October 2008
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WelcomeWelcome to the October newsletter. We are certainly living in ‘interesting times’, aren’t we? With the global financial situation still in a state of flux, it does at least begin to look as if there is a way forward. Nevertheless, this may still be a challenging period for many businesses. It’s worth remembering that being up-front about a temporarily challenging financial situation is usually the best approach. In fact, in our experience, it most certainly is. If you’re having difficulty paying your suppliers, be up-front with them. Let them know the situation, before they call in the debt collectors or commence court proceedings, and it could save a whole lot of bother. With a bit of co-operation and compromise, based on an open understanding of the situation, there’s usually a solution to be found. In the end, you will retain an important supplier relationship and your commercial reputation, and they will retain a good customer. In the long run, that will be to the advantage of both. Keep your head in the game in these troubled times – and encourage your own customers to do the same! We’ve received several notices from HMRC this month and we’re passing on the ones most likely to affect you. In addition, there’s our usual Q&A section and, of course, a mini work of fiction to accompany your coffee. Enjoy the rest of this issue and don’t forget, for any customs and importation queries, make our friendly and approachable Customer Services team on +44 (0)20 8231 0900 your first port of call. In this issueCountry code list amendments in preparation for Export & Import Control System Country code list amendments in preparation for Export & Import Control SystemProblems are arising when goods are traded between certain countries, as a result of some country codes listed on CHIEF (Customs Handling of Import & Export Freight) not being EU compliant. With effect from 1st January 2009, HMRC plans to amend the relevant country codes on CHIEF to reflect the existing EU list. The changes to CHIEF will be included in the UK Integrated Tariff January reprint but HMRC will advise of the changes via a further CIP as soon as a comprehensive list of the revised codes is available. For queries, contact Tarrif Management at tariff.management@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk. Economic Operator Registration and Identification (EORI) Scheme UpdateEarlier in the year, HMRC’s CIP (08) 24 provided background information on the EORI scheme. HMRC has recently issued a further notice, CIP (08) 61, with more detailed information on the proposed implementation of EORI in the UK, which comes into effect from 1st July 2009. EORI aims to improve security provisions by identifying each economic operator (EO) with a unique reference number. An EO will be required to provide their unique EORI number to a customs authority when they import, export and move goods under a transit procedure. The number will be used for:
If you are approved, or wish to be approved, as an AEO, and/or are required to provide pre arrival/pre departure information, or are involved in the import, export or movement of goods under a transit procedure you will need an EORI number. The implementation of EORI in the UK will replace the existing (TURN) system which will cease to exist from 1 July 2009. A number of the TURN features will be retained in the EORI system, in particular the format of the number itself. Click here for HMRC’s FAQs on EORI. Click here to access the earlier CIP (08) 24 on the HMRC web site. Click here to access CIP (08) 61 on the HMRC web site. Further questions concerning EORI can be sent to HMRC via their dedicated EORI email address. Keeping Exports On The MoveHMRC has recently issued a plea for prompt responses on those occasions where they request further information in respect of exports, to support a declaration. They have noticed that some such requests appear to go unanswered, resulting in unacceptable delays. These delays in turn can impact the loading of vessels and aircraft, with loaders being put under undue commercial pressure to ship goods before postive clearance has been given by HMRC. Whether requesting a simple confirmation of data, or as the result of a physical inspection by UK Border Agency representatives, HMRC requests for additional information are supported by law – in short, if you’re asked for more information, you must by law supply it. Only once a query has been resolved is HMRC able to confirm release of goods for export and goods should not be shipped without Permission to Progress. Exports removed prior to Permission to Progress constitute unauthorised removals from Customs control and may lead