Timing of Import Declaration and Acceptance for FCL Before Arrival vs. LCL Before Entry to Bonded Area
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In the case of maritime FCL imports, I understand that if there are no customs inspections (import requirements) for the HS Code of the declared goods, an import declaration can be made even before the vessel's arrival. If so, I would like to know if an importer can file a pre-arrival declaration as soon as they obtain the shipping documents from the exporter, and if the declaration can be accepted (cleared) after paying the taxes even before the vessel arrives at the port of destination.
I also handle LCL imports. During my last import, I was informed that for LCL, pre-arrival declaration is not possible, but declaration is allowed before the goods are moved into the bonded area. In that case, if a pre-entry declaration is made for an LCL shipment, will the import declaration acceptance be completed before the cargo is actually moved into the bonded warehouse?
Answer 1
- 01. Timing of Pre-arrival Declaration and Acceptance for Ocean FCL: Once cargo is loaded onto a vessel (or aircraft) and transported domestically, the carrier first submits the inbound Manifest to Customs, and Customs conducts a manifest examination. Subsequently, for cases where the examination is completed, the importer may file an import declaration through a customs broker. The timing of the import declaration is categorized into pre-arrival, before arrival at the bonded area (before entry), and after storage in the bonded area (after entry). Therefore, even if the conditions for pre-arrival declaration—the earliest possible timing—are met, the pre-arrival declaration cannot be made until Customs completes the examination of the manifest submitted by the carrier. If the manifest examination is completed and Customs verifies the electronically submitted import declaration before arrival and designates it as a Paperless (P/L) case, the declaration can be accepted even before the vessel carrying the cargo arrives at and berths at the port of destination and before the cargo is moved into the bonded area (CY). However, the importer, as the taxpayer, must pay the duties and taxes. Even if a pre-arrival declaration has been made, if Customs requests the submission of documents such as shipping documents to prove the declaration details or designates a physical inspection, the declaration may be accepted based on the results after the cargo arrives (in this case, acceptance still requires the payment of taxes). Since physical inspections for FCL shipments cannot be conducted within the CY, if a physical inspection is designated, additional costs such as transportation costs to an inspection site may occur. 2. Timing of Pre-entry Declaration and Acceptance for LCL: Ocean LCL cargo is basically ineligible for pre-arrival declaration. LCL cargo is moved to a CFS designated by the consolidator in a loaded container state even without a D/O (whereas FCL shipments require a D/O to move from CY to CFS via bonded transportation), and import declaration may be possible even before it enters the bonded warehouse. Since import declarations are processed electronically, declaration forms can be submitted even outside of Customs working hours. After Customs reviews the declaration, it is designated as Paperless, Document Submission, or Physical Inspection. For cases declared electronically before entry, even if designated as Paperless, the acceptance of the LCL import declaration is only possible once the entry into the bonded warehouse is electronically registered. Payment of taxes must precede this, and acceptance occurs once the bonded warehouse confirms there are no issues with the arriving goods and the electronic entry process is successfully completed.Machine translated
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