Your customs broker signs declarations in your name and your liability survives their mistakes. Price is the easiest thing to compare and the least useful. Here is what to ask instead.
A customs broker files declarations on your behalf. If one is wrong, the consequence lands on you — the importer of record carries the liability for the declaration, whoever typed it.
That makes this a decision about competence and accountability, not rate cards. Here is what to actually ask.
1. Are you a licensed Customs Broker, and what is your licence number?
Customs brokers are licensed under the Customs Brokers Licensing Regulations. Ask for the number and the ports it covers. Anyone evasive about this is disqualifying themselves.
The older term CHA (Clearing and Forwarding Agent) still circulates; the current designation is Customs Broker.
2. Which ports and ICDs are you actually active at?
Not "we can handle anywhere" — where do they file every week? A broker with daily presence at your gateway knows the officers, the local practice and the current examination patterns. One filing there occasionally does not.
If you move through ICD Tughlakabad or Patparganj, ask specifically about those.
3. Who handles my file, and can I speak to them?
The person who sold you the service is rarely the person who files your Bill of Entry. Ask who the operational contact is and whether you can reach them directly when something stalls at 7pm.
4. What do you check before the cargo arrives?
This is the question that separates brokers. A good one reviews your invoice, packing list, classification and product approvals at enquiry stage, and tells you what is missing while there is still time to fix it.
A weak one waits for the documents, files what you sent, and tells you about the problem when the container is already accruing demurrage. Ask them to describe their pre-arrival check. Vagueness is the answer.
5. How do you handle classification?
Ask how they arrive at an HS code and what happens when it is arguable. You want to hear about chapter notes, the interpretative rules and advance rulings — not "we use what the supplier gave us". See how to find the right HS code.
6. What is included, and what will be charged at actuals?
Get the quotation broken out: agency fee, documentation, examination handling, transport, and which charges pass through at cost. Duties, port charges, demurrage and detention are always yours at actuals.
A number that is far below everyone else usually means items have been left out of the quote, not out of the final invoice.
7. How will I be told when something goes wrong?
Everything goes wrong eventually — a query, an examination, a short-shipment. What matters is whether you hear about it the same hour or the following week. Ask what their update rhythm is and what triggers a phone call rather than an email.
8. What product approvals do you handle in-house?
BIS, FSSAI, EPR, WPC and DGFT licensing are where first-time importers lose months. A broker who can identify and obtain these is worth considerably more than one who only files declarations and leaves you to discover the requirement at the port.
9. Do you arrange transport, and how do you time it?
Clearance and the trailer should be planned together. If the vehicle is booked only after Out of Charge is granted, you pay a day of demurrage for the gap every single time.
10. What happens if you make a mistake?
Ask directly. How are errors handled, what insurance is carried, who absorbs a penalty that resulted from their filing error? You may not get a contractual guarantee, but the quality of the answer tells you how seriously they take the responsibility.
Signals worth noticing
Good — asks about your product before quoting; raises a compliance requirement unprompted; gives a timeline with conditions attached rather than a flat promise; explains why something cannot be done.
Concerning — quotes instantly without asking what you are importing; promises clearance in a fixed number of days regardless of commodity; hints that difficulties can be smoothed over informally; cannot produce a licence number.
That third one deserves emphasis. A broker who implies that problems are solved through influence rather than documentation is describing a liability that attaches to your IEC, not theirs.
Before you commit
Run a single consignment first. One shipment tells you more about responsiveness and pre-arrival rigour than any amount of discussion. Ask for references from importers with a similar commodity, and check they are still clients rather than historic ones.
Related reading
- Customs clearance process in India
- 7 documentation mistakes that delay cargo
- Reducing demurrage and detention
We are an Authorised Customs Broker and happy to answer all ten of these about ourselves. Put them to us.
