Couriers

Questions and answers about couriers

  • DUNS number

    Question: We had a very small shipment of coffee come in moved by a courier.  IT is FDA regulated.  The FSVP form had a space for DUNS#.  They requested a DUNS #.  When I told them we did not have one and gave them the IRS/EIN, they said they could not process the shipment without […]

  • Split Shipments / Multiple Entries

    Question: All too often we are experiencing multiple piece Courier shipments, being Split en route, arriving via different Carriers/Airlines, possibly on different dates and flights, sometimes having a different MAWB. Multiple entries are being filed for each split, requiring we find out what cartons/crates are with which Split, so we can amend/manipulate the Invoice and […]

  • Courier as IOR

    Question: I am currently working as a Trade Compliance Manager at a new company that exports and imports medical devices for clinical trials.  I have found most shipments tend to be shipped via courier (UPS or FedEx).  With that said, there is no import data in ACE under the EIN for my company as the […]

  • Entry Requirements for Low Value Food Shipments to Canada

    Question: We receive small low value shipments of food samples for photoshoots in Canada.  Most come from the US.  We are getting conflicting information from the couriers and broker.  One of the couriers states that shipments valued not over CAD 40 do not require an entry even if a food item.  The other courier and […]

  • COURIER IMPORT WITHOUT POA

    QUESTION: A courier company cleared an entry for an IOR that they do not have a POA on file. Do we as the importer have any “recourse?” As we know Courier Companies generally are not willing to make corrections to entries, including filing a correction to the IOR with CBP. We have requested the courier […]

  • PHARMA IMPORTS VIA COURIER

    QUESTION: I have a question regarding US imports of pharmaceuticals (i.e. DP, DS samples, etc) using a large transportation company versus small premium couriers. I noticed that whenever the samples are imported via a large transportation company, the shipment can be stuck at customs for a few days/weeks due to pending FDA review. If the […]

  • AUDITING PARCEL IMPORTS

    OT Fact Sheet: Origin Certification Requirements QUESTION: We audit all our entries prior to submission to CBP in addition to an objective post-entry audit process.  All of this is a part of our audit due diligence for our CTPAT-Trade Compliance membership.  Currently we manage all imports in this manner including parcel imports – all are […]

  • EXPRESS COURIER IMPORTS

    QUESTION: We are a NRI in Canada and regularly send low value shipments via Express Courier to our customers in Canada as DDP.  They doesn’t have our POA to act as our broker in Canada, so they only clear informal entries.  Question 1: For low value shipments sent DDP, is the courier acting as the […]

  • EXPRESS COURIER EXPORT DOC RETENTION

    QUESTION: For any companies who do paperless invoicing with express courier export shipments how do you maintain copies of the commercial invoices for record retention purposes? We have been told that we will need to print out a hard copy for our records. =========== Answers: I disagree on uncontrolled courier shipments under $2500 in value/per […]

  • EXPRESS COURIER RECORDKEEPING DOCS

    QUESTION: We have appointed Customs Brokers for imports into both Canada and the US for all modes of transportation. Occasionally,express couriers clear the shipments on our behalf, often because our vendors are not preparing the shipping waybills properly to instruct the couriers to turn documents over to our brokers. How do I get copies of […]

  • EXPRESS COURIER COMPLIANCE MANAGEMENT

    QUESTION: When our foreign parent (mainly) uses an overnight shipper (“OS”) to send goods to us, OS uses its importer number to file – not ours. However, we cannot access our entry nor cannot find anyone at the OS to provide us with any classifications that OS has used and/or continues to use to clear […]

  • Multiple courier shipments and EEI

    QUESTION: We audited some export shipments recently and on several different days we found five to eight courier packages shipping from the same location to the same destination on the same day.   Upon further review, individually, the HS Code/value each package does not reach the $2,5000 threshold but when they are added up the HS […]