Thought I'd drop this one into the blog. If you're a UK importer, you have responsibilities to HMRC as the importer. 99% of UK importers will use a freight forwarder or Customs clearance agent to get their air and ocean shipments cleared through Customs so they can take delivery and either get it into production, or out to their customers - job done!
Just a word of advice. When you use a freight forwarder to carry out the Customs clearance for you, they're (99 times out of a 100) acting as a Direct Representative. So what the heck is that? It means that although they declare the goods to Customs and sign the Customs Entry (C88), you're liable as the importer for the accuracy of the entry.
That means some fundamental things such as:-
1 - Correct tariff classification (which affects the duty rate payable)
2 - Correct value declaration
3 - Correct currency code
4 - Declaration of marine insurance (dutiable)
5- Declaration of correct freight charges (dutiable)
6 - Correct/appropriate Customs regime (home use/IPR/OPR)
7 - Value declaration (is the value on suppliers invoice correct)
8 - Application of any duty concession which may be applicable
There are others too but these are the main ones.
HMRC have issued leaflets to remind customers of their responsibilities in this area (see below photo) however they're not well publicised and the wording inside may be confusing to the average UK importer (who has most likely never completed a Customs entry in their life!).
We carry out Customs Compliance work for many of our import customers so they know they're compliant, they're paying the right amount of duty, the correct tariff codes are being applied for the different products they import and they're taking advantage of any Customs duty reliefs which are available. The other big benefit is the obvious one - peace of mind, it's being managed, if we get a Customs visit, we can show we carry out a compliance process to ensure any errors are picked up and corrected.
http://www.straightforwardconsultancy.co.uk/
This was how we uncovered a £ 26,000 duty overpayment for a Warrington customer earlier this year, importing catering equipment from the US. The mistake went back 7 years but we can only reclaim 3 years worth of overpaid duty (127 Customs entries).
Please let us know if you need any advice regarding compliance as well as any general freight or logistics advice it's what we do (and what we're really good at).
Kind Regards
Andy
Good afternoon All
It seems that the EU have finally decided to act on concerns in the European logistics marketplace that ocean carriers have been colluding regarding the level of General Rate Increases (GRIs).
I think this is long overdue, because many would agree that these increases seem to be timed to take effect on the same dates and at remarkably similar levels. An example would be the November 2013 GRI from Asia to Europe, where the increases were all in the USD 950-1000/TEU (20 foot equivalent unit) and previous increases over the past 2 years have followed a similar vein.
It will be more than interesting to see how this evolves and also, how the lines handle the latest proposed increase of around USD 750/TEU due to be implemented from Dec 1st. It will be a really interesting one to watch!
See below link.
http://theloadstar.co.uk/ec-opens-formal-container-shipping-antitrust-investigation/
Kind Regards
Andy
Andy Cliff
Director
Straightforward Consultancy Ltd
4, Beckett Drive
Winwick Park
Warrington
Cheshire
WA2 8XJ
Tel : 07934 443492
Email : andy@straightforwardconsultancy.co.uk
Web : www.straightforwardconsultancy.co.uk
Blog : http://straightforwardconsultancy.blogspot.co.uk/
Twitter: @AndyCliffSCL
Linkedin: http://uk.linkedin.com/pub/andy-cliff/1a/43/72
Skype: andy.cliff1@skype.com
Good afternoon All
We're just recovering from the November GRI of USD 1000/TEU (20 foot container) and now several carriers are lining up for a USD 750/TEU increase for December....clearly they're trying to keep rates up until the next peak in demand - the run up to Chinese New Year 2013 (Jan 31, 2014).
