With the constant increase in commercial demand in Mexico, countless companies have found it necessary to globalize their purchasing operations. Importing products for distribution within and outside the national territory, as well as the export of any resource produced by local companies, has become the guarantor of the companies’ success; not only because of the low cost it represents, but also because of the high quality of the products obtained and the speed in their acquisition.

For this reason, in recent years, the flow handled by a customs agency has increased exponentially, causing new organizations to emerge every day willing to facilitate each of the processes that a company must execute to acquire its merchandise from abroad.
If you own a company and have doubts as to whether you should import and export merchandise yourself or hire the services of a customs agency; In this article you will be able to confirm in detail each of the functions that these companies fulfill, so that, with that knowledge, you can make a decision based on the possibilities of your company.

What happens every day within a customs agency

Customs agents handle foreign trade activities for many companies; For this reason, the procedure they carry out for each of the operations is completely complicated and specialized. First, they must manage the maritime, land, or air shipping documents and pediments and the insurance policies that will protect the shipment to be imported or exported.

Subsequently, it prepares and transmits the pertinent customs declarations, at the same time as it monitors the success of the procedures assigned to the port operator and the transport company in charge of the merchandise; In addition to providing the necessary documents and the cargo manifest for the internationalization of the merchandise before the authorities.

Within a short period of time, the customs agency must also ensure that your shipment obtains the necessary approvals to be shipped successfully and the approval of the documents previously declared before the competent authority. When everything is in order, he will initiate the steps to load the merchandise and declare this fact to the authority and his client.
During the journey between origin and destination, the customs broker constantly monitors changes in the status of the shipment; intervening in the case of an emergency immediately. This constant surveillance ends when the shipment reaches its destination port. At this stage, the customs agent is in charge of all the procedures for reception, entry, payments and customs authorizations; in addition to the logistics management for the recipient.

Entities with which a customs agency interacts

In order to achieve all the functions of a customs agency, it is necessary for the company’s officials to constantly interact with other Mexican public and private organizations essential to import and export merchandise. The main ones are:

• The importing and / or exporting client of the shipment.
• The customs authorities of the place of destination and reception of the merchandise.
• Other related public sector organizations, including those in charge of tax and customs administration.
• The transport companies to whom the transfer of the shipment will be assigned.
• Financial entities that issue international insurance.
• The logistics operator in charge of consolidating the cargo.

Areas in which a customs agency specializes

A customs agent specializes mainly in the fundamental bases of foreign trade, import and export laws, the tax responsibilities of the country of origin and destination, the alliance with the different companies that affect this activity and knowledge of the commercial agreements between the countries where the procedures for sending and receiving merchandise will be executed.
It also covers the logistics activities carried out before, during and after importing and exporting for a client, including those of verification, inspection, packaging, storage and distribution. It also provides advice on the tariff classifications of each shipment and the procedures that an importer or exporter must carry out, before the customs offices of each headquarters in the country.
Additionally, the customs agency collaborates to a great extent to combat the smuggling of illegal merchandise, avoids fraud, reduces money laundering and promotes compliance with foreign trade laws and other fiscal regulations interposed to regulate this activity within the national territory.

Benefits when requesting services in an agency
customs

If you are still unsure about whether or not you should hire the services of a customs broker, we will show you some additional benefits that you will gain if you decide to outsource these large operations.

• A customs agency is a company that has a special authorization patent to carry out these tasks, so that any transaction carried out will be under complete legal control by professionals authorized to work in this area.
• The logistics costs involved in the import and export of merchandise, would decrease considerably when requesting the services of a customs agency; since it has many alliances and commercial agreements to offer customers the best prices in the market.
• It will elevate your business well above other companies in the same niche, since it will facilitate access to the international market, both for the distribution of its products, as well as for obtaining raw materials or inventory at a good quality-price ratio.
• The customs agency usually has access and close relationship with the different customs offices in the country; increasing the speed of response anywhere within the region.
• Optimizes the processes of international trade, operation and production of the companies that request its services; providing multiple additional services related to logistics transportation, financing, access to specialized insurance and offering fully personalized legal advice.

There is no doubt that foreign trade activities are really complicated. And there is no mistake in saying that if a company were to fully optimize its import and export activities, its productivity would skyrocket, allowing it to think of new growth and extension strategies.

The customs agency can become the fundamental piece that you need to fully achieve the objectives of your business.