Customs Brokerage
Being a direct ‘tax- free’ country, The Bahamas primarily earns its revenue through the collection of Customs Duties on imported items. Just like any other tax regime, the process is complex and a number of different elements must be factored in to play so that all necessary customs procedures are complied with. Apart from this, it is even more important that a competent broker be present so that the duties and payments are fairly assessed and paid on time. Add in to this a number of different Government Incentive programs, an array of different duty rates, allowances for ship spares and special procedures for transshipment of cargo vessels, which continue to call at Freeport and in dry dock, and the need for an experienced and highly competent customs broker becomes all the more significant.
Being Grand Bahama’s largest ship agency and logistics company, our customs brokerage department is able to handle ongoing business imports, personal imports, temporary imports, bonded imports and transshipment entries.
In addition, Freeport Ship Services has in place with Bahamas Customs all necessary bonds to facilitate prompt clearance and the timely delivery of your goods.
Having full-time licensed customs brokers along with a full complement of support staff at our disposal, we ensure timely and accurate delivery of all your goods. Our well-equipped customs brokerage department is ready and willing to address any requirement that you might have and give you the service you deserve and at the right price.
Some of our standard operating procedures for customs brokerage are as follows:
- If applicable, we shall receive as well as disseminate information to the sender or any other person that the client wants to, all of the pre-alerts we get for incoming shipments;
- Review documents, and confirm that they are accurate. If any problems arise with the documentation, we will single it out and recommend the best possible solution within our knowledge;
- Verify that the documentation is correct and prepare import documents for pre-clearance for shipments;
- Make sure that all paperwork needed for amendment is prepared and filed, in the event that the documentation turns out to be incorrect or incomplete;
- Where necessary, we can arrange appointments with Bahamas Customs to inspect shipments for a timely release;
- Assist clients in ensuring that documentation for goods for export is accurate and acceptable to the recipient, Bahamas Customs and receiving state’s Customs Authorities;
- Being available to assist with any emergency shipment, and lending best efforts to solicit assistance from Bahamas Customs for their release.
Once your goods have been cleared, we at Freeport Ship Services can also help with the delivery of full containers or Less than Container Load (LCL) shipments.