to a Customs Civil Penalty. Submitting traders and agents have been requested to monitor all export prints from CHIEF, including P9 prints for non-arrivals, and ensure that any specific enquiry is responded to promptly, enabling HMRC to provide the higest levels of customer service and keeping exports on-the-move. Click here to access the full CIP (08) 59 on the HMRC web site. Q&A - Everything you wanted to know about importing, but were afraid to ask!Each issue, we answer in brief one or two of your more specific customs and importation questions. Q: I know you ‘customs clear’ goods, but can you also deliver them? A: Yes. We can arrange delivery to anywhere in the world, saving you the time and effort of collecting your goods once they clear customs. We offer a wide range of different delivery options to suit every need and budget. Find out more by calling 020 8231 0900 or email info@customsclearanceuk.com. Q: I do not have enough warehouse space to store my shipments: can you help me A: Yes we can. We can import your consignment from anywhere in the world and store it for up to a set period of time at a very competitive rate. If you want us to unpack, sort into individual orders and then redistribute your product, we can do this too. We take away the stress of storage and distribution management, leaving you to focus on sales. Q: Who insures my shipment? It is often taken for granted by the originator of your consignment that the courier or forwarder will be insuring the goods – but in this world, take nothing for granted. We often hear of people setting out on holiday without adequate coverage and of the awful consequences when they need emergency medical treatment and there’s no insurance to cover the costs. In the same way that it is practical to buy travel insurance when you travel, so you should make sure you understand what insurance coverage is provided and if this isn’t sufficient, purchase your own insurance. Coffee Break Story: Meltdown in MadridHere’s another of our ‘coffee break’ stories for your time-out time. Enjoy! It was, all in all, a disastrous trip – one of those ‘meltdown’ moments. You know, the kind of time you look back on and a chill runs down your spine and the blood rushes to your face. Mortal embarrassment from start to finish. I was in Madrid on an overnighter. I’d got there early but the hotel had my room ready and let me check in. I dumped my case, grabbed a quick sandwich and headed off for my meeting. I was told it was just a 5 minute walk from the hotel. Yeah.. right… And that’s where my problems started. I walked and walked. I went round, and round again. I’m sure I saw a dozen or more streets twice over – at least. Not only could I not find the wretched place…. Not only was I late… Not only did I arrive hot and shall we say, ‘glowing’, from being forced to run the last few hundred yards with a laptop slung over my shoulder… I left THE FILE back at the hotel. So my presentation wasn’t particularly professional – I bluffed a bit and I fluffed a bit. I pretended to scrutinise completely irrelevant documents (thank goodness for the language difference). And I just about got away with it. The whole thing had been exhausting, and I wasn’t going home til the next day. Well, at least I could grab myself a decent meal on expenses. I settled at a table in the hotel restaurant (I couldn’t trust myself to actually go outside again) but the menu was in Spanish - no pictures – and I was a bit stumped. I recognised the word ‘paella’ but that was about it, and I didn’t fancy that. There was this guy on the next table and I guess he realised I was struggling, as he asked if he could help. He explained the menu and then ordered my choices. So we got talking, and that’s nice in a hotel restaurant where almost everybody is eating alone and trying to pretend they’re OK about it. We polished off a couple of bottles of a very nice Riocha – his recommendation – and I admit it got the better of me. I sloped off to bed with a bit of a head. My friend had suggested we share a taxi to the airport the next day but my bit of a head had turned into a real pounder so when he called my room in the morning, I made him go on, on his own. I felt a bit guilty as he’d been such good company the evening before, but I just couldn’t cope. I snatched myself an extra 20 minutes in bed but I think you could say I have lived to regret it. From that moment on, it was all a bit of a rush, to put it mildly. A quick shower, fling my gear into the case, don’t forget the laptop under the bed (isn’t that where everybody hides it?), and make a dash for the taxi rank. And I really had to run. I flew into the first cab that arrived, almost (almost) pushing this other couple out of the way as