Welcome to the Customs and Border Control’s Customs Online System (or just “Customs Online” or “COLS”) Website!
New COLS e-Services System Sign-On
New Appointment of Agent (AOA) Instructions
This portal is now the official Customs declaration website for you, the Importer, to register and commence declarations to the Customs Department.
This new COLS website will now save you valuable time from having to wait at the Customs building for this purpose and provide you the facilities to track and directly engage with Customs on your declarations going forward.
Electronic Submission Procedure
To submit your COLS Declaration, you will first need to visit the COLS website and complete the registration process.
To register, simply visit the COLS website and perform the following:
1. Click the Login / Pre-Register Button;
2. Then, under the COLS User Account Pre-Registration heading, click the Pre-Register button;
3. Then complete this Registration Form and upload your PDF scanned Supporting Documents;
4. After which and once you are sure your information is complete and accurate, click the checkbox that indicates that you have made a true declaration at the bottom of the page;
5. And, then click the ‘Send Request’ button to submit your registration.
Once your request is submitted, a member of the COLS Support Team will get in touch with you to schedule a time for you to visit Customs to verify your information and Support Documents (more below).
During your visit to Customs, a COLS Support Officer will review your COLS request, along with your supporting documents, to determine whether any other final information is required.
If the officer is satisfied, your Registration request will be approved and you will receive an email with your COLS Trader Identification Number (TIN) and login information.
Once you have your login information, then you can proceed to the COLS website to login and start declaring your goods and uploading your official supporting PDF documents.
At any time, you (the importer) can connect to the COLS website and view your Dashboard to track your declaration’s progress with the Customs Department.
COLS Importer Supporting Documents
To complete your COLS Registration, the following documents are required for upload as PDF documents:
Driver’s License or Passport,
Your valid email address,
· If you are a business, also you will need to present a valid Business
License Certificate,
· If you are a company, also you will need to present your Register of Directors,
· If you are clearing goods on behalf of third parties, also a signed Appointment of Agent Form for each party you represent.
COLS Trader Account Administration
If you are an organization, once your COLS account has been authorized, you will be able to perform the following (depending on if you are an administrator):
If you are the first user of your COLS organization's account, you would normally be considered the Administrator (or just “Admin” or “Super User”) of the Account;
As the Administrator, you would now act independently of Customs to manage your own organization's COLS account on their behalf.
Declaration Submission of Supporting Documents
To submit your Declaration to the Customs Department for processing, the following documents are required to be uploaded, in PDF format, along with your electronic form:
· Official Invoices for goods being shipped
· Bill of lading or airway bill from shipper
COLS Declaration Submission Options
The COLS website now provides a number of options to submit your Declaration as follows:
1. Submit your declaration using COLS website’s manual entry via its step by step Single Administrative Document (SAD) Wizard;
2. Or submit your declaration using COLS website upload page using the XML file generated from the accompanying Excel Template.
3. Or submit your declaration using the COLS website upload page with your own system generated XML formatted file (similar to TRACES).
COLS Wizard
COLS website wizard (“Enter Declaration” button) are for your simple declaration entries with few shipment items that follow a step by step validation process.
COLS Wizard is suitable for small to medium businesses and companies that have simple declarations and time to walk through this declaration entry process.
COLS Excel Template
The COLS website Upload page comes with a readily downloadable Microsoft Excel Template for those Traders requiring assistance assembling their declaration Information.
COLS Excel Template is suitable for:
· The medium businesses and companies that have a complex declaration information and need the option to upload a large list of shipment items; and
· Businesses and companies that need an on-going means of tracking previous declaration submissions offline and independent of the COLS website.
Customs Online XML Format File
To complete the COLS website Upload Page option, you will need to comply with the XML Standard File Format for submission.
Once your COLS account has been approved, login to COLS and click on the COLS Upload Page to locate this XML Schema definition file for you to download and review.
COLS website Upload Page is for sophisticated and large Trader importers that have large volumes of shipments to declare and can generate this XML file from their own respective systems using the below Tariff Code Reference and the COLS website’s Commodity Search and Lookup Tables buttons to assemble their declaration information for submission.
COLS Resources
The Customs Department has established the following:
· Annual scheduled periods of Trader Training (stay tuned for scheduled sessions).
TBA
· A general line of inquiry via 949-4579 (voice menu entry) to the COLS Support Team for COLS general inquires or Tariff Code inquires.
· An email address for your inquiries or suggestions to the COLS Support Team at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; and
· Reference documents below to assist you complete your declaration.
Stay tuned for further information and should you have any questions, please email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.indicating your TIN Number (if available), the nature of your inquiry, and a contact cell number that you can be reached.
Now, please take the time to orient yourself with this system, especially your dashboard, for ongoing updates from Customs on your submissions and we look forward to receiving your feedback to better serve you.
Happy processing!