There’s no avoiding customs formalities when you ship across international borders. We can help make sure it all happens efficiently, accurately and as quickly as possible.
Prime Parcel® provides door to door international delivery services and our costs include only the transportation of your parcel. Our prices do not include customs charges, or duties and taxes applied by customs in the originating or destination country. Customs is a government body that controls the incoming and outgoing of shipments in a country, and their charges are outside of our control, and applied directly by the local customs authorities in the originating or destination country.
CUSTOMS CLEARANCE
Customs clearance can be time consuming and stressful, which is why we’ve made it our mission to make sure that it all happens as efficiently and accurately as possible. Our customs clearance service is fully managed, which means that export documentation and regulations can be taken care of. Our experts have specialist knowledge in compliance in import and export regulations, so you know you’re in good hands.
Prime Parcel processes millions of Customs entries every day. We use local expertise to understand diverse Customs regulations – which means for our customers – shipments are cleared quickly and efficiently.
CUSTOMS CLASSIFICATION OF ITEMS
To classify products, customs defines goods using a standardised numbering system describing the products make and use.This is referred to as the Customs and excise Tariff. Import and export clearance use this system to determine the appropriate duty or tax rates, as well as any additional documents required.
REQUIRED PAPERWORK
The paperwork and documents that you provide are used at customs clearance points throughout your shipment’s journey. To avoid delays and/or fines, it is therefore incredibly important that the documents and the information you provide is accurate.
A commercial invoice must accompany international shipments, and depending on the goods and the destination other additional documents may be required, such as a Certificate of Origin, ATR or EUR1. You may also require a licence, if you are shipping restricted goods as covered by import or export regulations.
DUTIES AND TAXES
Duties and taxes are based upon the classification of the goods, and the amount to be paid is usually worked out as a percentage of their value. The amount differs from country to country, and is charged on all transactions as a percentage of the value of the goods. These duties and taxes have to be paid before customs will release the goods for delivery.
WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR PAYMENT?
The person receiving the shipment is legally obliged to pay duty and tax except where the person sending the shipment has agreed to accept these charges in a written legal document.
For duties and taxes below £4,000.00, Prime Parcel will pay on behalf of the receiver. In this case, after shipment delivery, Prime Parcel invoices the receiver for the duties and taxes we paid on their behalf at destination, plus a small administration fee. This optional service is called Duties and Taxes Paid (DTP).
We will not be able to deliver your goods to you until payment has been made by you or by us on your behalf.
WHAT IS THE CLEARANCE ADMINISTRATION CHARGE?
Prime Parcel pays the Duty and Tax charges on your behalf (for amounts below £4,000.00) to ensure we can deliver your parcel as quickly as possible. This incurs an administration fee of £25.00.
WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME I WAS GOING TO BE CHARGED?
Where possible, we will contact you in advance with an estimated cost of Duties and Taxes prior to your parcel being assessed by HM Revenue and Customs. However, this is not always possible and we are often not aware of the charges levied until after your parcel has been checked by the HM Revenue and Customs.
I PRE-PAID DUTY AND TAX CHARGES BEFORE DELIVERY
Before your parcel is dispatched, you may be charged an estimated figure. This is calculated prior to an assessment of your shipment by HM Revenue and Customs. If the estimate is lower than the final charge you will be required to pay the difference, and if it is higher we will refund the difference.
If the amount of your invoice is different to the amount you pre-paid, please call our Customer Service on 0845 860 2500.
TRACKING YOUR PARCEL THROUGH CUSTOMS
You can track your parcel's progress on our website all the way from collection to delivery with real time updates on its location and status.
If your shipment is delayed in customs, the tracking status will automatically change to 'On Hold' and you will be able to see that your shipment is awaiting customs clearance, as well as the reason for the clearance delay.
You can contact us to for more information about the clearance delay. However most clearance delays usually occur when the receiver is delaying their payment of the customs charges. The best way to speed things up is to contact them and ask them to pay the charges as soon as possible. Once payment has been received by customs, the shipment can be released for delivery.
TRUST PRIME PARCEL WITH YOUR CUSTOMS CLEARANCE
At Prime Parcel, we’re committed to making sure that we achieve customs-led safety and security standards under various secure supply chain programmes from around the world. We hold the following certifications:
Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) — EU, Switzerland, Norway & Taiwan
Customs, Trade Partnership against Terrorism (C-TPAT) — USA
Partners in Protection (PiP) — Canada
Secure Trade Partnership Plus (StP+) — Singapore
LET US MAKE CUSTOMS A BREEZE
Customs procedures can be difficult, so make sure that you get in contact with our Tax Team via email tax@primeparcel.uk for more information if required.
Also, see FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT TAXES for some additional information.