Customs Bonded Storage & Transportation
Bonded Storage
Premier currently offers customs bonded storage at our CA location. The IL and NC locations have been approved for bonded storage. They are not operational at this time but can be reinstated should the need arise.
Bonded Transportation
Premier can ship your machine “in bond” (without customs being cleared) to and from customs bonded warehouses, ocean ports and the borders of Canada and Mexico. Your customs broker can help you with the paperwork.
FAQs
Q: What is customs bonded storage?
A: An approved facility can store your goods without the importer paying the duty immediately upon entry to the U.S. While the goods are in a bonded storage warehouse, the U.S. Government does not consider them here until you apply for clearance and pay and applicable duty. Until you do that you cannot remove the product for shipment within the US. You can apply to move the cargo to another country (such as Mexico or Canada), or to another customs bonded facility without paying the duty.
Q: Who uses customs bonded storage?
A: Generally there are two scenarios in which bonded storage can be beneficial. An importer who has high duty levels on their product and/or slow moving goods may benefit by deferring the duty payment until they have a customer in place. Remember; you don’t save the duty, you defer it. You can make a little interest on the duty money you defer, but unless that’s a huge amount over an extended storage time, you won’t make/save much money. An importer can also benefit if they have a shipment arriving in the U.S. with an eventual destination outside the U.S. (such as Canada or Mexico). They can store the goods in bond until they are ready to ship them out of the country (via a customs bonded carrier) and never pay the duty or have to apply to have the duty refunded.
Q: Does the warehouse do anything different?
A: Yes. The products are stored in a separate, secure area, and there are numerous record keeping requirements. Fines can be severe for minor mistakes in procedures and/or paperwork and the warehouse must file a bond with the U.S. Customs Service. Key employees receive background checks and the warehouse is subject to random inspections. For these reasons you will usually pay more for bonded storage
Q: Can Premier ship my product to Canada or Mexico?
A: Shipping to Canada is relatively easy. Premier has filed the appropriate paperwork to be able to drive in and out of the Canadian Provinces. Shipping to Mexico remains tricky. Even in the current stage of the NAFTA agreements, U.S. carriers are not allowed to travel in Mexico.
Many carriers advertise that they deliver into Mexico. In reality they have set up contracts to have Mexican carriers complete the deliveries. Sometimes this is done by transferring the cargo at the border (such as Laredo) onto the Mexican carriers’ trailer and sometimes the Mexican carrier will take the U.S. carrier’s loaded trailer across the border; returning it back to the border at a later date. Generally, tarping standards, driver communication and insurance for the goods is often sub par. Premier rarely allows our trailers to enter Mexico but we can help you arrange and oversee such cross border loads or deliver to the crossing point.
Q: What is a Foreign Trade Zone?
A: This is a geographic area, which the U.S. Customs department has approved to operate like a customs bonded warehouse; and any warehouse proprietor within that area can apply to perform customs bonded services. It will typically be a portion of a commercial city area and is often, but not always near a port. The warehouse proprietor must still apply for permission to operate, must still file a bond, and is still subject to the various regulations of U.S. Customs; but the some aspects are easier and there are some different things, which can be done in a Foreign Trade Zone as opposed to a traditional customs bonded warehouse.
* Note: remember that customs regulations are designed to cover a wide variety of situations on a wide variety of different kinds of products. Ask your customs broker what procedures apply to you.