• Related Parties

  Related parties are buyer-seller relationships (by family, ownership, control, or shared officers) that U.S. Customs and Border Protection evaluates because they may affect the declared import value on a Customs entry.

• Residential Delivery Fee

  A residential delivery fee is the fee a trucker may charge for delivering to a residential area. If applicable, it appears on your Flexport quote or invoice as a destination charge.

• Responsible Supervision and Control

  In a US Customs sense, responsible supervision and control refers to the efforts of a licensed customs broker to ensure that all customs business executed by their employees meets regulatory requirements and is transacted with substantially the same level of quality the broker…

• Rolled Cargo

  Rolled cargo is cargo that could not be loaded onto the vessel it was scheduled to sail on because that vessel ran out of capacity. Vessels run out of capacity because carriers overbook spots, similar to how passenger airlines overbook seats.

• Rules of Origin

  Rules of origin are a set of legal standards used to determine how to treat traded goods from a tariff standpoint on the basis of their country of origin.

• Ship From Address (Amazon)

  The Ship From address is the warehouse from which your shipment will be picked up for final delivery to an Amazon fulfillment center. It will not be your supplier's address, but the last stop before delivery to an FBA warehouse.

• Shipper's Letter of Instruction (SLI)

  A Shipper's Letter of Instruction (SLI) is a letter from the exporter instructing the freight forwarder on how and where to handle the export shipment, granting permission to act as the authorized forwarding agent for U.S. export control and customs.

• Shipping Order (SO)

  A Shipping Order (SO) is a document issued by the carrier that confirms a shipment's booking on a vessel.

• SKU (Stock Keeping Unit)

  A SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) is a unique, internal alphanumeric code used by retailers and fulfillment providers to identify and track specific products within an inventory system.

• Special Delivery Fee

  A special delivery fee is charged by a trucker for a delivery outside of their normal service parameters, such as an after-hours delivery or delivery to a destination they don't typically service.

• Split Shipment

  A split shipment means that cargo moving via air does not arrive on a single flight, but is instead distributed among two or more flights. This is more likely to happen with a large shipment.

• Stop-Off Fee

  A stop-off fee is assessed by the trucker if a shipment is split between two or more delivery locations (or an empty return location).

• Storage Charges

  Storage charges are the cost of holding a shipment at a location, such as a warehouse or centralized examination station, and appear on the final invoice if applicable.

• Stuffing

  Stuffing is the act of loading a container. A supplier will stuff an FCL container at their premises, while an LCL container is stuffed at a container freight station (CFS).

• Tail Gate Exam

  A Tail Gate exam is a type of Customs exam, the next step up from an X-ray exam. A CBP officer breaks the container seal at the ocean terminal, opens the doors, and looks inside before releasing or escalating it.

• Tariff

  A tariff is a publication of rates, charges, classifications, and rules. As it relates to U.S. Customs, it is a list of products to which a rate of tax applies, determining the duty amount owed for importing or exporting a product.