Customs Clearance.

Customs clearance is where most freight delays actually originate, and it is the part of the job that rewards experience more than anything else. NLX Logistics files import and export declarations directly on HMRC's Customs Declaration Service, so the person who booked your shipment is the person entering the data. Nothing is passed to a third-party broker who has never seen the cargo and has no history with your business.

We classify goods to the correct commodity code, apply preference where a trade agreement allows it, calculate duty and VAT before arrival so you are never surprised by a figure, operate postponed VAT accounting for registered importers, and handle transit movements, temporary admission, returned goods relief and inward processing where they are the right tool. Where a licence, certificate or approval is needed we tell you at the outset rather than when the container is on the quay.

Every customs clearance booking with NLX Logistics follows the same simple sequence, and you keep the same reference number and the same contact from the first email to final delivery. You send us the details, we send you a written quotation, and once you are happy we confirm space and issue a booking pack with everything you need to prepare.

We never ask for paperwork you do not need, and we never spring charges on you at destination without warning. If a cost is likely to arise at the other end — terminal handling, customs examination, quarantine inspection, storage after free time expires — we tell you about it in the quotation so you can budget for it rather than discover it later.

Good paperwork is what keeps freight moving, so we front-load it. For commercial cargo we need a commercial invoice and packing list, your EORI number, the commodity codes and the incoterms you have agreed with your buyer. For vehicles we need the V5C or bill of sale, photographic identification for the owner and the keys. For personal effects we need a detailed inventory and, where relevant, evidence of residence.

If anything is missing we will tell you exactly what to obtain and where to get it. We would far rather spend ten minutes on the phone before the cargo moves than deal with a detention charge at destination because a certificate was never applied for.

Standard carrier liability is limited by international convention and is calculated on the weight of the cargo rather than its value, which means an expensive, lightweight shipment is barely protected at all. We therefore recommend all-risks marine cargo insurance on the declared commercial or replacement value of every consignment, which we can arrange at the point of booking for a small percentage of the insured value.

Cover runs warehouse to warehouse, includes general average contribution, and is underwritten on Institute Cargo Clauses A for most cargo types. Claims are handled with a single point of contact, and we will help you assemble the survey report, photographs and commercial evidence a claim requires.