China custom clearance

[Inailit88 1]

Hi all

Just wondering how long it would take to clear custom in china. We've sent a parcel with the original docs to the in laws for their upcoming interview. It was being processied by the custom since the 12th of this month. I sent expresses with USPS. They should have gotten on 14th Monday. If for some reason it got held up. We have to resend the docs. Now. We ve already sent the original copy of our marriage certificate and my wife s birth certificates in the previous parcel. Luckily we kept copies of them but not the original. Do u think that Guangzhou embassy consulate will accept that if they don't get the original Please share your similar experience. Thank you. If we know that sending a gift along with the original docs would be held up at custom we would nt have sent the gift. Just the docs only.

[Darnell 8,478]

i note in the past 3 shipments i've made to Wuhan, it's been 5 to 8 days to 'clear customs' . ...

[Inailit88 1]

i note in the past 3 shipments i've made to Wuhan, it's been 5 to 8 days to 'clear customs' . ...

So it does take 5-8 days to be processed by custom of China based on your experience?...so the expressed international guarantee day which was supposed to be 1/14/13 was irrelevant then?..I sent the package on 1/07/13. They should have gotten the package by now according to their guarantee days. wow take that long to clear custom?...I used to send pacakge all the time to china..never had a problem..always on time...is this custom clearance new in china?. I've heard that they can hold the package for a long time..weeks before it gets delivered to the destination.. is it true?.....thanks for sharing your experiences..I am gonna wait for a few days to see if it clears..if not i am gonna have to resend just the documents only....in the worst case senario that i have to resend everthing, do you think the consulte will accept copies only of our marriage certificate and my wife's birth certificate?... the originals are in that package that I sent 9 days ago....

[Darnell 8,478]

exactly what level of service did you purchase?

I use international priority after learning that my international express mail stayed in customs clearing for 7 days. #######, i thought? what am I paying for ?

international priority was the same # of days to clear customs. it didn't matter to me that it took 3 extra days to get to china, prior.

[Inailit88 1]

exactly what level of service did you purchase?

I use international priority after learning that my international express mail stayed in customs clearing for 7 days. #######, i thought? what am I paying for ?

international priority was the same # of days to clear customs. it didn't matter to me that it took 3 extra days to get to china, prior.

I used expressed international mail which is supposed to be a few days faster and trackable...priority mail can't be tracked..that's why i opted for EMI service from the us post office. ####### ..you are right... it's 9 dollars cheaper for priority mail. so this custom clearance thing is new huh....i just looked up an article from china stating since 2010 they implemented this stricter requirement for incoming package..that's BS...hopefully it ll clear in a few days...if they impose duty on the pacakge..would they notify the recipient?...

thanks..

[Darnell 8,478]

since you have a tracking #, use the ems tracking site at http://www.ems.com.cn/mailtracking/e_you_jian_cha_xun.html

usually, the recipient (ie, my wife) calls into the biggest EMS office in the city, and makes a big stink to get it out of customs and into the EMS office, then makes arrangements (on another phone call) for delivery.

priority international IS trackable, fwiw. usps updates are minimal once it's left the usa, and EMS tracking was useful.

Edited January 16, 2013 by Darnell

[Darnell 8,478]

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fwiw, only Global Express Guaranteed from USPS clears customs in one day.

[Inailit88 1]

I didn't use ems. I used emi=expressed mail international from USPS. I already called USPS and they will so an investigation on it. Still is gonna take five business day. I wonder which custom I have to call if I need to track it down and get it out of there. Does your wife know ? It's USPS though. Which carrier will they use when the package reaches china ? Is it ems?

Thanks.

[Darnell 8,478]

i don't use EMS either.

However, once the package is IN China, EMS is the entity that's delivering it, so bear that in mind, aye?

[Inailit88 1]

i don't use EMS either.

However, once the package is IN China, EMS is the entity that's delivering it, so bear that in mind, aye?

So , it turned out that Suzhou custom has the parcel and they sent out a notice to the recipient, my father in-law yesterday and He has to go to the post office at Suzhou and go with the employee to the custom there to claim the package. According to the new regulations of the china custom, any product or package that is worth more than 400 yuan (chinese currency) will be suject to china custom inspection and a duty will be determined. I wrote down 80 dollars for the gift I included in the package, and it was therefore handed over to the closest custom to the recipents home address. lesson learned.