There are several important things to know about the customs clearance process for importing goods in Indonesia, including clearance procedures, clearance service fees and the right way to choose the right importer of record agent for your company’s logistics needs.
Understand customs clearance services
Customs clearance is an activity that takes care of tax, administrative and other related matters regarding export and import goods until the approval is granted so that the goods can be passed on or issued, usually you need an importer of record agent to handle this in imported country.
In the international trade process, activities like these are mandatory. This is because by passing through these various complicated administrations, goods entering from other countries or goods going to other countries can be considered legal, official goods by passing through the trade regulations that apply there.
For the layman, it is very complicated to go through the process until the goods leave the country. Especially with customs issues. It is not a matter of enter, pick up, then leave and the process is complete. Don’t!!! Not like that.
Some countries apply a rather complex process. Which certainly leads to confusion for people who have never dealt with it before. For those of you who are confused, here are some questions that are often asked by people who are stuck in this problem. Who knows which of these questions represents your question as well.
What is the customs clearance procedure running?
There are many customs clearance procedures you have to go through before an item of yours can be imported or exported to another country. But in general there are 6 procedures.
Let’s take the example of importing goods to Indonesia. Here, ships from abroad must first report to customs. This is the pre-entry permit. Until the next procedure, the goods that the ship carries are checked by customs.
After passing the pre-entry permit, one then goes through the reporting process about the approval of the goods to customs. Later, the goods are stored in the warehouse before the importer declares that the goods may or may not enter the Indonesian market. At this time, as an importer, you will be asked for important documents, importer profiles and import insurance letters. Goods entering Indonesia will be inspected. And this inspection is done during working hours. You will also have to pay taxes for the imported goods through the foreign exchange bank.
Read more about How to prevent goods stuck and detained by customs
What documents are needed for Indonesia customs?
In each country there are documents that are required to pass. However, it can not be guaranteed that all the required documents are the same, because each state regulation has differences. The document is divided into two, namely the documents required for import and export. But in principle, the documents are the same. Customs declaration Commercial Invoice Bill of lading or air waybill Import license Insurance certificate Letter of credit or purchase order Industry Permit (if applicable) RCMC (if applicable) Test Report (if applicable), it just better to find importer of record agent in local country to handle the clearance.
How long will customs clearance take?
There is no time limit. That is, it may or may not be long. But usually the process can take two, three, and even weeks. In Indonesia alone, the process can take anywhere from 3 to 14 days. But in practice, the processing time can be more than 14 days. This has led to importers taking the wrong path out of impatience. Still, you should not copy it.
What are the customs fees?
For Indonesia customs, it can be expensive, it can be mediocre. In addition, there are a number of things that must be avoided so that your customs fees do not increase drastically. This means that you should be careful not to hire the wrong person with a customs broker / importer of record agent. As a result, customs fees can go from hundreds to tens of thousands of dollars.
How can I make sure the customs process goes smoothly?
By taking care of these things, you can speed up the custom clearance process until the goods finally reach the recipient quickly and avoid time delays. There are two ways you can do this for Indonesia customs.
1. Make sure you load the goods you are shipping into the correct containers
If not, customs will take action and make the selection process even longer. Incorrect loading can lead to extensive inspections. Therefore, it is your duty as a shipper to load the shipping containers properly. This is the most important thing and very important. You should not overlook or ignore this.
2. Provide complete and accurate information about your customs freight forwarder
As you already know, in order to complete this Custom Clearance process, we must provide many documents. For this reason, it is desirable that all of your informational data from the documents you provide is as complete as possible. Providing complete and accurate information will allow the process to run smoothly and quickly.
Is customs clearance that difficult and tedious to complete?
The short answer is yes.
For normal people or those who have never made shipments abroad, they must feel confused with all the procedures, documents, costs and much more. For this reason, we recommend that you only use services. That is, avail a trusted and experienced Custom Clearance Service in their field to take care of all your customs administration and costs. And for those of you who are not sure whether to use a Custom Clearance company or services, we have a solution for you.
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