Air Freight & Postal Specialists
3hr - Intl Postal Clearance
4hr - Air Freight Clearance

It's Simple - Just submit online in 5mins, then we do the rest.

Lowest Price Guarantee
As a specialist brokerage our pricing is highly competitive, but rest
assured if you find a cheaper comparative quote - We’ll beat it by 10%


step 1 - Select your import method

import
International Post

(Importer notified by Australia Post)
International Post Parcels

For goods valued over AUD
1,000 that have been sent
via the origin country’s
postal system (e.g. USPS).

If you have one of these
consignments you will have
received a 13-digit tracking
number from the sender
and/or a customs letter in
the mail.

Direct Air Freight

Airline Cargo Consignments
Air Freight Cargo

Where goods have been
consigned from the origin
either directly with the
airlines or via a freight
forwarder at the origin.

If you have a direct air
freight consignment you will
have received an Air Waybill
from either your supplier or
freight forwarder.

FedEx PE's

Personal Effects via FedEx
FedEx Personal Effects

For FedEx shipments that
contain “personal effects”,
which are goods that you’ve
owned and used overseas
for a period of 12mths or
more prior to your arrival in
Australia.

If you have one of these,
FedEx will have notified you
to contact an external broker
to clear your goods.

Why use e-Customs Broker?

eCustoms best

Experience

With over 15 yrs Air Freight industry
experience, you're in good hands.

Customs Broker fast

Accountability

Appointed clearance timeframes
ensuring it’s done on time, every time.

Customs Broker best

Simplicity

You complete a 5min online form
and we do the rest. Truly simple.

Customs Broker save Money

Niche Specialists

Ensuring you the highest possible
knowledge and expertise bar none.

white divider line

Trusted by Corporations

SuperMe Australia
Watoto
One Steel
AFP
Sydney Uni
Telstra
Swiss Time Machine
Melbourne Uni
Channel Seven
AusJet
Biosensis
Integrated Technology Partners Australia
ANU
Oxford Grammer School
2Eros
Uni of WA
Tyco Water
St John Ambulance
National Measurement Institute
Hard Candy
Integra Health
Creative Activation
Double-Black Off Road
Ramsay Healthcare
United Bioresearch
Jem Pharmaceuticals
Equinoxoz
LeGear

Importing into Australia - A Customs Agent's Perspective

A good percentage of Australian residents and businesses we deal with are postal importers, who purchase goods online and have them shipped to Australia typically by USPS, as the US is a major Australian import origin.

International postal consignments are a door to door service – excluding customs clearance of course – however there’s only four major customs international mail gateway facilities being in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth.

If you live anywhere else in Australia and your mail article is valued at over AUD $1000, then upon arrival, your consignment will be held at one of these locations and customs will issue you with a physical notice in the mail from there, requesting your completion of a “B374 - Import Declaration (N10) – Post” or assigning a customs broker to facilitate it for you.

Once your consignment has been customs cleared and you’re paid any relevant duty/GST liable on the goods, Australia Post will deliver the goods locally within Australia as free cargo. You can still track the delivery of your consignment via the same origin providers international tracking (e.g. USPS, China Post etc.) that you’ve previously used.

Some consignments (but not all) will also be transferred into Australia Post’s tracking system so you may be able to receive more detailed information from their website directly instead of relying on origin based international postal agencies like USPS as they typically don’t provide detailed tracking information after the goods have arrived in Australia.

One would assume that because Customs Hose in Canberra is the departments headquarters that the ACT is also the most well serviced location in Australia for importers, but this is not the case. While our capital city boasts an international airport, most cargo destined for Canberra first arrives into Sydney and is then onforwarded by domestic flights or road freight to Canberra for local residential delivery.

Customs Clearance and Customs Brokers Explained

Why has Customs stopped my consignment?

Air Freight: All importations, regardless of value, arriving via direct airfreight require a customs entry lodged for border security compliance and/or the collection of duties/taxes.

Australia Post: If your consignment exceeds AUD 1,000 and it's arriving via international post then you'll require a customs entry lodged for border security compliance and/or the collection of duties/taxes.

FedEx: All importations that arrive through FedEx that either contain Personal Effects or have a consignment value over AUD 1,000 require a customs clearance for border security compliance and/or the collection of duties/taxes.

In addition to the above circumstances, Customs also stops any shipments that meet ANY of the below criteria:

  1. Contain Alcohol or Tobacco (ANY quantity or value).
  2. Contain any goods of Customs Interest.
  3. Contain any Customs Prohibited or Restricted Imports.

Please Note: The above is only a guide. Even if your goods don't meet these criteria, Customs still maintains the right to hold and inspect any goods at their discretion.

How does Customs calculate Duty and GST?

Customs Duty is a percentage of the Customs Value (CV) of your importation. The applicable duty rate can be anywhere from 0% to 10% (product dependent), however for most goods a 5% duty rate is levied.

Customs GST is 10% of the Value of the Taxable Import (VoTI). The VoTI is calculated by the addition of three values, the Customs Value (CV) + the Duty + the freight cost (Intl Transport and Insurance or T&I).

What does a Customs Broker do?

When your importing goods worth more than AUD 1,000 then you’re required to lodge a formal import declaration (FID). Customs brokers lodge these declarations electronically for you and ensure compliance the relevant import legislation.

This covers all the government regulations of Australian Border Force (ABF or Customs), the ATO, Department of Agriculture and Water Resources (Quarantine), CITES, the Dept. of Infrastructure and any other relevant legislation that may be applicable to your goods.

Why should I use a Customs Broker?

An effective customs broker should save you time and usually money too, often more than you're paying them. Although it’s not mandatory to use a broker facilitate your clearance, in most cases it’s beneficial as described below.

SAVINGS: Customs brokers work to ensure you’re paying the minimum duty and/or GST permitted by law for the specific circumstances of your import. And there are many avenues available for brokers to do this.

For example, in over 83% (avg.) of cases, our postal import clients pay less to use us than if they lodged a B374 - Import Declaration (N10) – Post form themselves.

TIME: We electronically process customs clearances which is much quicker than the manual self-lodgement of an import declaration.

For example, postal consignments are cleared in under 3hrs, but customs 8-10 business days to process self-lodgement submissions.

SIMPLICITY: With a customs broker, all you do is forward them your documents and they do the rest. With e-customs broker it’s even easier because you can submit all online in less than 5mins.

Self-lodgement requires you to complete the import declaration yourself, including applying the correct classification of goods and valuation methods based on your specific import circumstances.

LIABILITY: Another benefit of using a broker is that they protect you from the risk of liability for lodging an erroneous import declaration, which can be significant - anything up to a $12,000 strict liability fine.

The bottom line is that if you’re not 100% sure that you understand the legislation and know what your declaring to customs, then you should use a customs broker.

What happens following Customs Clearance?

Air Freight: Once cleared, we email you full collection instructions, then you simply proceed to collect your goods from the nominated airline bond in accordance with these instructions.

Australia Post: Upon receipt of our release emails, your consignment is “Customs Cleared” and our servers immediately notifies Customs of the release. Customs then generates a cargo release report at midnight on the day of clearance, then Australia Post is notified of the release (on the next business day) and instructed to deliver your goods.

FedEx: Upon customs entry completion, we immediately notify FedEx to dispatch your goods for delivery, which usually occurs on the following business day, providing that you’re located within FedEx’s same day delivery zones.

e-Customs Broker Australia  -  The Air Freight/Postal Specialists

© Copyright e-Customs Broker Pty Ltd 2021 | ABN: 49 088 615 249