Mind you, we did negotiate very a low GRI for November and I'm sure we can do it again - the question is - are you in control of your ocean freight costs from Asia? Do you even know what your rates are for November sailings?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekQ_Ja02gTY
http://theloadstar.co.uk/turbulent-waters-ahead-as-lines-float-new-gri-in-bid-to-balance-supply-and-demand/
Andy Cliff
Director
Straightforward Consultancy Ltd
4, Beckett Drive
Winwick Park
Warrington
Cheshire
WA2 8XJ
Tel : 07934 443492
Email : andy@straightforwardconsultancy.co.uk
Web : www.straightforwardconsultancy.co.uk
Blog : http://straightforwardconsultancy.blogspot.co.uk/
Twitter: @AndyCliffSCL
Linkedin: http://uk.linkedin.com/pub/andy-cliff/1a/43/72
Skype: andy.cliff1@skype.com
Good afternoon All
We've posted twice on this disaster and I've just picked up on some recent news after MOL inspected MOL Comfort's sister ships - very worrying indeed.
http://theloadstar.co.uk/mol-comfort-sister-ships-had-deformed-hulls-reveals-probe-into-boxship-disaster/
Kind Regards
Andy
Andy
Andy Cliff
Director
Straightforward Consultancy Ltd
4, Beckett Drive
Winwick Park
Warrington
Cheshire
WA2 8XJ
Tel : 07934 443492
Email : andy@straightforwardconsultancy.co.uk
Web : www.straightforwardconsultancy.co.uk
Blog : http://straightforwardconsultancy.blogspot.co.uk/
Twitter: @AndyCliffSCL
Linkedin: http://uk.linkedin.com/pub/andy-cliff/1a/43/72
Skype: andy.cliff1@skype.com
Good afternoon All
One event you really should put in your diary is IFB 2014, an international business festival with government backing and involvement from key organisations such as UKTI, the CBI, British Chambers of Commerce, The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) and the Engineering Employers Federation (EEF)
I have today had a conference call with a lady from Liverpool Vision to ask how we at Straightforward Consultancy can play our part and of course how we might benefit from our involvement. Clearly, this is going to be a huge event next Jun/Jul and Liverpool Vision, who are organising the event are incredibly excited about it. Great news for Great Britain and the North!
http://www.ifb2014.com/
www.straightforwardconsultancy.co.uk"IFB 2014 - For businesses that want to go faster, reach new horizons, want results and want them now.
IFB 2014 will accelerate UK economic growth with an ambitious programme of global business events running throughout June and July 2014. The result of an exciting convergence between innovative thinking, government policy and will to win, IFB 2014 will connect the smartest entrepreneurial minds and best business opportunities in the world.
IFB will deliver:
- Over one hundred events throughout June and July 2014
- An engaged audience of 250,000 business professionals
- Global representation
- £100m direct investment into the UK
- A catalyst to double UK exports by 2020
- At every level the Festival will attract an audience of pioneers from the UK and across the world
Good afternoon All
Just keeping you all in the loop regarding the massive rate increases which hit the market on November 1st. As you know they were announced at USD 925-USD 1000 per TEU (Twenty Foot Equivalent Unit) so if you are importing 40s, the increase would be double that!
Based on the market data we saw on Monday 4th Nov, we learned how much of the rate increase was actually accepted by the market and it was an eye watering USD 753/TEU (USD 1500/40ft container).
For our existing clients, who benefit from our collective buying power, we negotiated a very modest increase on our already competitive rates. What's interesting is that often, these increases fall away after a week however not the case so far. On Monday we saw that the increase was still sticking at around USD 650/20ft or USD 1300/40ft.
Please do take action on this, you really could be paying a great deal more than necessary and not getting such a great service either. As always happy to help, please join our band of extremely satisfied customers (see wesbite or Linkedin for details).
Kind Regards
Andy Cliff
Director
Straightforward Consultancy Ltd
4, Beckett Drive
Winwick Park
Warrington
Cheshire
WA2 8XJ
Tel : 07934 443492
Email : andy@straightforwardconsultancy.co.uk
Web : www.straightforwardconsultancy.co.uk
Blog : http://straightforwardconsultancy.blogspot.co.uk/
Twitter: @AndyCliffSCL
Linkedin: http://uk.linkedin.com/pub/andy-cliff/1a/43/72
Skype: andy.cliff1@skype.com
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Had a great day at the show yesterday, met 10-15 companies with international activity and also gained a deeper insight into the aerospace, automotive and composites sectors.
