Services
Customs, freight and trade services
Find specialist support for your shipments, compliance requirements and supply chain. TCSA connects you with relevant member providers and offers selected services directly.
Customs
Declarations, transit, bonded storage and the procedures around them.
Customs clearance and brokerage
Support with import, export and transit declarations where goods cross a customs border. TCSA reviews the requirement and identifies a suitable member brokerage for the trade lane involved.
Transit and temporary movement
Transit procedures move goods under customs control between two points, or into and out of a territory temporarily. The documentation and guarantees are different from an ordinary import, and the movements are usually time-limited.
Customs warehousing and bonded storage
Customs and excise warehouses hold goods with duty suspended until they are released, re-exported or moved on. The regime suits importers who need to defer duty, consolidate shipments or store goods for a market they are still developing.
Freight and logistics
Forwarding, air, sea and road movements, and warehouse fulfilment.
Freight forwarding
A freight forwarder arranges the movement of goods across borders — booking space, preparing transport and customs documentation, and coordinating the parties involved. This page covers forwarding as a whole; the transport-mode pages cover air, sea and road in detail.
Air freight
Air freight moves goods quickly at a cost that is charged mainly by chargeable weight — the greater of actual and volumetric weight. It suits time-critical shipments, high-value goods and cargo that cannot travel by sea.
Sea freight
Sea freight carries the majority of international trade by volume. It is the most economical option for large or heavy consignments, with a transit time measured in weeks rather than days, and with a choice between full containers and shared space.
Road freight
Road freight covers the movement of goods by trailer, including cross-border road movements within Europe and inland legs at either end of an air or sea shipment. It suits palletised goods on predictable corridors.
Warehousing and third-party logistics
Third-party logistics covers storage, pick and pack, and the fulfilment activity around it. It is the commercial counterpart to a customs warehouse: this page covers storage and fulfilment generally, while customs warehousing covers duty-suspended storage specifically.
Trade compliance and advisory
Classification, origin, valuation, authorisations and controls.
Customs compliance review
A structured review of how an organisation handles customs: the data behind its declarations, the procedures it follows and the records it keeps. It identifies where errors are arising and what to fix first.
Tariff classification
Classification determines the duty rate, the controls and the origin rules that apply to a product. Getting it wrong is one of the most common sources of post-clearance demand, and one of the easiest to put right.
Rules of origin and preference
Origin determines whether a preferential duty rate is available and what evidence supports the claim. It is assessed on the product's inputs and processing, not on where it was shipped from.
Customs valuation
Duty is charged on the customs value of the goods, which is not always the invoice price. Royalties, assists, freight, insurance and related-party transactions all affect the figure and are frequently handled incorrectly.
AEO authorisation support
Authorised Economic Operator status is a customs authorisation granted to businesses that meet standards on records, solvency and compliance. Preparing an application is largely about being able to evidence those standards.
CBAM reporting and compliance
The Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism places reporting and, in time, cost obligations on imports of certain carbon-intensive goods into the EU. The obligation sits with the importer, and it depends on data the supplier has to provide.
Export controls and sanctions screening
Export controls restrict what may be sent to whom, and for what end use. Sanctions add restrictions on parties, sectors and destinations. Both apply to intangible transfers as well as physical shipments, and both change frequently.
Inspections
Verification of goods, condition and sites at defined points in the chain.
Customs software
Declaration filing, classification data, landed cost and screening tools.
Training
Approved courses and tailored sessions for customs and trade teams.
Managed procurement
Sourcing across providers, services or locations, run as a proper selection.
The process
How an enquiry works
Find customs, freight and trade services through TCSA. Tell us what you need and we will review your enquiry, connect you with suitable member providers, or confirm whether TCSA can deliver the service directly. Submitting an enquiry does not book work or accept a quotation, and does not guarantee that a provider is available.
- 01
Choose a service and tell us what you need
Pick the service that fits and describe the requirement. It takes a couple of minutes.
- 02
TCSA reviews the requirement
We confirm the appropriate next step: a member provider, a TCSA-delivered service, or a managed sourcing process.
- 03
The agreed route responds
Suitable member providers or the TCSA team respond according to the route you agreed to.
- 04
You decide whether to proceed
Review the scope, the provider and the pricing before committing to anything.
Delivered by TCSA
Services TCSA delivers directly
These services are delivered by TCSA, subject to confirmation of scope, location and availability. They are identified as TCSA work because that is what they are — not presented as an independent comparison of the market.
Tariff classification
Classification determines the duty rate, the controls and the origin rules that apply to a product. Getting it wrong is one of the most common sources of post-clearance demand, and one of the easiest to put right.
Request a classification reviewRules of origin and preference
Origin determines whether a preferential duty rate is available and what evidence supports the claim. It is assessed on the product's inputs and processing, not on where it was shipped from.
Request origin supportCustoms valuation
Duty is charged on the customs value of the goods, which is not always the invoice price. Royalties, assists, freight, insurance and related-party transactions all affect the figure and are frequently handled incorrectly.
Discuss a valuation questionExport controls and sanctions screening
Export controls restrict what may be sent to whom, and for what end use. Sanctions add restrictions on parties, sectors and destinations. Both apply to intangible transfers as well as physical shipments, and both change frequently.
Discuss an export control questionManaged procurement
Managed procurement is for requirements that cannot be met by a single provider or a single service — multiple locations, several services, or a supplier selection that needs to be run properly. TCSA reviews the brief, assesses the market and presents the options.
Submit a procurement brief
Membership
What members get on services
You do not need to be a member to enquire. Membership changes the rate you pay and the way opportunities are routed to you as a provider.
For buyers
- Preferential rates on eligible services, confirmed with your quotation.
- Eligibility checked against your membership record, not a self-declaration.
- One enquiry route covering customs, freight, compliance and inspections.
For member providers
- Enquiries matched to your stated services, countries and language capability.
- Only enquiries you are assigned to are visible to you, in the Member Portal.
- Your details are shared only where the customer has permitted it.
Buying a service has no bearing on accreditation. Accreditation is assessed separately against published criteria.
Support by country
Local requirements differ by market. Each country page sets out the customs authority, the guidance that applies and the services available there.
Request a service
Tell us what you need
Not sure which service fits? Describe the requirement and TCSA will confirm the appropriate route — a member provider, a TCSA-delivered service, or a managed sourcing process.
Prefer a specific service? Open it from the categories above and its enquiry form is already set to that service.