-term win-win business relations and do our best for every single client.