As per WTO agreement, “Agreement shall apply to all pre-shipment inspection activities carried out on the territory of Members, whether such activities are contracted or mandated by the government, or any government body, of a Member.“
Pre-shipment inspection activities are all activities relating to the verification of the quality, the quantity, the price, including currency exchange rate and financial terms, and/or the customs classification of goods to be exported to the territory of the user Member.
For export to countries with import certification schemes, Pre-shipment inspection is a necessary step to receive an import certificate for the shipment. Without this certificate, the shipment will not be able to clear customs in the country of destination.
Pre-shipment inspection offers importers the certainty that the goods arriving at their place of destination are in conformity to required specifications. These can be the customer’s own requirements or legal demands or may be demanded by the Bankers.