Customs Clearance Issues
All imported goods are subject to Customs
clearance in every country. When you buy from Chinavasion, the goods are sent
from China. Therefore you are importing, and you are the importer responsible
for the goods when the goods pass through Customs in your destination country. According to our general
terms and conditions, you may order anything you like from Chinavasion and we
will fulfil your order, but it remains totally your responsibility to find out
in advance if the products are permissible to import into your destination
country, and if so what clearance requirements, taxes, policies etc apply in
that country. Chinavasion cannot and will not offer advice or pre-shipment
information on Customs issues in any regard.
From over 3 years of shipping thousands of orders a week, we can confirm
that in over 99.9% of shipments from Chinavasion there is no issue whatsoever
with Customs clearance. Furthermore in the majority of the rare cases
subject to a delay in Customs, the goods are released and delivered
successfully. This is because the clearance via normal shipping methods
(couriers or post) is handled professionally by the shipping company, and
Chinavasion is an experienced provider of correct shipping documentation and
compliant products and packaging.
You need to be aware that, since any order you make on Chinavasion.com will
pass through your country's Customs, the Customs have the right to hold and
inspect your goods according to their policies.
Every country's Customs has different policies, and these policies can vary
substantially, for example...
- ...from port to port
- ...from day to day or from one Custom's staff member to another
- ...depending on the volume of packages requiring clearance on any
particular day
- ...depending on the security levels and political climate of the moment
- ...depending on the package shipment method
- ...depending on the package origin
- ...depending on the package, weight, shape, packing, size, profile,
x-ray results, etc
- ...depending on the package contents
- ...depending on the declared or assessed valuation of the package
contents
- ...depending on the paperwork accompanying the shipment
- ...depending on random inspection timetables or scheduled batch checks
for particular criteria
As the importer, you bear sole responsibility for the clearance of the
goods any issues that may arise from an inspection or hold. Typically, the
consignee of the shipped packets is taken as the importer in any problem
case.
If you are dropshipping, it is important to note that the consignee of the
goods is your customer, and therefore they will be liable for any assessed
import duties, sales taxes, or issues arising from Customs inspection.
In most countries, depending on the category of goods imported and the
quantity or value, the shipment will be assessed for duties and /or sales tax.
That is your responsibility as the importer and you can find detailed notes from
Chinavasion
here.
In The Case Of A Customs Hold
- Chinavasion will contact you to discuss the issue openly.
- You will typically be required to communicate directly with your
country's Customs, or contact them via your courier company.
- If additional documents are required, Chinavasion will do our utmost to
provide the documents to you and support the goods clearance.
- Your country's Customs can hold goods pending a decision for as long as
they like.
- The final decision about assessing, valuing, taxing, releasing/refusing,
seizing the goods is entirely down to Customs. In some cases no reasons are
provided, and in many countries the importer has no right of appeal. In most
countries the Customs are hard to communicate with and lack basic public
information or accessible staff contact.
- In the vast majority of cases, the goods are released after a delay
ranging from 1 day to 6 months... the reason for the delay is usually
unknown, and the length of the delay is unfortunately beyond anyone's
control.
- If the goods are refused entry, they will either be destroyed with no
compensation, or turned back so the courier ships them back to Chinavasion.
Under these terms and conditions, which you are agreeing to at the time you
place your order, you are acknowledging you understand your basic
responsibilities as an importer and the resultant liabilities should any
exception occur.
Examples of situations where Chinavasion will compensate you
- If internationally recognised documents such as CE / FCC / Sisvel could not be
supplied fast enough by Chinavasion, and Customs refused entry to the goods.
- If you made a valid request for customization of the shipping paperwork,
and we agreed to follow your instructions but failed to do so.
- If we made any other serious error on the paperwork accompanying the
goods.
- If the goods were delayed or impounded by China Exit Customs rather than
your own country's Customs.
- If a Customs inquiry reveals a valid IPR issue with the products.
Chinavasion never knowingly markets/sells counterfeit products or any
products/packaging infringing intellectual property of any parties.
Examples of situations where you are not entitled to compensation
- If you refused to accept the goods.
- If the goods could not clear due to import restrictions that are
specific to your own country, e.g. FDA approval of products (USA),
country-specific certification, restricted categories of goods, quotas,
so-called anti-dumping enforcement etc.
- If you refused to accept applicable taxes or other charges associated
with the import procedure.
- If you refused to pay additional charges or fines resulting from
Customs' re-assessment of the classification or value of the goods.
- If you were unable to accept the goods due to laws in your country such
as a lack of an import licence.
- If Customs refused entry to your goods because you failed to provide
paperwork or other information in a timely manner, OR provided incorrect
paperwork or information.
- If Customs refused entry to your goods but they did not provide a
reason, OR we were unable to confirm sufficient detail of the supposed
reason.
- If Customs refused entry to your goods due to a supposed IPR issue, but
in our opinion this is unsubstantiated.
- If Customs are still holding the goods after a period of at least 6
weeks and after our best efforts we have no further detail about the reason
for the hold or any probable resolution to the case.
- If clearance failed due to lack of licences / documents / certificates
which are specific to your country and Chinavasion deems it beyond the
reasonable scope of our Shipping Team to provide these documents in the
absence of any pre-shipment communication from you.
- If Customs refused entry to your goods or levied increased taxes,
charges, or fines associated with the classification or declared value of
the goods on the shipping paperwork. We always inform you in advance about
the declaration of your goods, and in the cases of larger shipments you have
to agree to the declaration value explicitly, so this is deemed to be
totally your responsibility.
- If we previously warned you about a possible increased risk of delivery
exceptions due to our experience of shipping to your country, for whatever
reason, but you explicitly agreed to go ahead with the order.
Compensation
- "Compensation" refers to full or partial refund/credit of the amount you
paid for the goods and /or shipping (depending on the situation).
Chinavasion will absolutely not offer any further compensation or accept any
liability in any other regard.
- We reserve the sole right to evaluate the reason for a Customs
exception. We will do this openly based on our communications with the
Courier, your country's Customs, and any evidence you have provided us of
your own communications with the Courier and Customs.
- If the goods are returned to China, but we deem that you were liable for
the failed delivery not us, we may be able to compensate partially, based on
any remaining credit after return delivery fees, China import taxes, and
restocking fees.
- If the goods are impounded, held indefinitely, destroyed, or confiscated
by Customs, and according to the policy above this is not Chinavasion's
responsibility (including where the actual reason for the exception was
never clarified), you will not receive compensation of any kind.
Search online, check with your local Government, local Customs and Chambers
of Commerce, and seek advice on all import regulations and procedures!
To ensure successful delivery, particularly of larger shipments, we strongly
recommend you personally undertake rigorous research of your local destination
laws, regulations, and common practices in relation to imported goods and
taxation.
For large shipments you should always hire a licensed Import Broker.
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