Customs Clearance Issues

Customs Clearance Issues

All imported goods are subject to Customs clearance in every country. When you buy from California Electronics, the goods are sent either from Shenzhen,China (for worldwide clients) or Manila, Philippines (for local clients). If sent from China, therefore you are importing, and you are the importer responsible for the goods when the goods pass through Customs in your destination country. According to our general terms and conditions, you may order anything you like from California Electronics and we will fulfil your order, but it remains totally your responsibility to find out in advance if the products are permissible to import into your destination country, and if so what clearance requirements, taxes, policies etc apply in that country. California Electronics cannot and will not offer advice or pre-shipment information on Customs issues in any regard.

From over 3 years of shipping thousands of orders a week, our China-based suppliers can confirm that in over 99.9% of shipments there is no issue whatsoever with Customs clearance. Furthermore in the majority of the rare cases subject to a delay in Customs, the goods are released and delivered successfully. This is because the clearance via normal shipping methods (couriers or post) is handled professionally by the shipping company, and California Electronics (with the help of our China suppliers) is an experienced provider of correct shipping documentation and compliant products and packaging.

You need to be aware that, since any order you make on california-electronics.com will pass through your country's Customs, the Customs have the right to hold and inspect your goods according to their policies.

Every country's Customs has different policies, and these policies can vary substantially, for example...

...from port to port
...from day to day or from one Custom's staff member to another
...depending on the volume of packages requiring clearance on any particular day
...depending on the security levels and political climate of the moment
...depending on the package shipment method
...depending on the package origin
...depending on the package, weight, shape, packing, size, profile, x-ray results, etc
...depending on the package contents
...depending on the declared or assessed valuation of the package contents
...depending on the paperwork accompanying the shipment
...depending on random inspection timetables or scheduled batch checks for particular criteria

As the importer, you bear sole responsibility for the clearance of the goods any issues that may arise from an inspection or hold. Typically, the consignee of the shipped packets is taken as the importer in any problem case.

In most countries, depending on the category of goods imported and the quantity or value, the shipment will be assessed for duties and /or sales tax. That is your responsibility as the importer.

In The Case Of A Customs Hold

California Electronics will contact you to discuss the issue openly.
You will typically be required to communicate directly with your country's Customs, or contact them via your courier company.
If additional documents are required, California Electronics will do our utmost to provide the documents to you and support the goods clearance.
Your country's Customs can hold goods pending a decision for as long as they like.
The final decision about assessing, valuing, taxing, releasing/refusing, seizing the goods is entirely down to Customs. In some cases no reasons are provided, and in many countries the importer has no right of appeal. In most countries the Customs are hard to communicate with and lack basic public information or accessible staff contact.
In the vast majority of cases, the goods are released after a delay ranging from 1 day to 6 months... the reason for the delay is usually unknown, and the length of the delay is unfortunately beyond anyone's control.
If the goods are refused entry, they will either be destroyed with no compensation, or turned back so the courier ships them back to California Electronics.

Under these terms and conditions, which you are agreeing to at the time you place your order, you are acknowledging you understand your basic responsibilities as an importer and the resultant liabilities should any exception occur.

Examples of situations where California Electronics will compensate you

If internationally recognised documents such as CE / FCC / Sisvel could not be supplied fast enough by California Electronics, and Customs refused entry to the goods.
If you made a valid request for customization of the shipping paperwork, and we agreed to follow your instructions but failed to do so.
If we made any other serious error on the paperwork accompanying the goods.
If the goods were delayed or impounded by China Exit Customs rather than your own country's Customs.
If a Customs inquiry reveals a valid IPR issue with the products. California Electronics never knowingly markets/sells counterfeit products or any products/packaging infringing intellectual property of any parties.

Examples of situations where you are not entitled to compensation

If you refused to accept the goods.
If the goods could not clear due to import restrictions that are specific to your own country, e.g. FDA approval of products (USA), country-specific certification, restricted categories of goods, quotas, so-called anti-dumping enforcement etc.
If you refused to accept applicable taxes or other charges associated with the import procedure.
If you refused to pay additional charges or fines resulting from Customs' re-assessment of the classification or value of the goods.
If you were unable to accept the goods due to laws in your country such as a lack of an import licence.
If Customs refused entry to your goods because you failed to provide paperwork or other information in a timely manner, OR provided incorrect paperwork or information.
If Customs refused entry to your goods but they did not provide a reason, OR we were unable to confirm sufficient detail of the supposed reason.
If Customs refused entry to your goods due to a supposed IPR issue, but in our opinion this is unsubstantiated.
If Customs are still holding the goods after a period of at least 6 weeks and after our best efforts we have no further detail about the reason for the hold or any probable resolution to the case.
If clearance failed due to lack of licences / documents / certificates which are specific to your country and California Electronics deems it beyond the reasonable scope of our Shipping Team to provide these documents in the absence of any pre-shipment communication from you.
If Customs refused entry to your goods or levied increased taxes, charges, or fines associated with the classification or declared value of the goods on the shipping paperwork. We always inform you in advance about the declaration of your goods, and in the cases of larger shipments you have to agree to the declaration value explicitly, so this is deemed to be totally your responsibility.
If we previously warned you about a possible increased risk of delivery exceptions due to our experience of shipping to your country, for whatever reason, but you explicitly agreed to go ahead with the order.

Compensation

"Compensation" refers to full or partial refund/credit of the amount you paid for the goods and /or shipping (depending on the situation). California Electronics will absolutely not offer any further compensation or accept any liability in any other regard.
We reserve the sole right to evaluate the reason for a Customs exception. We will do this openly based on our communications with the Courier, your country's Customs, and any evidence you have provided us of your own communications with the Courier and Customs.
If the goods are returned to China, but we deem that you were liable for the failed delivery not us, we may be able to compensate partially, based on any remaining credit after return delivery fees, China import taxes, and restocking fees.
If the goods are impounded, held indefinitely, destroyed, or confiscated by Customs, and according to the policy above this is not California Electronics's responsibility (including where the actual reason for the exception was never clarified), you will not receive compensation of any kind.

Search online, check with your local Government, local Customs and Chambers of Commerce, and seek advice on all import regulations and procedures!

To ensure successful delivery, particularly of larger shipments, we strongly recommend you personally undertake rigorous research of your local destination laws, regulations, and common practices in relation to imported goods and taxation.

For large shipments you should always hire a licensed Import Broker.