Shipment held at customs: causes and release

Customs hold a shipment while something stops them from releasing it: a document is missing or does not match the others, the customs value or the origin is in doubt, the goods are picked for examination, another authority has to clear them first, or the duty has not been paid or secured [1] [2]. They release it once the particulars of the declaration have been checked or accepted, any restriction has been applied, and the duty is paid or covered by security [1].

Until then the goods sit in temporary storage, for 90 days at most [1], and carriers charge storage once the first days are over [8] [9].

Why customs hold a shipment

Customs may carry out any control they consider necessary, and apart from random checks they choose what to control mainly by risk analysis [1].

Documents missing or not matching

The documents a declaration relies on must be in the declarant's hands when it is lodged, and customs can ask to see them or require others [1]. When the invoice, the packing list and the transport document disagree on the goods, the quantities, the weights or the value, the goods wait until someone explains which one is right.

Customs value in doubt

Where customs have reasonable doubts that the declared transaction value is the total amount paid or payable, they may ask the declarant for more information. If the doubt is not dispelled, they may decide that the value cannot be set on the transaction value at all [2]. The guide on customs value under CIF and FOB shows what belongs in it.

Physical inspection

Customs may examine the goods and take samples [1]. Moving the goods to the place of examination, and the handling it needs, is done by or under the responsibility of the declarant, who pays for it [1].

Origin and anti-dumping checks

Where the declaration states an origin, customs may require the declarant to prove it, and ask for more evidence when they have reasonable doubt about a proof of origin [1]. Anti-dumping duty is charged on top of the normal third-country duty on the goods a measure covers, each measure set in its own regulation [10]. The guide on anti-dumping duty shows how to check a code and an origin in TARIC.

Controls by other authorities

Goods entering the EU may be subject to prohibitions and restrictions, for example to protect human, animal or plant health [1]:

• Product rules. Products covered by EU product law are checked before release. Release is suspended when the documentation EU law requires is missing or in reasonable doubt, when the product is not marked or labelled as required, or when a CE marking is false or misleading [3]. The product is released if the market surveillance authorities have not asked to keep the suspension within four working days, or once they approve it [3].
• Food, animal and plant health. Animals, products of animal origin, and the listed plants and plant products are checked at the border control post of first arrival [4]. Customs release them only on a finalised CHED, the common health entry document, and detain the consignment without one [4].

No EORI number

A business established in the EU registers with the customs authorities where it is established [1], and its EORI number identifies it in the declaration [11]. German customs let a business without a number lodge a declaration, until further notice, if it proves it has applied for one [12]. The guide on the EORI number covers the application.

Duty not paid or secured

When the declaration creates a customs debt, the goods are released only once the duty is paid or security covering it is provided [1]. The guide on customs clearance costs lists what brokers and carriers charge for advancing it.

What to send when customs ask

Anyone involved in the formalities has to give customs the documents and information they ask for, within the time they set [1]. Send it complete to whoever lodged the declaration, usually your broker:

• the invoice, the packing list and the transport document, corrected so they agree;
• for a value question, the order or contract, the payment, and any costs paid on top of the price, such as freight or royalties;
• for an origin question, the proof of origin the declaration relies on;
• for a product control, the documentation EU law requires for that product [3];
• for food, animal or plant products, the CHED [4];

How long goods may wait: 90 days

Non-Union goods are in temporary storage from the moment they are presented to customs, and must be placed under a customs procedure or re-exported within 90 days [1]. German customs state that the period cannot be extended; an examination that cannot finish in time suspends it but does not lengthen it [5]. At a place customs approve without a storage authorisation, Germany allows three days [5]. Dutch customs also limit storage to 90 days, with no longer term possible [6].

Goods that cannot be released because documents were not provided, the examination could not go ahead for reasons on the declarant's side, duty was not paid or secured in time, or the goods are prohibited or restricted, are disposed of by customs, including by confiscation and sale or destruction, at the declarant's cost [1]. German customs also count a failure to complete the formalities within the 90 days as a breach from which a customs debt arises [7].

What storage costs per day

DHL Express publishes its charges for shipments customs cannot release:

On the German list, a 200 kilo shipment that waits ten days pays for seven: seven times 11.00 EUR plus seven times 100.00 EUR, 777.00 EUR before VAT [8].

How to prevent a hold

The causes above share one fix: complete, matching documents before the goods arrive. A declaration can be lodged before the goods are presented to customs [1], and in Germany goods declared by then that can be released at once do not have to go into a temporary storage facility [5]. Before your supplier ships:

• check that the invoice, the packing list and the transport document agree line by line;
• make each invoice line precise enough to classify; the guide when the invoice is not enough lists the questions for the supplier;
• have the proof of origin in hand if you claim a preferential rate;
• give your broker your EORI number;
• agree how the duty will be paid, and estimate it with the import duty calculator.