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How to Clear a Shipment with U.S. Customs

Summary: This page provides information about how to clear foreign import and export shipments passing through U.S. Customs.

The University contracts for a customhouse brokerage service for the clearance of foreign import and export shipments passing through U.S. Customs. The UC brokerage service contract is with Air Sea Forwarders and is a mandatory contract. Air Sea Forwarders has power of attorney (POA) to accept foreign shipments for the University of California. Sometimes, a situation arises when Air Sea Forwarders is unable to clear the shipment. For instance, a shipment may need to be cleared at night or on a weekend when Air Sea Forwarders is unavailable or the shipment may have accidentally been directed to a different customhouse brokerage. In these cases, a person with power of attorney (POA) could sign and clear the shipment. It is mainly an emergency measure which is seldom used because Air Sea Forwarders handle almost all UC foreign shipments.

Several Purchasing buyers have been delegated POA by the Regents to act for the University in customs matters with the Customs Offices at the ports of San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, New York, and Albuquerque. Contact Purchasing if you have questions about customs matters or if you need to clear a foreign shipment.

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Last revised: April 02, 2008 (am)