Guides
How the work actually goes.
Written from the desk that files the declarations, for the people whose goods are on the water. No theory, and nothing that only makes sense to somebody who has never stood at a terminal.
- 01The list you found only tells you what was true the day it was written.Restricted goods
- 02The bill of lading is title to the cargo, not just a receipt for it.Bill of lading
- 03The duty waits in the warehouse until an ex-bond declaration brings the stock out, as needed.Bonded warehousing
- 04Two importers can land the same container at two different costs.Importer status
- 05A clearance is several payments, not one fee.Charges
- 06From your supplier's invoice to your container at the gate.Process
- 07Why your consignment goes green, yellow or red, and what happens next.Channels
- 08What makes a shipment dangerous goods, and what that changes at clearance.Dangerous goods
- 09Two different clocks, charged by two different people.Demurrage
- 10What has to be in the file before we can declare it.Documents
- 11A DRAP import NOC covers one shipment. An establishment licence covers the business.DRAP
- 12Drawback is claimed at export, and paid after the ship sails.Duty drawback
- 13EFS defers the duty on your inputs until the export obligation is discharged.EFS
- 14What changed when assessment went faceless, and what it means for your file.Faceless assessment
- 15Four things have to be true before you place the order, not after it ships.First import
- 16Two different jobs. One moves the cargo, the other answers for the declaration.Who does what
- 17It goes in under your name, whoever typed it.Goods Declaration
- 18The code that clears your goods runs to eight digits, not six.HS codes
- 19What your supplier writes on the invoice is what gets queried here.Importing from China
- 20There is no import licence. Here is what actually lets you import.Import licence
- 21The document that decides whether your goods can enter at all.Import Policy Order
- 22The Incoterm on your invoice decides what customs charges duty on.Incoterms
- 23An LC gets your supplier paid. It does not get your consignment declared.Letters of credit
- 24Marine insurance is optional. What it adds to your customs value is not.Cargo insurance
- 25The tariff is not one list — it is a set of schedules, and it changes every budget.Tariff
- 26A shipment on PSQCA's compulsory list does not clear without a Release Order.PSQCA
- 27The profile that has to exist before a declaration can be filed.PSW registration
- 28Self-clearance is legal. Here is when it actually works.Self clearance
- 29A Special Economic Zone and an Export Processing Zone are not run by the same body.SEZ and EPZ
- 30The goods come in without duty on the promise they go back out, and something has to stand behind that promise.Temporary import
- 31The first leg into Iran and on to Central Asia starts at a Karachi berth. The border crossing is not ours to run.Transit
- 32A ruling decides your value before your invoice does.Valuation