5 Important Things about Customs Bond

If you’re planning to import goods into the United States, before going ahead you should learn some important things about 301 customs bond. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the government have enforced some compulsory requirements to import international goods in the country.

Bonds are a key element for international trading. They help in securing your merchandise and ensuring things within legal compliances and laws. They also help in protecting the goods from additional fines or delays.

There are different types of the bond required by the federal agency CBP which is responsible to maintain authentic and lawful transaction of goods at the customs entry. Beginning from the packaging and until the unloading at the destination port, the journey of cargo can be difficult if you don’t have customs bond. Following are some important things to know about them.

1. It doesn’t provide coverage

Unlike other insurance policies, customs bond doesn’t provide any coverage. It is a different type of contract that guarantees specific obligations to be fulfilled by the importer. It has quite distinctive functionality and that rests on what type of goods you’re importing. The agreement happens between three main parties the surety, principal (importer), and the CBP.

It guarantees that all duties and taxes will be fulfilled even in case the importer fails to pay them.

2. Purchasing bond

You can purchase the customs bond easily through any licensed customs broker. You can also work with a freight forwarding company that can handle your shipment.

You can buy continuous customs bond from surety companies as well. However, you can expect good support from all these people and they will also help in preparing important documents and clearing customs. Make sure you hire an experienced broker to work on behalf of you.

3. A continuous bond is a better choice

There are mainly two types of customs bond popular in the process that is a single transaction bond and continuous customs bond. So if you’re all set to do merchandise through ocean vessels regularly, the continuous bond is the ideal option. It is convenient and specially issued to importers who transact goods multiple times in a year.

You can also invest in a single entry bond if you need to import once in a year. But, this option may cost you little extra bucks as you will need to file additional ISF.

4. They are not optional

It is made mandatory by the CBP for international merchandisers to obtain sufficient 301 customs bond. It is not optional and one should be prepared with it. CBP will never allow your cargo to clear the customs unless you have bonded.

5. Prices

A continuous bond of worth $50,000 or 10% of the total fees and taxes from the previous year can be bought in $250 to $500. When importing goods for commercial purposes, valued above $2,500 a customs bond should be posted by the importer.

For further information on bond amount calculation, you can contact experienced freight forwarders.

Both the terms Oti Bonds and Customs Bonds CA are either related to ocean freight forwarders or importers.