I threw my case into the back. Perhaps it was the three courses last night. Perhaps it was the last few months of over-indulgence. I don’t know. But my suit was feeling just a little tighter that morning, and as I pushed and shoved and stretched, it just gave way. Yep. Those pants ripped from front to back – there wasn’t a stitch left holding them together. You’re getting the idea now, aren’t you? Mortal embarrassment. I settled in the back of the cab and I already knew I had a problem… I could actually feel the chill of the morning air between my legs. I checked out the damage under cover of my coat – it was bad. Maybe even arrestable. I had no choice, I had to change my pants – and fast. I quickly removed my only other pair from the case in the check-in queue, carefully covering my modesty with my coat. With the boarding-now announcement ringing in my ears, I made a dash for the loo and whipped off my tattered trousers. It was about then that I realised I was surrounded not by men, but by a bemused gaggle of middle-aged ladies. They must have seen my shock (imagine!), and I gathered from their gesticulations that in my haste, I’d run into the ladies, and not the gents. I’m sure they’d seen it all before, so I pressed on, zipped up and legged it for the gate – I made it just in time. My head was still pounding and I was beginning to feel just a little queasy. I know it’s a quick flight from Madrid, but I thought a bite or two of plastic food might quell my stomach, so I opted for the full tray. It’s always unrecognisable – it’s food, Jim, but not as we know it - but the way I was feeling, I didn’t care. I pulled the plastic off the meat-substance (I’m guessing chicken), picked up a sachet of sauce-with-no-name and ripped the corner off. But you already known I was having a clumsy day – and I wasn’t quick enough to stop a big blob of sauce from flying out of the sachet and landing square on the cheek of the passenger in the aisle seat beside me. He was asleep, but how it didn’t disturb him, I don’t know. Should I wake him? Should I heck. It was dribbling a bit, but I figured it would dry and then, well, if I’d finished my food before he woke up, he’d never know it was me. But this business of eating in the centre seat, with your elbows tucked in, balancing food on a bendy plastic fork and carving away at it with a blunt plastic knife – it’s not easy, is it? And it never gets any easier, no matter how often you travel. And on top of that, I’m already having a bad day. So when my knife slips and a chunk of chicken skims off the tray and lands neatly on my sleeping neighbour’s lap… well, you can hardly say you’re surprised, can you? It was always going to happen. The guy in the window seat, who had been pretending to ignore me up until now, suddenly decided he wanted to stretch his legs. I wasn’t sure he’d seen the incident with the sauce, but the piece of chicken sitting in Mr Aisle Seat’s lap was unavoidable – and I had to stop him moving because then we’d have to wake Mr Aisle Seat up and with my tray still in front of me, I’d be in trouble. So I kicked off a conversation. I asked him whether he was travelling on business or for pleasure – it’s usually a good opener unless the person in question is in a suit, - then it’s just a stupid question. I was puzzled when he said ‘both’, until he explained… He worked in customs clearance and travelled all the time, criss-crossing the world building business and making contacts – but he really enjoyed his world. He said that meeting new people, entertaining and being entertained in different countries, different cultures – he couldn’t imagine a more pleasurable way of earning his living. The only downside was that he didn’t seem to spend quite enough time at home. I was trying to keep him in his seat, and since he seemed so enthusiastic about his work life, I asked him more. I didn’t know much – anything - about customs clearance and I figured it would occupy a few minutes, maybe even until we landed, if I was lucky. But as I listened, I learned, and as I calmed down and stopped worrying about Mr Aisle Seat with the chicken in his lap and the splurge of sauce down his cheek, I picked up a few pointers and actually made a very worthwhile contact. When we landed, we exchanged cards – his company, Customs Clearance Ltd, was only a few miles from the airport and he was heading for work. And when Mr Aisle Seat finally shifted, that errant lump of chicken fell to the floor and he didn’t even notice it. I chickened out, you could say - somebody else would have to alert him to the mucky stain on his trousers and the sticky sauce on his cheek. |
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| Customs Clearance Limited | |
14th Oct 2008
