In the era of increasing globalization, one arena that has benefitted a lot from this cross country exchange is international trade. Both importers as well as exporters have had many profitable chances for earning huge margins on the exporting and importing of various goods and services. Not to mention, it also helps in supplying goods that may be in shortage in the importing country. Likewise it also helps to absorb any excess supply in the exporting country. This being said, an important part of international trade is getting clearance from the excise officials at a country. If clearance is denied to a certain consignment of goods or services, then they may lie indefinitely with the customs and in turn cause the importers as well as exporters to incur huge losses. For people who have always wondered- ‘What is a customs broker?’, the answer for them is finally here. A custom broker is an agent or mediator that facilitates the easy and speedy clearance of one’s goods at the customs office in a country.
- Most custom officials tend to give importers a hard time when it comes to the clearance of foreign goods. This is done to increase the costs of foreign goods and hence make them less competitive than the domestically produced goods. In other words, importers are often found to be at the mercy of the customs officials. Another way in which customs officials play spoilsport is by putting a cap on the quantity of goods to be imported or sometimes may be biased against any random product or service at their own discretion. Going to a trusted customs broker can guard traders against such eventualities to a great extent. Speaking of which, another question regarding custom brokers that constantly haunts people is ‘How to choose a customs broker’. One of the first things that people should look for in a person is whether he is certified or not to mediate between the authorities and the traders. Other thing to look out for is whether a customs broker is trustworthy or not and whether the person has any criminal record or not. Ordinarily, a customs broker charges a small commission for the services rendered that is usually a very reasonable amount. Thus, people should choose a broker whose commission is well within their budget. A customs broker can make traders informed about all the rules and regulations regarding import of a certain good, which makes them, follow all the rules and hence rule out any legal discrepancy in the process of importing goods. People can always find good customs brokers in Houston, so that people don’t have move out of their hometown, Houston, in their search for a reliable customs broker.
