Customs brokers make dealing with customs painless. They help you handle import duties and taxes, lengthy paperwork, and complicated laws and regulations. Any business that has dealt with importing as a regularity can attest to the usefulness of a knowledgeable customs broker.

If you’ve never considered the full scope of what they could do for you, consider these three situations wherein you might contact a customs broker:

Situation 1: Importing pharmaceuticals

Importing any good comes with its own set of challenges at the border, but when it comes to pharmaceuticals, things get even more complicated.

Bringing pharmaceutical products into Canada starts before you even begin thinking about handling a physical good. Not only does the site receiving the goods need a licence, everyone involved does as well — even an airline carrying your goods, or a warehouse storing them, needs the right licence to handle pharmaceuticals.

Beyond that, there is the standard work for importing, as well as a provision for lengthy clinical trials for importing any new pharmaceutical product.

Trying to import pharmaceuticals on your own isn’t just a hard process, it’s nearly impossible. Years of work can be undone by the smallest mistakes on your documentation, putting you and whoever needs to receive your goods in a tough spot. The advantage is that, like all other aspects of import law, effective customs brokers are experts in what really needs to be done, when, and how.

Given the time and expense behind importing pharmaceutical goods, trusting a customs broker is your safest bet. They will do everything they can to cut down on the years the process can take, avoid costly errors, and guide you throw a complex process with no stress on your end.

Situation 2: Importing goods temporarily

There are a myriad of reasons as to why you might temporarily import goods to Canada. Heavy equipment for construction, for example, might be only temporarily imported; other possible situations include a temporary cross-border move or trade shows.

Goods being temporarily imported into Canada for up to 18 months are subject to duties and taxes — but there are a number of duty and tax relief programs and classifications you can turn to to keep your import costs down.

A knowledgeable customs broker will know what relief actions can apply to your goods, which helps save your wallet. Even if they can’t get your duty and tax expenses down to nothing — which they often can! — there are ways they can help you reduce your fees, including handling a security bond for you.

Situation 3: Being audited by a customs authority

No one likes being audited. Even if you’ve been completely above board and have nothing to hide, being audited is a stressful time — especially if you haven’t been employing a customs broker to ensure all your paperwork and permits are correct.

Whatever the reason for your audit, contacting a customs broker will help you navigate the waters. When the Canadian customs agency conducts audits, a lot of what they want to see is documentation, and a customs broker will guide you through exactly what, why, and how to present it.

Customs brokers can help

Customs brokers don’t just facilitate moving generic commercial goods from one country to another. As experts in every aspect of the customs and border processes, they can help you import restricted goods, deal with temporary importing, comply with an audit, and anything else you can imagine — as long as it’s related to customs!

If you’re ready to talk to a customs broker about anything you need, click here.