Step 1
Power of Attorney (POA)
Prepare the account details, documentation, and review steps needed to start brokerage service cleanly.
New Customer
Get started with JFS CHB through a clear onboarding process.
Give new clients one place to understand onboarding requirements, review legal terms, submit documentation, and move from first contact to active service faster.
Step 2
Credit Application
Prepare the account details, documentation, and review steps needed to start brokerage service cleanly.
Step 3
KYC Requirements
Prepare the account details, documentation, and review steps needed to start brokerage service cleanly.
Step 4
Terms and Conditions
Prepare the account details, documentation, and review steps needed to start brokerage service cleanly.
Questions
Common questions about opening an account
What do you need to open an account?
Client intake — who you are, your importer number, what you import and where it comes from — a signed power of attorney, and acknowledgement of our terms. If you need a customs bond we arrange that as part of setup.
Both the intake and the power of attorney can be completed online. You do not need to write to us first.
How long does onboarding take?
Review and validation takes 24 to 48 hours once your intake and power of attorney are in.
It is a review rather than a formality, and it is worth knowing why. As a CTPAT member we are required to screen the business partners we file for — identity verification, denied-party and sanctions screening, and an assessment against the CTPAT minimum security criteria. We are vetting you the way CBP expects us to. A straightforward file clears well inside that window; one that raises a question takes as long as the question takes.
Why do you need a power of attorney?
It is the legal instrument that lets a licensed broker transact customs business on your behalf. Without one we cannot file, and no other document substitutes for it.
Signing it does not transfer your liability to us. You remain the importer of record, responsible for the declaration, the duty and the records. We act as your agent, on your authority.
Do you extend credit?
Prepayment is the default for a new account. Established businesses importing at volume are considered case by case.
Whatever the terms, duty is identified separately from our fee on every invoice. Money payable to CBP and money payable to us are never presented as one figure — the regulations require that distinction, and it protects you.
Do I need a customs bond before you can file?
Yes. A formal entry requires one, and it is a guarantee to CBP rather than insurance for you.
A single transaction bond covers one entry and suits an occasional importer. A continuous bond covers a year and is sized on your annual duty — the right choice once you are importing regularly, because it stops being economic to buy one per shipment. We arrange either.
I have never imported before. Is that a problem?
No, and it is more common than you would think — particularly since duty-free treatment ended for postal shipments and individuals started receiving customs notices for the first time.
We will tell you what the obligations actually are before you take them on, including the ones that outlast the shipment: as importer of record you carry a five-year recordkeeping duty, and we hold the file for you.
Can you file while my paperwork is still being processed?
No. The power of attorney has to be valid and your importer record has to exist with CBP before anything can be transmitted. That is not our policy, it is the sequence.
It is also why we start on documents the day you contact us rather than the day the goods arrive. Where a deadline is already running — a detained parcel, a vessel arriving — say so at the outset and we will work to it.