Here at Island Delivery Service, we try to anticipate important questions you may have about our customs brokerage services. You can find the answers to these frequently asked questions here. If you can’t find it here, please send email to ids@idsstx.com and we will respond to you as quickly as possible.
A Customs Broker is a licenced company approved by U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP) to legally represent importers in their dealings with CBP to clear their shipments once they arrived on island. Island Delivery Services plays a vital role in the importing process by ensuring that your shipments will be cleared in compliance with the federal and local government regulations/legislation. Additionally, a Customs Broker can facilitate a formal entry on the importer’s behalf and classify goods according to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule. Island Delivery Service begins to arrange customs clearance for your shipments before they arrive at destination.
Having a Customs Broker means having someone who will constantly and consistently manage all stages of the clearance process for you. Constant changes in government rules and regulations require frequent monitoring and most companies find it too expensive and time consuming to monitor these changes. At Island Delivery Service, individual attention is guaranteed! Our dedicated team will work out any duty and taxes and liaise with Customs & Border Protection (CBP) to ascertain the speedy transit of your goods. It is good business sense to hire a Customs Broker to prioritize the processing and clearance of your goods in an efficient and cost-effective manner.
Unless exempt, all commercial goods imported into the US are subject to customs duty and taxes. In order to determine the applicable duties and taxes, you must verify the tariff classification of your imported goods. In addition to customs duty, some goods are also assessed in relation to other local taxes to include excise taxes and container taxes.
A Customs Broker can also assist in the arrangement of local trucking, warehousing, customs bonds and cargo insurance. Also, the broker can provide trade consultants to handle more serious issues such as trademark, ICR and other trade issues.
(https://www.cbp.gov/about) With more than 60,000 employees, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, CBP, is one of the world’s largest law enforcement organizations and is charged with keeping terrorists and their weapons out of the U.S. while facilitating lawful international travel and trade.
As the United States’ first unified border entity, CBP takes a comprehensive approach to border management and control, combining customs, immigration, border security, and agricultural protection into one coordinated and supportive activity.
The men and women of CBP are responsible for enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws and regulations. On a typical day, CBP welcomes nearly one million visitors, screens more than 67,000 cargo containers, arrests more than 1,100 individuals, and seizes nearly 6 tons of illicit drugs. Annually, CBP facilitates an average of more than $3 trillion in legitimate trade while enforcing U.S. trade laws.
The U.S. Customs Service in the U.S. Virgin Islands is outside the Customs Territory of the United States. Customs requirements in the Virgin Islands are unique because it operates under the Danish Public Law 64, 1914, in conjunction with various Legislative Acts. Drawbacks, anti-dumping duties, countervailing duty, quota, and temporary in-bond procedures, as they are known throughout the rest of the United States customs service, are not applicable to the U.S. Virgin Islands. As laws evolve and with the demand of life’s changes in the Virgin Islands and the continental United States, having an experienced customs broker, such as Island Delivery Service, to assist you is key!
If you have any additional questions or need more information on what we do and how we can help you with your importing needs, please give us a call.
