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Upload a customs declaration and watch as Affinda instantly predicts the data fields you need, helping you automate customs declaration processing in just a few clicks.
How to automate customs declaration processing with Affinda's AI
- 1
Upload your customs declarations, your way
Email, drag and drop or connect via API.
- 2
Watch as it extracts your customs declaration data
Affinda's AI reads your customs declarations with impressive contextual understanding. It splits and classifies documents, extracts and validates data, then transforms the output to match your business needs.
- 3
Automatically route the data to your systems
No manual data entry required. Affinda integrates seamlessly into your existing tech stack.
Extract any information from any document, fast
Affinda's AI reads, understands and extracts data from any customs declaration or document 
Cleanse and transform data
Affinda automatically converts extracted customs declaration data into the format your trade systems recognize, ensuring it's ready for compliance platforms, ERPs or customs brokers. Need something specific? Use natural language to describe how you want the data structured.
Apply business logic
Use natural language to write validation rules and apply your business logic to customs declaration data. This ensures the output meets compliance requirements and enables straight-through customs processing.
Combine the best of artificial and human intelligence
1B+ documents processed
10+ years of IP combined with the latest AI innovations
800+ customers
95% reduction in manual processing achieved
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Watch as the platform predicts the information you want to extract, letting you build models in minutes, not months.Automating their document processes with AI
Frequently asked questions
What is customs declaration processing?
Customs declaration processing is the workflow that manages the capture, validation and submission of import and export documentation for border clearance. Our AI customs declaration processing software automates this to reduce manual entry, minimize errors and accelerate clearance times. It ensures that declaration data – including HS codes, values and country information – is accurate, compliant and integrated correctly with customs management and trade compliance systems.
What is customs declaration data extraction?
Customs declaration data extraction is the process of reading import and export declarations and capturing critical data points such as declaration numbers, exporter and importer details, goods descriptions, HS codes, values and country of origin. Our AI automates customs declaration data extraction, transforming complex forms – including multi-page documents and tables – into structured data ready for your customs management and trade compliance systems.
What is customs declaration extraction?
Customs declaration extraction is the AI-powered capture of essential data from import and export forms. Our customs declaration extraction software combines reading order models, OCR, LLMs, RAG and more to convert declaration information with exceptional accuracy and faster processing times.
What is a customs declaration parser?
A customs declaration parser is a software tool that automatically reads and extracts data from customs forms – including CN22, CN23, import and export declarations. It converts declaration information into structured, machine-readable formats. Our AI customs declaration parser adapts instantly to format variations, multilingual documents and complex layouts before delivering output in exactly the format your systems require.
What is customs declaration line extraction?
Customs declaration line extraction captures itemized goods data from declaration tables – including descriptions, HS codes, quantities, values and countries of origin – and structures it while preserving the relationships between each line item. Our complex tables capability reads even the most intricate customs forms, handling everything from simple goods listings to multi-column declarations with nested tariff classifications.
What data fields can Affinda's AI customs declaration processing software extract?
Affinda's AI customs declaration processing software captures data from any field on import and export declarations, including CN22, CN23 and country-specific formats. Standard data fields include:
Declaration Information
- Declaration Number / Reference Number: Unique identifier assigned to the customs declaration.
- Declaration Type: Import, export, or transit classification.
- Form Type: CN22, CN23, or country-specific declaration format.
- Declaration Date / Submission Date: Date the declaration is completed or lodged with customs.
- Office of Entry / Exit: Customs office handling the declaration.
- Total Value / Currency: Aggregate value of goods and the currency used.
Party Details
- Exporter Name / Address / Tax ID: Full details of the entity shipping goods out of the origin country.
- Importer Name / Address / Tax ID: Full details of the entity receiving goods in the destination country.
- Consignee / Notify Party: Additional contact or delivery party information.
- Declarant / Agent: Customs broker or authorized representative submitting the declaration.
Goods and Classification
- Goods Description: Detailed description of items being declared.
- HS Code / Tariff Code: Harmonized System classification for duty and compliance.
- Quantity / Unit of Measure: Number of items and their measurement unit.
- Net Weight / Gross Weight: Weight of goods with and without packaging.
- Item Value / Line Total: Value per line item and calculated totals.
- Packaging Type / Number of Packages: Container type and package count.
Origin and Destination
- Country of Origin / Country of Destination: Where goods are produced and where they're headed.
- Port of Loading / Port of Discharge: Departure and arrival locations.
- Place of Delivery: Final destination address or location code.
Compliance and Authentication
- Signatures: Declarant, exporter, or authorized signatory.
