Glossary
What is a customs examination?
A customs examination is a documentary or physical check of a consignment by customs officers to verify that the goods match what was declared. Entries are selected mainly by risk profiling rather than at random. |
What triggers a customs examination?
- Risk profiling against commodity code, origin, value, route and the trader’s own history
- Inconsistencies between the declaration, commercial invoice and packing list
- Controlled or licensable goods, or goods subject to a trade remedy
- A small proportion selected at random regardless of profile
What happens, and who pays?
A documentary check may need nothing more than paperwork. A physical check means the load is directed to an examination facility, opened and sometimes scanned or fully unpacked. The importer carries the cost throughout haulage to the site, handling, storage and any devanning, on top of the delay itself.
How to reduce the odds
Consistent, accurate declarations build a compliance history that the risk engine reads. AEO holders face fewer checks by design. The most common avoidable trigger is the simplest one: a goods description too vague for an officer to match against the commodity code.
iCustoms cross-checks invoice, packing list and declaration before filing, so mismatches never reach the border. |
