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 Button;
2. Then sign in using your e-Services username and password. If you have not yet registered for an e-Services account, you can do so by clicking on the Create an Account link. After creating your e-Services account you can return to COLS and sign in;
3. After successfully signing in to COLS for the first time you must now fill out the COLS Registration Form and upload your PDF scanned Supporting Documents;
4. It is important to note the type of account that you are registering. You can register for an individual account for yourself where you are the importer/trader, you can register for an Organisation Employee account where you will be operating as an employee of an already registered Organisation/Company account, and lastly you can register as an Organisation/Company account where that Organisation/Company is the importer/trader;
5. 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;
6. And, then click the ‘Send Request’ button to submit your registration.
Once your request is submitted, a member of the COLS Support Team will review your registration information and your uploaded Supporting Documents (more below).
If the officer is satisfied, your Registration request will be approved and you will receive an email stating such.
Then you can proceed to the COLS website to login, view your Trader Identification Number (TIN) and start declaring your goods. To view your TIN log in to COLS, and click on the Declaration menu in the top menu bar.
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.
If, for any reason, your registration is rejected, you will receive an email with this notification. You can log in, make corrections and re-submit your registration form again.
COLS Importer Supporting Documents
To complete your COLS Registration, the following documents are required for upload as PDF documents:
Driver’s License or Passport,
A 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 carrying an official Government Stamp. If you are in a special category of company that does not have a Register of Directors then some other government stamped document is needed.
COLS Agent Authorization
To authorize an agent to submit declarations on your behalf, log in to COLS, click on the Declarations menu on the top, then click on the Agent Authorisation menu on the left. You can then select an agent from the left side of the list, click on the single arrow button to choose that agent, and finally click on the Submit button to authorize that agent. Your chosen agent will receive an email notifying them that you have authorized them to submit declarations on your behalf.
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 in completing 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!