Customs application for action: stages and deadlines
A customs application for action lets a trade mark owner ask a customs authority to stop suspected counterfeit goods at the border. The process runs through filing, validation, and monitoring, then narrows sharply once a consignment is actually held back. At that point a short response window opens, and missing it is the point of no return: silence can be treated as consent to destroy the goods.
How the procedure unfolds
The application itself is a request, not a decision. The right holder submits it to the competent customs authority together with evidence of the registered right and a description of the genuine goods. The authority checks the file for completeness and, if it is in order, grants the application for a defined period. That grant is what customs officers work from when they check consignments crossing the border during that window.
Once officers suspect a match, they suspend release of the shipment and notify both the right holder and the declarant or holder of the goods. From that notification, a short response period runs. The right holder must confirm the goods are infringing and choose how the matter proceeds. If the holder of the goods consents, or stays silent within the period the authority sets, destruction typically follows under a simplified procedure. If the holder objects, the file moves out of customs and into court.
| Stage | What happens | Who acts |
|---|---|---|
| Filing | Application submitted with proof of the right and contact details for urgent response | Right holder or representative |
| Validation | Authority checks completeness and grants the application for a defined period | Customs authority |
| Monitoring | Consignments checked against the granted application | Customs officers |
| Suspension | Suspect goods held back, both sides notified | Customs authority |
| Confirmation | Right holder confirms infringement and chooses next steps | Right holder |
| Outcome | Goods released, destroyed by consent, or referred to court | Customs authority or court |
What to prepare
- Gather registration certificates for every right the application should cover.
- Describe the genuine goods in enough detail for an officer to tell them apart from a suspect consignment.
- Name a contact who can respond within hours once goods are stopped, and give that person the file.
- Check whether the authority asks for a guarantee or security before goods are held, and arrange it in advance.
- File the application with the authority for the territory the shipments actually pass through.
- Diarise the expiry date and file a renewal request before the grant lapses.
Who decides and when the clock starts
The customs authority that granted the application decides whether to suspend a given shipment. The response clock for the right holder starts on the day the authority sends the notification, not on the day the shipment left or arrived. If the holder of the goods objects rather than staying silent, jurisdiction shifts to the courts competent for the underlying right, and the goods remain suspended while that dispute runs.
Common forks
If the suspect shipment sits inside a wider patent dispute affecting the same product family, the timing question changes shape. The opt-out window is closing on a family patent works through a parallel deadline that can move faster than the customs file.
If the goods arrived under a supply contract that caps the supplier's liability, the customs stop can interact with that clause before you decide how hard to push. Negotiating limitation of liability sets out what a decision maker checks before signing such a cap.
If the shipment carries tokenised assets rather than physical stock, the destruction question is replaced by a custody question. Custody arrangement review: what the decision maker looks at covers the checks that apply there instead.
What this page does not cover
This page does not set out any fee or guarantee amount, because the customs authority's own tariff and security rules are the only current source, and they vary by authority. It does not decide which authority holds jurisdiction over a specific shipment; that depends on the route and the point of entry. It does not replace the authority's own application form and evidence checklist, which each authority publishes and updates on its own schedule.
Sources and limit
Our notes on timing come from filings we have run and from guidance published by national customs authorities on intellectual property enforcement. For a file that documents which registrations sit behind a specific border position, see Asset in Romania in detail.
Where the underlying question is who ultimately holds the registered right rather than what customs can do with it, see Ownership structure in Latvia. This page was last reviewed in November 2024.
Related reading
How proof of use trade mark runs in practice explains the parallel procedure that protects the same registration once a challenge starts elsewhere, rather than at the border.
Next step
If a competitor has copied your design rather than shipped counterfeit stock, start with When a design is copied by a competitor explained. Where a shipment is already moving, tell us and a partner responds within minutes during business hours, with a proposal on scope within one business day.
FAQ
How long does customs application for action take in practice?
The timeline runs across two separate clocks. One covers how long the authority takes to grant the application once filed. The other covers how long the right holder has to respond after a shipment is actually stopped. Both windows are set by the customs authority's own procedure and stated in its own published guidance, so the figure differs by authority.
Which documents are needed to start?
An application needs proof of the registered right, a description detailed enough to separate genuine goods from suspect ones, and a contact who can act quickly once a shipment is held. Some authorities also ask for a guarantee or security before goods are stopped, confirmed in the authority's own procedure.
What happens if the other side does not respond?
If the holder of the goods stays silent within the period the authority sets, many authorities treat that silence as consent, and the goods move to destruction under a simplified procedure. If the holder objects instead, the file leaves customs and moves to the courts with jurisdiction over the underlying right, and the goods stay suspended until that court decides.