Import declaration

Import declaration
See also
Advice of shipment Export declaration Acknowledgement of receipt Delivery note Accessorial charges Ocean bill of lading Final inspection Documents against acceptance Transit shipment

Import declaration is a document listing the imported products, their quantities and describing their parameters. The declaration is necessary in the case of importing goods to some of the countries all over the world. It is the basis for clearing the products from customs control. Filling in the declaration is a duty of the importing party of licensed customs broker, who have the possibility of acting on behalf of the importer (Bowering 2018, p. 6.).

Examples

Some of the countries requiring import declaration are:

• Australia – for goods shipped by air, sea and international mail from abroad
• Countries of the European Union – for products imported from third-country suppliers (countries not belonging to the EU)
• Switzerland – for products from abroad (including the orders from the European Union)
• Republic of Macedonia – where attempts are discussed to improve the system of accepting the declarations and shorten the waiting times (Bilijan, Trajkov 2016, p. 94.).

Additional requirements

For most of the countries, the import declaration is the fundamental document determining import allowance. In some of them it might also be necessary to deliver other documents, like authorisations and/or pre-notifications. Apart from that, delivering the license for the declaration is exporting party's liability (Krotov 2011, p. 73).

Critique and solutions

The form of import declaration is a document that accompanies invoices for the orders. The product types and quantities should be the same in both documents (Rhyne et al. 2012, p. 3.). Filling in the form in a correct way requires thorough verification of data and is discussed to be a time-consuming formality (Biljan, Trajkov 2016, p. 94). It forces the importer to focus not only on the trade itself, but also on the bureaucracy connected with sales. The company responsible for the documentation is able to begin preparing the declaration only after having received the required documents from the exporting party (invoice, list of products packed and bill of lading) (Keretho, Naklada 2011, p. 22.). The solution to this problem seems to be automatization of data management. An efficient system could simplify the process and allow the importer to concentrate their efforts on transactions. Implementation of such a system might prove to be facilitated thanks to the fact that the declarations could be sent paperless.

References

• Bilijan, J., Trajkov, A. (2016). Customs Risk Management - Time of Declaration Processing by Control Cannels. „Economy & Market Communication Review / Casopis Za Ekonomiju i Trzisne Komunikacije”, 6(1), p. 93–108.
• Bowering, G. (2018). Does e-commerce and the growing availability of trade data mean that the customs declaration may no longer be required? „World Customs Journal”, 12(1), p. 3–16.
• Keretho, S., Naklada, S. (2011). Analysis of export and import processes of selected products in Thailand, „ARTNeT Working Paper Series”, 103, p. 16-24.
• Krotov, I. (2011). Customs Union between the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation within the framework of the Eurasian Economic Community. „World Customs Journal”, 5(2), p. 133.
• Rhyne, A. L., Tlusty, M. F., Schofield, P. J., Kaufman, L. E. S., Morris Jr, J. A., & Bruckner, A. W. (2012). Revealing the appetite of the marine aquarium fish trade: the volume and biodiversity of fish imported into the United States. „PLoS One”, 7(5), p. 3.

Author: Joanna Możdżeń