Customs and compliance notes from our Shenzhen desk

Short working notes on the questions importers ask us before a China-origin shipment is filed. Each one sets out the documents, the responsibility split and the failure point we see most often.

All notes

1. Who to call when an air shipment is held at the airport — airport cargo contacts
2. Why the entry summary matters after the container is released — entry summary records
3. When a bonded movement actually postpones duty — bonded movement
4. Who can be named as exporter of record on a China booking — exporter of record
5. The Canada invoice fields that trigger the most queries — Canada customs invoice fields
6. Where cost and risk split under CFR — CFR cost and risk cutover
7. Why a low unit price still produces a high UK landed cost — UK landed cost
8. Writing a goods description that survives a customs query — customs goods description
9. Budgeting an out-of-gauge machinery shipment from Shenzhen — out-of-gauge machinery freight
10. Checking countervailing duty exposure before a China shipment — countervailing duty exposure
11. The CPT handover point and the insurance gap — CPT handover and insurance
12. How we hand over a shipment file and report exceptions — handover and exception updates
13. Choosing between a continuous bond and a single-entry bond — customs bond selection
14. Splitting export filing and US import filing between two brokers — origin and destination broker split
15. What export clearance actually covers at a Chinese port — export clearance scope
16. What a customs power of attorney actually authorises — customs power of attorney scope
17. Declared value, assists and the parts buyers forget — declared customs value
18. Why the invoice total is not always the customs value — invoice value vs customs value
19. Why DDU still appears in old contracts and what replaced it — DDU and DAP replacement
20. DPU and the one place where the seller must unload — DPU terminal delivery
21. Duty, tariff and tax are three different lines on a landed cost — duty tariff and tax lines
22. The China export declaration file we build before cutoff — China export declaration
23. FAS works only when the cargo genuinely sits alongside the vessel — FAS alongside vessel
24. FCA or FOB for containerised cargo from Shenzhen — FCA versus FOB for containers
25. Auditing a freight invoice after the shipment closes — post-shipment freight audit
26. What actually determines how long clearance takes — clearance timeline variables
27. Building classification evidence before you file — classification evidence
28. HS, HTS and Schedule B codes cover different jobs — HS HTS and Schedule B scope
29. The document pack for a first import from China — first import document pack
30. ISF 10+2 timing on a China to US ocean shipment — ISF 10 plus 2 timing
31. How a Canadian RPP bond interacts with import GST — Canada RPP bond and GST
32. Sea waybill or bill of lading for a China import — sea waybill versus bill of lading
33. Which seaport contacts actually resolve a held container — seaport customs contacts
34. Choosing an Incoterms 2020 rule that matches the physical routing — choosing an Incoterms 2020 rule
35. Setting up repeat shipments for importers and wholesalers — repeat shipment setup
36. Checking Section 301 exposure before quoting a landed cost — Section 301 tariff exposure
37. CIF insurance cover and the point where risk passes — CIF insurance and risk
38. The evidence that proves a CPT handover happened — CPT handover evidence
39. DAP delivery, duties and the buyer's clearance role — DAP delivery and duties
40. Why EXW often breaks down on China-origin exports — EXW export clearance limits
41. Naming the FCA place precisely enough to settle a dispute — FCA named place
42. FOB in day-to-day Shenzhen port practice — FOB Shenzhen practice
43. What a US customs exam means for the shipment schedule — US customs examination
44. Bonded warehousing changes when duty is paid, not whether — bonded warehouse duty timing
45. When an origin certificate supports a preference claim — origin certificate evidence
46. AMS filing and why it must precede vessel loading — AMS pre-loading filing
47. The import general manifest and the destination filing — import general manifest
48. The records a duty drawback claim depends on — duty drawback records
49. A VAT number is not the same as permission to defer import VAT — VAT number and deferment eligibility

• Customs clearance support from Shenzhen
• Ocean freight from Shenzhen
• Air freight from Shenzhen
• EU VAT deferment shipping
• Section 337 investigation logistics
• Freight and customs FAQ
• Logistics insights and guides
• Request a routed freight quote