It's always great to get out of the office and talk with senior managers from companies who are focused on growing their businesses and bringing innovation into their sectors.
Below there's a photo of the landing gear for the Airbus A350 which is manufactured by the Safran Group. I must admit, I was taken aback by the size of the leg and also by the precision and quality of the engineering.
As a result of the day byesterday, we'll be following up with the companies we met, all of whom seemed interested in sharpening up their freight models, often an area left well alone, although of course the performance of this area has a big impact on their production lines and also landed costs and cost to produce so if our average 35% freight saving per client is applied to any of these customers, I'm sure they'll be very happy. Even better of course that our fees for the work we do in these reviews are self funded, leaving the client with around 60% of the savings to benefit their bottom line, not to mention the other spin offs which benefit them.
Kind Regards
Andy Cliff
Director
Straightforward Consultancy Ltd
4, Beckett Drive
Winwick Park
Warrington
Cheshire
WA2 8XJ
Tel : 07934 443492
Email : andy@straightforwardconsultancy.co.uk
Web : www.straightforwardconsultancy.co.uk
Blog : http://straightforwardconsultancy.blogspot.co.uk/
Twitter: @AndyCliffSCL
Linkedin: http://uk.linkedin.com/pub/andy-cliff/1a/43/72
Skype: andy.cliff1@skype.com
www.straightforwardconsultancy.co.uk
Good afternoon All
Here at Straightforward Consultancy, we're managing the freight models for many customers, and the key markets for most UK importers are the US and Asia, but Asia is the one you really need to watch and manage carefully.
Since early 2012, we have seen huge swings in ocean freight full container (FCL) rates from Asia, all related to the lack of demand and excess of containership capacity and on the other side of the coin, the financial performance of the ocean carriers, who can soon move to loss making positions if rates weaken.
We monitor Asia-Europe every week and we've seen rates hit the floor in Jun-2013 to be followed by around USD 1500/TEU (per 20ft container unit) increases in July and August.
So, USD 1500 is a hefty increase but here's the thing. Ever since the last increase in August, rates have been falling (because Peak Season from Asia is actually around August) and in mid-Oct, quite remarkably only TEN percent of the increases are now still in force. Having said that, it depends on whether you actively manage your freight model because the customer's rates tend to lag behind the market on the way down...sound familiar?
Enter from stage left the carriers, keen to reverse the downward trend with proposed increases of around USD 1000/TEU (20ft).
Last Friday, Nov 1st, the USD 1000/20ft increase hit the Asia-Europe market. I talked to a potential client last week who have modest volumes (say 250-300 TEU) ex China/South East Asia and he told me they were paying USD 900/TEU more for November sailings than they did in October....!
On Monday 4th Nov, we learned how much of the rate increase was actually accepted by the market and it was an eye watering USD 753/TEU (USD 1500/40ft container). We negotiated a very modest increase on our already competitive rates but we do have the volume over our client base which they all benefit from.
Please do take action on this, you really could be paying 50% more than necessary. As always happy to help, please join our band of extremely satisfied customers (see wesbite or Linkedin for details).
Kind Regards
Andy Cliff
Director
Straightforward Consultancy Ltd
4, Beckett Drive
Winwick Park
Warrington
Cheshire
WA2 8XJ
Tel : 07934 443492
Email : andy@straightforwardconsultancy.co.ukWeb : www.straightforwardconsultancy.co.ukBlog : http://straightforwardconsultancy.blogspot.co.uk/Twitter: @AndyCliffSCL
Linkedin: http://uk.linkedin.com/pub/andy-cliff/1a/43/72Skype: andy.cliff1@skype.com
