What Is a Tariff Service?

A tariff service is a company, organization, or even simply a set of guidelines that makes sure that the tariffs set and collected for a specific industry are fair and just, and that they are paid as required. Basically, a tariff is a monetary percentage that people or companies are required to pay in different instances, such as flying, exporting, importing, and even traveling by land across country lines. Governments for each country throughout the world have set rules and regulations that all people and companies are required to follow, which is where the tariff service companies come into play.

Almost 200 countries came to an agreement upon what the tariff service for each industry should be. This treaty sets specific guidelines and parameters that each country that signed the agreement is expected to follow. This combining of the tariff services for the countries involved is known as the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System. Every product within this system has a unique bar code which each and every package needs to have attached to it. In this way, customs can simply scan the items as they come into their country without having to search each one, unless there is reason to suspect that the contents are not as they should be, such as people trafficking weapons or drugs.

The tariff service that applies to products coming into a country is called import tariffs, which covers any product or item that is for sale. This not only includes products such as electronics and food, but other items such as power and natural resources. All of these items are coded with specific bar codes so that the country that it is coming from, and going to, can track it and process it as it departs and arrives. In this way the countries that are working together ensure that each and every product is charged correctly, and that no companies or individuals can falsify documents without being caught and charged with a criminal offense.

Export tariffs are similar to the imports, except that they are the products or items that are leaving the country to go into another one, and they are a completely separate tariff service. This is a charge that individuals and companies must pay when they are shipping or sending items or resources out of the country. This fee goes to the country of origin, while the import tariff fees go to the receiving country. Both of these fees will need to be paid before a transaction is completed. Usually, the company shipping the item is responsible to pay the export tariff and the receiving company will have to pay the import tax. In this way, both fees are paid and the two companies share the expense of shipping from one country to another.