Which items are considered prohibited items for international express delivery?
The international express delivery security inspection standards are strict, and the customs regulations of different countries vary. Once prohibited items are mailed, it will directly lead to seizure of the goods, return of the shipment, destruction, and even result in high fines, seriously affecting the reputation of the store. Many sellers, due to not knowing the scope of prohibited items and the mailing rules for electric products, blindly ship causing huge losses. Clearly distinguishing common goods, sensitive goods, and prohibited items, and mastering the compliance mailing requirements for electric products, is a basic compulsory course for cross-border shipping.
The absolute prohibited items in international express delivery are globally applicable restricted categories, which cannot be mailed through any channel or in any country. They mainly include flammable and explosive items such as lighters, matches, fireworks, alcohol, gasoline; controlled knives, sharp instruments, flammable and explosive pressure vessels; drugs, prohibited medicines, counterfeit brand infringement goods, pornographic prohibited publications; live animals, fresh perishable goods, soil, seeds, etc. Quarantine prohibited items. Once such goods are detected, they will be directly destroyed, and no appeal is possible. They will also be blocked by the express delivery outlets, affecting subsequent shipment.
Special sensitive goods belong to restricted transportation categories and cannot be shipped through ordinary common goods channels. They need to be sent through dedicated sensitive goods channels. Common categories include electric and magnetic products, liquid powders, cream cosmetics, food and health products, brand counterfeit products, batteries, power banks, magnetic accessories, etc. These goods are not completely prohibited, but have higher security inspection standards. Ordinary channels will directly seize the goods and must be declared and transported through compliant sensitive goods channels.
Electric products are the mainstream category for cross-border shipping, including built-in batteries, external batteries, power banks, lithium battery equipment, etc. There are clear mailing regulations. First, pure lithium batteries and power banks must not be shipped in their bare form. They must be independently insulated packaged, with positive and negative poles well insulated to avoid short circuits and fires. The capacity of a single power bank must not exceed 100Wh. Any capacity exceeding this limit will be prohibited from shipping. Secondly, for goods with built-in batteries, the batteries must be firmly fixed, without loosening, damage, or leakage, and the equipment must be able to shut down normally to avoid standby heating risks.
Compliant documents and packaging requirements are indispensable. When mailing electric products, it is necessary to provide the MSDS chemical safety manual, UN38.3 air transportation test report, to prove that the batteries meet the aviation transportation safety standards and have no safety hazards. At the same time, the number and weight of batteries in a single shipment must comply with the channel limit. It is strictly prohibited to overpack and ship damaged batteries. To avoid abnormal security inspections and seizure of goods.
In practice, it is necessary to declare the nature of the goods in advance. It is strictly prohibited to conceal or lie about electric goods. If concealed and detected by the airport security check, the entire shipment will be seized, resulting in high handling fees. Before shipping, it is necessary to connect with the freight forwarder in advance to confirm the channel access rules, comply with packaging and provide complete documents, so as to smoothly clear customs and transport, and avoid seizure and return risks.