We handle classifications, licences, screenings, permits, and documentation - all verified and cleared worldwide before your shipment leaves the warehouse. Because solving issues at the border costs far more.
Pre-shipment compliance is the process of verifying every export and import obligation.
This includes goods classification, export controls and licences, restricted party screening, destination import permits, and documentation - all before a shipment leaves the warehouse.
It turns customs compliance from a reactive, at-the-border problem into a resolved, pre-departure checklist.
That's the most expensive place to find them.
A problem discovered at customs means holds, storage charges, penalties, or returned goods after your freight spend is committed and your customer is waiting. Enforcement is tightening, and the numbers are not small.
in lapsed duties and fees identified by US Customs and Border Protection from just 71 importer audits in a single month.
tariff-equivalent cost that unmanaged non-tariff measures - permits, certifications, inspections - can add to a cross-border shipment.
of the import obligations sit with the seller on a DDP shipment. If a check is missed, it is your delay, your penalty, and your customer relationship.
When you need to ship [somewhere new], we surface [every obligation], to enable [goods that move without surprises] - the same playbook approach that runs every STREAM service.
You share what's shipping, its value, the destination, and the reason for shipment. We confirm HS classification and control status.
Our country playbook surfaces every obligation for that market - permits, certifications, labelling, registrations, inspections.
Every transaction party is screened against restricted party lists; required export licences and filings are arranged.
Invoice, packing list, certificate of origin, and market-specific certificates are prepared and validated to match.
The shipment moves only when every obligation is cleared - with the full landed cost known before departure.
Every STREAM shipment runs through the same obligation checklist, built from country playbooks covering shipments globally.
Here is what it covers - and what each item costs when it's wrong.
Under DDP (Delivered Duty Paid), the seller carries every import obligation in the destination country - clearance, duties, taxes, permits, and paperwork. That's exactly why DDP wins deals: the buyer gets a domestic-feeling delivery with zero customs involvement.
It's also why DDP punishes unprepared sellers hardest. You can't carry obligations you haven't identified. Pre-shipment compliance is the first step in every STREAM DDP shipment - before export clearance, before freight, before duty payment and VAT reclaim.
One partner, one process, from warehouse floor to delivered duty paid.
The full Delivered Duty Paid journey - duties, taxes, VAT, and compliance globally.
Explore DDP shipping →The import VAT your DDP shipments pay at the border, recovered back to your business.
Explore VAT Reclaim →DDP requirements, VAT and duty rates, and compliance pitfalls for every market we serve.
Explore Countries →Most delays, holds, and penalties are decided before a shipment ever leaves. STREAM runs each shipment through a full pre-shipment obligation check, from HS classification and licences to restricted party screening and documentation, so goods clear cleanly the first time and nothing surfaces at the border.
The essentials of getting a shipment compliant before it moves.
Pre-shipment compliance is the process of verifying every export and import obligation for a shipment before it leaves the warehouse - goods classification, export controls and licences, restricted party screening, destination import permits, and documentation. It turns customs compliance from a reactive, at-the-border problem into a resolved, pre-departure checklist.
The HS classification for the destination market, export control status and any licence or filing, restricted party screening of every party in the transaction, a valid importer of record with the registrations the entry needs, the full landed cost including duty and import VAT, destination permits and certifications, and a complete, consistent set of documents.
Customs clearance is the formal declaration of goods to the authorities when they cross a border. Pre-shipment compliance happens before that: it makes sure everything clearance depends on - classification, licences, permits, registrations, and documents - is already correct, so clearance becomes a formality rather than a problem.
Problems surface at the border, after freight spend is committed. Shipments are held or refused, storage and demurrage charges build up, duties are reassessed, penalties are issued, and in serious cases goods are seized or destroyed. Your customer usually sees the delay before you do.
Yes - more than any other Incoterm. Under DDP the seller carries every import obligation in the destination country, so a missed permit, registration, or document is the seller's delay and the seller's penalty. Pre-shipment compliance is the first step in every STREAM DDP shipment.
No. A pre-shipment inspection is a physical check of the goods - quantity, quality, and sometimes price - that some markets require before export. Pre-shipment compliance is broader: it covers every regulatory obligation for the shipment, and where a market requires a PSI, arranging it is one item on the checklist.
It depends on the goods and the destination. On established lanes with a country playbook in place, checks typically run alongside order processing. New markets, controlled goods, or products that need permits or certifications take longer - which is exactly why STREAM surfaces those requirements before you commit to a delivery date.
STREAM runs the full pre-shipment obligation check on every shipment, so nothing surfaces at the border.
