Customs and legal support
A contract that works in a dispute, and papers that clear without questions
Two things decide whether an import goes badly: what was agreed before the money moved, and whether the paperwork matches the goods. Both are boring, both are written down long before anything ships, and both are where we spend our time.
Who this is for
When people call us
Two of these are planning and two are rescue. The planning ones cost a fraction of the rescue ones.
You are about to sign with a factory
There is a document in front of you, probably in two languages that do not quite say the same thing, and you want to know what happens if the goods are wrong.
You are importing into a new country
Different codes, different duty, different documents, a different definition of what counts as proof of origin.
A shipment is held at customs
Something in the declaration does not match something in the papers, and every day of storage costs money.
You want to stop firefighting
Every delivery is rescued individually by somebody clever. You want a process instead, so the tenth shipment runs like the first.
Scope
What we handle
What we do
- Draft or review the supply contract: specification, tolerances, acceptance, liability for defects, penalties, applicable law
- Set the payment schedule so your money is never further ahead than the goods
- Prepare the export documents in China and check what the factory produces
- Classify the goods correctly and calculate the duty before you commit, not after
- File the customs declaration and act as your broker at destination
- Assemble the origin documents where a preference or a trade agreement applies
- Advise on how to structure repeat imports rather than rescuing them one at a time
What you get
- A contract you could actually enforce, not a chat thread and an invoice
- The real landed cost, calculated before you order
- A complete document set your accountant and your customs officer both accept
- Declaration filed and duties paid correctly the first time
- A written process for repeat shipments
How it works
How the work runs
Deliberately front-loaded. Almost everything that goes wrong at a border was decided months earlier in a document nobody read carefully.
What you are importing
Goods, materials, use, origin, destination. Classification and duty follow from this, and getting it wrong here is expensive later.
Contract
Terms drafted or reviewed: what is being supplied, what counts as acceptance, who pays for defects, which law applies and where a dispute is heard.
Cost before commitment
Duty, taxes and fees calculated on your actual classification, so the landed cost is known before the order rather than after.
Export papers
Prepared in China and checked against the goods. Discrepancies fixed while the cargo is still on our side.
Declaration and clearance
Filed at destination, brokerage handled, duties paid. On the white route, with the real value declared.
Process for next time
What worked written down, so the next shipment does not need the same conversation.
Cost
How this is priced
Contract work and customs work are priced differently, and we separate them in the quote so you can see what you are buying.
What the price depends on
- Whether you need a contract drafted from scratch or an existing one reviewed
- How complex the goods are to classify — a single product line is not a mixed container
- The destination country and the documents its customs requires
- Whether a trade preference or a certificate of origin is in play
- Whether this is one shipment or the start of a regular flow
- Whether we are being brought in before the order or after a shipment is already held
We work white only: the full document set and the real value in the declaration. If someone has quoted you a rate that only works with a different number on the paperwork, the saving is a liability you are carrying personally. This page is general information, not legal advice for your situation.
Questions
What people ask about contracts and customs
The factory sent a contract in Chinese and English. Which one counts?
Whichever the contract says counts — and if it does not say, you have a problem waiting to happen. The two versions are frequently not identical, and the difference is rarely in your favour.
We read both and tell you where they diverge before you sign.
What is the single most important clause?
Acceptance. It defines what the goods have to be for you to owe the rest of the money, and it is the clause that decides a defect dispute.
Second is applicable law and where a dispute is heard, because a perfect contract enforceable only in a court you cannot practically reach is a comfort rather than a protection.
Can you tell me the duty before I place the order?
Yes, and you should insist on it from whoever you use. Classification determines duty, duty determines landed cost, and landed cost determines whether the deal is any good.
We have had clients discover the margin was not there and change the plan. That is the check working.
What if my goods are already stuck at customs?
Send us the declaration and the document set. Most holds are a mismatch — a value, a code, a description that does not agree with the invoice — and are resolvable.
Some are not, and if that is the case we will say so early rather than billing you to watch storage charges accumulate.
Do you do grey clearance?
No. Under-declaring value is not a discount, it is a liability that sits with the importer — which is you, not the forwarder who suggested it.
If our quote looks higher than someone else's, ask them what value goes in the declaration. That is usually the difference.
Should the contract be with you or directly with the factory?
Both work, and it depends on how you want to import and what your tax position at home allows. Buying through us is simpler administratively; buying direct gives you the relationship outright.
We will lay out what each means for your customs and your accounts, and you decide.
Next steps
What this connects to
Paperwork is the last step of three, and it goes better when the first two were done properly.
Request
Tell us the task — we will come back with questions and a plan
Four short steps. After you send it, you will see a confirmation with your name on it, and a person from the Guangzhou office picks it up during Chinese working hours.
If you would rather write than fill in a form, the messenger buttons in the chat window reach the same team.