#1: Select an experienced transport provider

With good customer service and fair rates for the management of your merchandise, the whole journey of importation via air could be super easy. Check with your transport provider the rates, the route of your merchandise and the procedures for the revalidation of your guide, the estimated time of arrival and the contact at destination to present it to your Customs Agent.

#2: Correct selection of Customs Broker

Although customs clearance is simply a link in our supply chain, we must accept that it is a fundamental part and is sensitive to achieve an efficient operation. That is why the selection of our Customs Broker is vital. We recommend you to look for a Customs Broker who has experience in your merchandise, who handles without discriminating the volumes you want to dispatch and who offers you a fair rate. You can check out Clearit USA customs brokerage if you don’t know which broker to go for.

#3: Perform a correct tariff classification

Do not let your customs broker be the only one that classifies the merchandise. Remember that the expert in the merchandise is you. Learn to classify the merchandise and discuss with fundamentals if your classification differs from the opinion of the Customs Broker. We have found many cases in which we managed to classify the merchandise in another fraction, thus achieving lower tariffs and, at the same time, shielding the operation.

#4: Compliance with Regulations and Non-Tariff Restrictions

It is common for the importer to forget or ignore that for some goods they will have to comply with some regulations and non-tariff restrictions such as permits before different government agencies, compliance with official Mexican standards, among others.
The lack of knowledge in the subject causes that the merchandise cannot be dispatched and, in some occasions, the finished importer losing the merchandise by causing abandonment or because the warehouses increased to the degree that it was no longer convenient to import the merchandise.

#5: Make sure you have sufficient funds for the payment of logistical expenses, payment of taxes and payment to the customs broker

Companies can only grant you credit once you are a reliable customer and handle a considerable amount of movement.

#6: Follow up on the operation

Some importers forget to follow up on the operations and this can delay the operation until you could have lost a shipment and you would not even count. Always find out that the goods have left home, remind the Customs Agent of the arrival date (ETA) of your merchandise, make sure to press the customs clearance and remind the logistics company that you have to schedule the collection together with your customs broker. Always track your merchandise. That way, you will see how you eliminate those extra storage expenses and delays that you find in the expense accounts.