A customs bond or customs surety bond is a declaration of guarantee made by an importer. It serves as insurance that the bond’s holder will pay the appropriate taxes and import duties for their shipment. This protects the United States Treasury if the importer later fails to pay any of the taxes, duties, fines, or other fees that their imports incur.
All commercial imports to the USA must be covered by a formal customs bond in order to clear customs at their destination port.
Different types of customs bonds
There are two different types of customs bonds used in the USA:
- Single-entry bonds, which are good for one import only.
- Continuous entry bonds, which can be used to cover all imports made for one year from the date that the bond is issued. One continuous entry bond can be used by multiple different customs brokers if you use two or more brokers for your imports.
How do you get a customs bond?
Customs bonds can be purchased from surety companies that are licensed by the United States government. Unicargo can arrange the purchase of a single-entry bond or continuous entry bond on your behalf, at a very competitive rate.
We can also take care of the annual renewal for your continuous entry bond too if required, and send out a reminder notice to let you know when your renewal date is approaching.
