Really are there any secrets in International Supply Chains?
Yes,
Here's a couple that you may have wondered yourself.
1. Have you ever tried to understand your freight forwarders invoice?
All those surcharges and local taxes. Well in some cases these aren't even true nor do they exist. I have met forwarders that can move goods from China at cost and yet still make a lot of money on charges such as those mentioned. Not many people ask or enquire about these at source and just get swept away with all types of charges.
2. Have you ever checked to see that the tariff code applied matches the duty amount?
Seriously, why would I do that? Our partners actually developed code to track this. Some unscrupulous brokers will tell you the right duty code but tell you the wrong duty percentage and pocket the difference.
3. Have you ever checked why there a real delay between your goods being ready for collection and them actually boarding any multi-modal method of transport?
Forwarders are very keen to maximise the buck in all parts of the goods movement. So, they will haggle and wait till the last moment in order to secure the best deal for themselves. Yes, whilst offering you a deal they intend to make the best of that at origin through their partners and offices. In doing so, it may require waiting till the last minute when vessels are being loaded. Sometimes this costs them the space and the delay are waiting for another boat or plane etc. We track when goods were ready for pick up to the time, they board the vessels to manage forwarders.
Already you are aware that there are some very disingenuous services being offered whilst you the buyer, manufacturer are being led to become more ethical, moral and recyclable in your processes. We have felt for a long time that clients and customers are being totally ripped off and set a stall to provide a real professional, ethical service at a rate to support cost savings whilst providing quality. We see it daily and it seems no one speaks about it.
Costs for Customs Entries
These costs we see are drummed up out of thin air. We see costs from £50 to £90 because it was made at 1:30am? Yes, these costs are lost sometimes in the way invoices are presented. So, you may see a charge for £35 for an import entry, then also notice (or not) the surcharges of £35! There's your £70 charge hidden in another place on the invoice.
We also audit clients' entries and check on the freight forwarders customs entries. In recent months we audited 200 entry lines and out of those only 64 were actually accurate or correct. In this we also discovered most of the documents were missing and even so was the evidence of entries being processed as there was no C88 receipts. This not an isolated case either.
Why are we telling you this?
To be forewarned is better than fore armed as they say. In seriousness, HM Customs do not take any prisoners when it comes to the state getting their taxes. You may recall at the Tower of London they would take traders would avoid tax to traitor's gate and thereby cut of their heads. Then they would out them on a pole of the Thames to threaten anyone who looked to avoid the tax. It's not as bad now, but it still has an element of judgement. Customs tend to err on the side of criminal rather than mistakes or error. In fact, the crown believed some £1bn was lost in miss used tariff codes and just before Covid, claimed to stamp this out. There has been some time lapsed and many civil servants were scared to venture out allowing for more miss use of tariff coding, but now they are back. Whether you or the forwarder got the wrong code is quite irrelevant as the crown sees you as the liable one, the one to fine. Did you know they can go back 6 years too and dig and search for wrong codes and breaches to fine you with.
It's not just a fine
Customs fine and this is normally to cover the costs of their time and the missing tax owed. They don't stop there. It's not just a fine. These fines depending on how long you have been trading can add what is called contravening fines which are low and high. The low contravening fine is £1500, whilst the higher is £2500. Now this could be a customs entry or a line. There is no appeal on these fines. No amounts of niceness or cups of tea offered can shake the customs officer, who incidentally has more powers than a police officer. Yes, they even have powers of entry so you can't lock your door and hope they'll go away. They can break-in, shut you down and arrest you whilst investigating.
Why do I need to know all this?
Because you do! Customs have no pity or remorse; they can be likened to the Terminator. Whether, you know, knew t or ignore it, you are totally liable for your import / export tariffs and the information that's entered onto the Customs system. You can't blame your forwarder, nor your aunty. It's all down to you. So that's why we tell you these things because we want you to be able to trade and trade well. Trust no one as they aren't doing the job, they tell you they are - we know because we see it day in and day out.
What do we do to support International Trade?
A Library Suite we are the software house to the International Trade Consultancy Firm the Blue Bear Partnership. For 10 years we have developed systems and worked on projects within Global Supply Chains. We offer the following services:
- International Trade & Supply Chain Compliance Consultancy Services
- Customs Applications and Authorisations Support - AEO, Bonded Warehousing, CFSP, SIVA, DAN and IPR
- Customs Auditing
- Currency FX and Exchange Rates
- Customs Brokerage
- Customs Entry Processing & Auditing
- Freight Reviews for LCL, Container across multi-modal supplies
- Parcel Carrier Reviews
- Special Projects
We have developed systems to manage authorisations and team up to provide a compliance wall around your business to protect you from the unnecessary nasty experiences that could occur.
We are Library Suite and sister company The Blue Bear Partnership contact details below:
Paul Sims
- Founder
- Library Suite
- T:0203 951 0554
- M: 07429185436
- E: paulsims@librarysuite.com
- W: www.librarysuite.com
Find out more about Library Suite Ltd on their member profile page here
Member-created content 2 years ago | From members