What Is The Meaning Of Closing Time, CY Cutoff And Customs Clearance in Foreign Trade Import And Export Shipping?

Closing time? CY cutoff? Customs clearance?

 

For the new forwarder / foreign trade document follower or inexperienced shipper / consignor, it is inevitable to be confused to hear these words.

 

So, in the international logistics industry, what do these closing time, CY cutoff and customs clearance refer to?

What's the difference?

 

What is closing time?

 

Closing time (date of receipt) refers to the latest date on which the goods are delivered to a designated ship for shipment, also known as CV closing( custom release voucher closing), that is, the time of customs declaration and release.

 

The goods must be declared and released before Closing time and submitted the customs release slip to the shipping company.

 

If the customs release slip is submitted after this time, the shipping company will not be allowed to board the ship as the goods have not been cleared and released.

 

Generally speaking, it is 1-2 days before the departure of the ship (5-7 days in advance for bulk cargo), and it is usually half a working day after the cut-off time.

 

CV closing means that after the goods are declared, the customs will issue a release note (that is, the certificate of shipment).

 

Then the customs broker will hand over the release slip to the shipping company, and after the shipping company receives the release slip, it will know that the cargo cabinet has been released by the customs before it can arrange for the hanging cabinet to board the ship.

 

What is CY cutoff ?

 

CY cutoff is also called return the full container to YAT terminal.

It means that after this time, the shipping company will no longer arrange the voyage on the returned cabinets / containers.

 

Before this time, containers loaded with goods can enter the wharf or warehouse, but after that, they are not allowed to enter the wharf, usually 1-2 days before the departure of the ship (5-7 days in advance for bulk cargo).

 

What is customs clearance?

 

Whether imported goods, export goods or transshipment goods enter the customs territory or national territory of a country, they must declare to the customs, go through various formalities prescribed by the customs, and perform the obligations stipulated in various laws and regulations; only after performing various obligations, after going through the formalities of customs declaration, inspection, taxation and release, the goods can be released and the consignor or declarant can pick up the goods.

 

Similarly, the entry, exit or transshipment of various means of transport carrying import and export goods are also required to declare to the customs, go through customs formalities and obtain permission from the customs.

 

Customs clearance is a procedure after customs clearance, which sends the relevant information about the release of the goods and the information that the goods have been shipped to the customs, filing and subsequent export tax refund (foreign exchange write-off) and so on.

 

Therefore, the customs clearance date refers to the date on which the international voyage ship completes the customs formalities and settles all kinds of payments payable before export, and the customs is allowed to leave the port.

 

Note: under normal circumstances, customs clearance is about a week after the export of the goods. But it is also possible to extend the clearance time for some special reasons.

 

To sum up:

(1) closing time is similar to CY cutoff , but the closing time is generally half a working day after the CY cutoff time.

 

(2) closing time is the first, and CV closing is the second, which is in the order.

 

(3) Customs clearance is a procedure for the declaration bank (consignor) to handle export tax refund and other follow-up work within a few days after customs clearance.

 

(4) 1/2: it means to cut off customs declaration on Monday and sail on Tuesday.

     3/4: cut off customs clearance on Wednesday and sailing on Thursday.