Peak Season Space Shortages

At around this time each year we send out a reminder to our clients that the peak season is looming. Typically towards the end of August & up until December & even January vessels are fully booked and delays in shipping possible. So what are the considerations that may make or break your deadlines?

·         Is transshipment the only option? In recent years we have been witnessing the increasingly congested Asian transshipment ports holding transit containers for up to one month or longer. If direct sailings are available or nearby please consider.
·         Are the cheaper costs worth it? For some there is no option but the old saying rings true…’you get what you pay for’. Look at paying reasonable market rates with reputable shipping lines and forwarders.
·         Plan Ahead. work with your Forwarder/Broker and plan together. Our overseas agents monitor and follow up all orders with your suppliers. With timely information we are better able to manage the shipping in order to meet deadlines or give early notification so that other options may be considered.

No one can guarantee zero delays. You will probably hear this from the occasional sales rep, we certainly have, but the reality is that delays, offloads, and space restrictions do occur at this time of year. We are collectively in the lap of the shipping god’s so consider the above points, combine them with your own experiences, and work sooner rather than later with your Forwarding Agent/Broker on managing shipments.

The big unknown this year is the economic slow down that coincides with the sub prime losses in the U.S. & the resultant market bleakness that remains, particularly in the North American markets. Many countries have already felt the ripple down effects & the extent of the ripples are yet to be fully realized. In this environment it is very difficult to predict the extent of space shortages that will plague our market in the peak season period. If retails sales figures remain stagnant & economies struggle back to life the peak season could lack the bite it has in years gone by. Watch this space….

Increase in Unacceptable Contamination on Used Machinery Imported into Australia

In recent months an increasing number of used machinery shipments have been found to be contaminated with unacceptable levels of Quarantine Risk Material (QRM). In the last month alone, eleven pieces of agricultural machinery have been ordered for re-exportation, at considerable cost to the importers.

AQIS wishes to again remind importers that all imported used machinery requires an import permit issued by AQIS. A major permit condition is that machinery arrives in a “clean-as-new” state. Failure to observe these import permit conditions causes delays in clearance at Australian discharge ports, and unacceptable contamination may led to the re-export of the machinery, at considerable cost to the Importer.

Through the AQIS Industry machinery Working Group considerable efforts have been made to improve the understanding of machinery importers of AQIS requirements. Despite these efforts the occurrence of unacceptable cleanliness standards has continued. AQIS may have to reconsider tolerance levels of contamination with resultant increasing inspections and permit compliance requirements which would add to the costs charged to importers.

Import Condition (ICON) cases to include guidelines for entry processing

The entry processing guidelines were originally designed to provide AQIS staff with a concise summary of the documents required to address commodity concerns and give a breakdown of the quarantine directions to be applied under a number of scenarios. These guidelines are designed to bring greater consistency and clarity to the outcomes of AQIS’s entry processing activities.

AQIS has now made all current entry processing guidelines in ICON available to the public. To date, entry processing guidelines have been written for a limited group of commodities but this group continues to be expanded. So far, you will find entry processing guidelines attached to import conditions cases for:

• Machinery (new and used) • Finished products
• Manufactured Wooden Articles • Yachts/Vessels
• Plywoods and Veneers • Nursery Stock
• Seeds for Sowing • Stockfeeds
• Dried Herbs (including those used for eastern medicines)
• Fertilisers

AQIS is very interested in feedback in response to this initiative and it can be provided either directly to the Entry Management Projects Team at emprojects@aqis.gov.au or through the Secretariat of the AQIS/Industry Cargo Consultative Committee at aiccc@aiccc.com.

For further detail please refer to Notice to Industry 40/2007/08 at www.daff.gov.au/aqis/import/general-info/ian/07-08

Import Permit Delays from AQIS

The Customs Brokers and Forwarders Council of Australia Inc (CBFCA) has received the following advice from the Food & Beverage Importers Association (FBIA) in relation to Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS) delays in issuing permits:

Members should be aware that there may be lengthy delays in the issuing of permits and you should not expect a permit to be issued within the normal 10 days period. If a current permit will be expiring within the next three months, you should consider applying now to allow time for the application to be processed.

The reasons for the delays include lack of experienced AQIS staff, the need to check the relevant quarantine policy closely and the requirement to liaise with Biosecurity Australia whenever there is any doubt about the relevant policy or conditions. It should also be noted that AQIS does not regard any application as a “renewal”. Each application is treated as if it was the first time the goods were covered by that application and therefore is checked against the relevant policy.

Customs Legislation Receives Royal Assent

Following the successful passage through Parliament of a number customs related Bills, various key legacy measures from the Liberal Government have now been realised, more than 5 months after the dissolution of Parliament earlier this year. In particular, changes to duty recovery provisions of the Customs Act and certificate of origin requirements under the Singapore–Australia Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA), as detailed below, are specifically relevant to a number of importers.    

Duty Recovery - Commencing 9 August 2008, amendments to the Customs Act will allow Customs to recover short paid duty in all cases other than fraud, up to 4 years after the short payment. The provisions will also allow Customs to offset any drawback or refund to which an importer is entitled in relation to any goods, against any duty which is also owed in relation to those goods, in certain circumstances. In cases of fraud or evasion, Customs retain the ability to recover underpaid duty beyond 4 years. Importantly, with the removal of the existing 12 month duty recovery limit where Customs’ errors were concerned, the new provisions will also allow for more comprehensive post-entry audit activity to be carried out by Customs.

SAFTA – new Certificate of Origin (COO) provisions allow a COO and accompanying declaration (where required) to be obtained prior to entry for home consumption, rather than before exportation. In the case of a shipment specific COO, there will no longer be a need for an accompanying declaration by the exporter, whilst the requirement still remains in force for all blanket certificates (with the exception of the first shipment).