Customs
Customs Bond
A financial guarantee ensuring that duties, taxes, and penalties owed to customs will be paid, required for many import operations and for moving goods under customs control.
In depth
A customs bond protects the revenue rather than the importer. It is an undertaking, usually from a surety company, that the authority will be paid whatever becomes due. Bonds appear in several places — as continuous bonds covering all of an importer's entries over a period, as single-entry bonds for one shipment, and as transit or warehousing bonds securing duty while goods move or sit under customs control. Requirements and terminology vary considerably by country, and an inadequate bond limit will stop entries being filed until it is increased.
Key points
- Guarantees payment of duties, taxes, and penalties to customs
- Protects the revenue authority, not the importer
- Available as continuous, single-entry, transit, and warehousing bonds
- An undersized bond limit can block customs entries