Good afternoon, although it’s up to anyone. I have a big problem with my order from Aliexpress: after sorting in Fenggang town the parcel was in transit, but now the status is: “Customs banned a parcel”. What does it mean and what to do in this situation?
Jon
Hello Jon! What can I say here – things are either good or very bad. All depends on one aspect – why customs banned the passage of a parcel with your order from Aliexpress. Below is a detailed description of the options for the appearance of such a status and what you can do.
When shipping from China, all parcels are subject to customs control. At this stage, the data filled in by the recipient, the delivery address, the value of the parcel, its weight and whether the product is not prohibited to be brought into the country, are checked. If all requirements are met, the parcel is sent to the final point of dispatch, i.e. the recipient. Often, however, problems are encountered when checking the parcel at customs. In this case the buyer may see the following statuses: “Problems with the goods at customs”, “Error in customs clearance” or “Customs has denied the parcel”.
There may be several reasons why a package may get stuck in customs control. In this article we’ll look at the reasons why a parcel is delayed and how to solve the problem.
What does “Customs denied parcel” status mean?
“Problems with goods at customs”, “Customs clearance error” or “Customs has denied parcel passage” are delivery statuses which mean that the parcel has been detained at customs control due to transportation irregularities. Such parcels are not allowed to cross the border and be delivered to the recipient.
Possible causes
There may be several reasons why customs control decided to hold your parcel. Let’s consider the main ones:
- Your passport details are incorrect. If the data is filled in incorrectly, the parcel may not cross the border;
- The seller has not attached the required documents, or there are errors in them. For instance the weight is not what it should be;
- Copyright infringement. You may receive counterfeit brands, appliances, smartphones, and other goods from China;
- The seller has undervalued the items. It is not uncommon for users to ask an Aliexpress seller to specify a lower value of an item to avoid paying duty;
- Duty unpaid. Next comes this reason. If you exceed the allowable threshold, you have to pay a fee.;
- Commercial consignment. If you buy a lot of small identical goods, customs control may suspect you of illegal trading activities Also, if the invoice contains the word: “Samplе” (from English – sample, samples). Samples are a commercial consignment and cannot be registered in the name of a natural person;
- Prohibited goods. Narcotics, weapons, alcoholic beverages, etc. are among the sanctioned goods that are included in the list of prohibited goods by decision of the board of the EEC;
- Technical failure. Sometimes unforeseen failures occur on the website, which may result in the assignment of false statuses.
What should I do if Customs refuses to allow a parcel to go through?
- If you have actually ordered a large consignment of goods or samples, then pay customs duty;
- If your order is not commercial, then provide irrefutable proof that the goods will be used only by you;
- Reject the package and open a dispute on Aliexpress;
In most cases the status “Customs banned a parcel” is erroneous. In about 24/two hours the status will change and the parcel will proceed to its destination. So do not panic. Just wait a while. If the status of the order has not changed for a long time, in this case you should follow the steps described above.
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