- Stamps / Seals: Official customs or certifying body marks.
- Certificates / Licenses: References to supporting compliance documents.
- Customs Procedure Code: Code indicating the customs regime or procedure.
Other Fields
- Page Number / Total Pages: Multi-page form navigation.
- Checkboxes / Indicators: Special handling, hazardous goods, or exemption flags.
- Additional Notes / Remarks: Free-text fields for supplementary information.
Need to capture custom fields specific to your trade lanes or compliance requirements? Define them in the platform or describe them in plain language and Affinda will extract and structure them automatically.
What file types does Affinda's AI customs declaration processing solution support?
Our AI agents can process any file type. Supported file types include PDF, JPG/JPEG, PNG, TIFF, DOC/DOCX (Word), XLSX (Excel), HTML and TXT/CSV.
How does Affinda process customs declarations and extract customs declaration data?
Affinda's AI agents read, extract and validate customs declaration data. Our platform is intuitive to set up and easily integrates into your systems. Simply:
- Upload your customs declarations via drag-and-drop, email or API.
- Configure business logic to match your organization's rules and workflows.
- Let Affinda check and validate extracted data against your business logic and customs management, trade compliance, and supply chain systems to ensure accuracy.
- Access structured customs declaration data directly within your systems.
The result? Faster, more accurate customs declaration processing with minimal manual input.
Can Affinda extract data from scanned or image-based customs declarations?
Yes. Our AI customs declaration processing platform combines OCR with retrieval augmented generation (RAG), LLMs, agentic workflows, proprietary reading order algorithms and more, to automatically detect and process data from scanned or photographed invoices (PDF, JPG, PNG). Even low-quality images are automatically enhanced for reliable data capture and processing.
What language does Affinda's AI customs declaration automation platform support?
Our AI customs declaration processing platform can automatically detect and process customs declarations in 50+ languages, including multilingual customs declarations containing more than one language. Supported languages include: Afrikaans, Albanian, Amharic, Arabic (Standard, Egyptian, Sudanese, Algerian, Moroccan, Levantine), Bahasa Indonesian, Bengali, Bhojpuri, Bulgarian, Burmese, Chinese (Mandarin [PRC/Taiwan], Cantonese, Wu, Min Nan, Jinyu, Xiang, Hakka), Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Gujarati, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Javanese, Kannada, Korean, Latvian, Lingala, Lithuanian, Macedonian, Malayalam, Marathi, Nepali, Norwegian, Odia, Persian (Farsi), Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi (Western and Eastern), Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Slovenian, Somali, Spanish, Swahili, Tagalog, Tamil, Telugu, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Urdu, Vietnamese, Yoruba.
Does Affinda integrate with customs management and ERP systems?
Yes. Our AI customs declaration processing platform integrates with 400+ systems, including customs management, ERP, trade compliance and supply chain platforms. Build no-code integrations using our AI integrations agent, or connect via API – whatever fits your workflow best.
What are some examples of AI customs declaration workflow automations?
AI customs declaration processing automates complex cross-border workflows across logistics, trade and compliance teams such as:
- Customs Brokerage: Accelerate border clearance by extracting declaration data from CN22, CN23, and country-specific forms with 99%+ accuracy. Business-rule validation flags missing HS codes, incorrect values and incomplete party details before submission – reducing costly delays and amendments.
- Logistics / Freight Forwarding: Eliminate manual data entry and adapt to varying declaration formats across trade lanes. Feed structured data into customs management and supply chain systems to improve shipment visibility and operational efficiency.
- Trade Compliance Teams: Ensure regulatory compliance by validating tariff codes, origin requirements and certificate references. Maintain audit-ready records and streamline reporting across jurisdictions.
What is a customs declaration OCR data extractor?
A customs declaration optical character recognition (OCR) data extractor reads and captures information from import and export declarations, regardless of format or language. Upload customs documents in PDF, JPG or PNG formats. The OCR technology first converts the documents into a text layer, ensuring all information – even from scans, photos or handwritten forms – is captured. Affinda's AI models then identify and extract key fields such as declaration numbers, HS codes, party details, goods descriptions, values and country information, transforming them into structured, usable data.
This automation removes manual data entry, reduces errors and speeds up border clearance. Once the customs declaration data is captured and structured, our AI customs declaration processing pipeline can apply business-rule validation and post-processing to enable seamless integration with customs management, ERP, trade compliance and supply chain systems.
Organizations in logistics, customs brokerage and international trade rely on Affinda's AI for their border clearance, compliance reporting and freight forwarding processes, streamlining cross-border workflows and improving operational efficiency.