Challenge: Vital Customs Terms

Test your customs knowledge with our interactive challenges—perfect for self-study or team training. Answers revealed in a follow-up!

About our Challenge Series

Our "Challenge" Series is designed to help customs and global trade professionals put their knowledge to the test—either individually or as a team. They can be used to complement annual upskilling or training plans. They are "ready for use" and do not need any extra work or preparation. Just use them to upskill yourself or your team or to identify any gaps.

These short, interactive exercises are a simple and engaging way to identify any potential knowledge gaps in customs compliance, procedures, or terminology.

Participating is easy: just read the challenge, submit your answers, and then check them against the official solutions, which are always published in a separate follow-up post. You can even allocate a score or give a price to you or your team (e.g. everyone who has the right answer gets a coffee on the house"). Whether used for self-study or as a team activity, these challenges spark meaningful discussions and provide immediate learning value—without the need for formal training sessions or extra office hours.

Ready to get started?

🚛💥 Behind every successful shipment, deal, or supply chain win......there’s a mountain of customs work happening behind the scenes.

📦 Want to avoid disasters at the border when shipping globally?

You’ll need to master these 20 essential customs terms.

🧠 BUT — we’re not giving you the answersin this post. Just the descriptions.

Can you match the correct term to each description below?

— we’ll reveal all 20 in another post.

1️⃣ Global product classification system used for tariffs and statistics

2️⃣ The value used to assess duties and taxes, often the transaction price

3️⃣ Government-imposed taxes on imports (and sometimes exports)

4️⃣ Rules defining responsibilities between buyers and sellers in international trade

5️⃣ Official submission to customs about imported goods for clearance

6️⃣ Document filed before exporting goods to declare contents, destination, and value

7️⃣ Document proving where the goods were manufactured

8️⃣ EU system allowing exporters to self-certify the origin of goods for preferential treatment

9️⃣ Form used across the EU to declare imports, exports, and transit

🔟 A licensed agent who manages the customs clearance process

1️⃣1️⃣ A ruling giving legal certainty about a product’s classification

1️⃣2️⃣ A ruling confirming the correct origin of a product

1️⃣3️⃣ Certification for businesses that meet high customs compliance standards

1️⃣4️⃣ Facility to store goods without paying duties until formally imported

1️⃣5️⃣ International customs document for duty-free temporary import/export

1️⃣6️⃣ Reduced duty rate under trade agreements

1️⃣7️⃣ Country of origin used for applying standard duty rates

1️⃣8️⃣ Customs decision issued in advance about tariff, origin, or value

1️⃣9️⃣ Procedure allowing goods to move through countries without paying duties

2️⃣0️⃣ Certificates for goods like food, plants, or animals to prove they meet health standards

💬 Think you know your stuff? Comment with your answers!

📢 Look out for the Answer Post called "Solution: Vital Customs Terms"