What your customs broker needs from your supplier

Clearance is the part of importing that goes wrong most often, and almost always for the same reason: a document that was requested after the goods shipped rather than prepared alongside them.

Here is what to ask a supplier for, and what your broker does with each piece.

The five documents

1. Commercial invoice. The core document. It states what the goods are, the quantity, the value, the currency, the terms of sale and the parties. Your broker uses it for valuation and as the basis of the declaration.

The frequent problem is description. “T-shirts” is not enough. It should describe the garment, the fibre composition and the construction, because those are what determine the commodity code.

2. Packing list. What is in each carton, carton dimensions, gross and net weights, carton count and markings. Used for clearance and by your warehouse to check the consignment in.

3. Bill of lading. The transport document issued by the carrier. Your broker needs it to arrange release, and your forwarder will normally handle it — but the details on it have to match the invoice and packing list exactly.

4. Certificate of origin. Evidence of where the goods were produced. Required for the declaration and essential if a preferential duty rate is being claimed.

5. Fibre composition. Not always a separate document, but it must be stated somewhere and be correct — it drives both the garment label and the commodity code.

The three facts behind them

Your broker does the classifying. What they need from you, sourced from the factory:

What is it made of, exactly. 100% combed cotton and 60/40 poly-cotton are different codes. So is a garment with elastane in it.

How is it constructed. Knitted or woven changes the chapter entirely. For knits, whether it is a t-shirt, a polo with a placket, or a sweatshirt affects the heading.

Where was it made. Not where it shipped from — where it was produced, under the origin rules that apply.

Supply those three accurately and your broker can classify correctly. Supply them vaguely and you get either a delay while they ask, or a guess that becomes your problem at audit.

Ask for it up front, in writing

The single most useful sentence you can put in a first order:

Please prepare the commercial invoice, packing list and certificate of origin alongside the shipment, and send drafts for checking before the container is sealed.

Drafts before sealing is the important half. A wrong description on an invoice is a five-minute fix while the goods are still in the factory and a genuine problem once they are on the water.

Where the responsibility actually sits

The declaration is made in your name. Classification, valuation and origin are your legal responsibility as the importer, however good your broker and however cooperative your factory.

That is why classification, duty rates and preference claims are your broker’s territory and not your supplier’s. A factory that offers you a confident duty number is guessing with your money. Confirm your position with your own broker before you cost a programme.

What a factory can and should do is supply accurate facts and complete documents. What it cannot do is tell you what you will pay.

Choosing a broker, if you do not have one

Most small brands use their freight forwarder’s in-house brokerage, which is usually the right answer — one relationship, one point of contact, and the documents flow between the same people.

Three things worth asking before you appoint anyone:

• Do you clear apparel regularly? Textile classification has its own quirks, and a broker who mostly handles machinery will be slower and less certain.
• How do you want the documents, and by when? Get the deadline into your supplier instructions rather than discovering it on the day.
• Will you review a draft invoice before shipment? Many will, and it is the single cheapest error-prevention step available.

The common gaps

Five things that hold up clearance more than anything else:

• Invoice description too vague to classify from
• Value stated inconsistently across documents
• Origin certificate missing or naming a different entity
• Fibre composition on the invoice not matching the label on the garment
• Carton counts or weights disagreeing between the packing list and the bill of lading

Every one of these is preventable by reviewing drafts before the container is sealed, which is also the moment a pre-shipment inspection can catch a labelling error while it is still the factory’s problem.

Getting the label and the paperwork to agree

The fibre composition on your commercial invoice and the fibre composition on the garment label are the same fact, and they must match. If your factory applies market labelling, ask to see both together before shipping — what has to be on a UK label is the same information the broker is classifying from.

Consistency here is unglamorous and it is the difference between a clean clearance and a query.

If the requirements have moved

For UK importers, what actually changed after Brexit covers EORI, the UK tariff and rules of origin. Requirements do move, which is exactly why the answer to “what duty will I pay” is always the same: ask your broker, this quarter, about your goods.

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We prepare the commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading and certificate of origin alongside every consignment and will send drafts for your broker to check before the container is sealed. We supply UK brands and wholesalers from 300 pieces per style per colour — tell us who your broker is and we will send them what they need directly.