A Beijing Customs Broker’s Note: A Stuck DHL Parcel Containing Hair Moisturizer
Seahog Logistics is a customs clearance agent in China that handles international courier parcels, for instance DHL/UPS/Fedex/TNT/SF parcels, stuck in Beijing airport, Shanghai airport, Guangzhou airport, Shenzhen airport and Chengdu airport. Since establishment in 1997, we have cleared thousands of stuck courier parcels as a professional China customs broker. Meanwhile, we have also seen not a few parcels that could be cleared for various reasons and had to be returned. Hereunder, we share a recent case.
Sep 23, 2021, a client called us and claim that he needed a customs broker in Beijing for his stuck DHL parcels at Beijing airport. Why his DHL parcels were stuck? It is because the total shipment value for the parcels had exceeded China customs limitation on personal goods. In this case, the parcels shall either be sent back or be cleared as company goods. And to declare the containing goods as company goods, a customs clearance agent in China is needed.
But after reviewing the containing items, we found that the customs clearance could not be proceeded. Why? The parcel mainly contained legal documents and sadly a bottle of hair moisturizer. In China, hair moisturizer is classified as non-special used special cosmetics whose import needs to obtain registration certificate from China Food and Drug Administration. When the parcels have to be cleared as company goods, the mentioned registration certificate is required for the one and only bottle of hair Moisturizer. Except that, country of origin, Chinese label, formula and other documents are also required. But It is obviously not possible for an individual to obtain and provide the certificates as it is very time consuming and costly, and it also involves complex paper work. In the end, we suggested the client send the parcels the back and resend legal documents and hair moisturizer separately.
Previously, China customs would allow the receiver give up the hair moisturizer and just clear and import the legal documents. But it does not allow this operation anymore. Regulations change.
Seahog will keep taking notes of this kind. Hope it can do some help for people who plan to send parcels to Chinese mainland.
