What is the Role of a Customs Clearance Agent?

The job that a customs clearance agent does is a specialised one that has to take into account the legislation of every country involved in the process of shipping goods. It involves being very organised and methodical, accurate and being able to communicate with all parties involved in importing and exporting goods around the globe.

Every country has its own different rules when it comes to customs, so the role involves making sure that we keep up to date with any changes to ensure that these regulations are carefully adhered to. The process involves preparing all the correct paperwork and/or electronic documents for each case, calculating and paying the required amounts of taxes on behalf of the customer, including all duties and excise taxes, and acting as the first point of communication for the importer/exporter and the governmental authorities involved in each case. As you can imagine, it’s a specialised job.

Customs Clearance Agents also have to make sure that they are up to date with the Tariff Schedule (or Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (HS)), as well as the listing of duty rates for imported items, and all regulations governing imports, submit it to the relevant government agencies to notify them - and arrange any clearance that’s needed for specific cargo.

A Customs Clearance Agent has to be accredited with ports, customs authorities and border agencies, as they will have to arrange to pass all necessary documentation on at customs and arrange for any inspections that have to take place.

At t.ward we have many years of experience in customs clearing UK imported goods for both private and commercial customers. We can help you obtain clearance for your goods through customs throughout the world and we’re also happy to advise you on import duty, tax and international tariff codes and permits.

 Contact us if you’re looking for advice or assistance on:

• Customs clearance advice for Far East sea freight imports for FCL / LCL
• Customs clearance in all UK Ports (for example - Felixstowe, Southampton, Grangemouth)
• Air freight customs clearance
• Tariff clarification
• Import and export licences
• Temporary imports
• Duty and tax planning

T Ward helps Stretch Tent Scotland

Here at T Ward, we like to offer our clients a really thorough service that’s tailored to their needs. We’re also experienced in helping clients reach the best solution for difficult logistical problems, and we demonstrated this last year when we worked with a company called Stretch Tent Scotland. The company supplies tents for use at large events such as weddings and festivals, and asked us to assist with customs clearance when they imported a batch of the tents from suppliers in Cape Town. The first shipment was due in April/May 2014.

The company bought the tents on CIF Edinburgh Incoterms, which meant was the shippers in Cape Town organized the shipping up to the first port of entry to the UK, which was Felixstowe. We assisted with customs clearance at Felixstowe and delivery to Edinburgh.

The complication was that because the gods were bought on CIF terms, the client had no control over which warehouse was responsible for their LCL shipment on arrival in the UK. As a result, the common charges (handling, security, documentation) levied by the warehouse for an LCL import were non-negotiable and Stretch Tent Scotland had to pay in order to release their goods – an extra expense they weren’t expecting. The costs were high, too.

Although there was no way around this problem in 2014, we advised Stretch Tent Scotland that next time they imported goods from Cape Town, they should buy them on FOB Cape Town terms. This would mean that shippers in Cape Town would only be responsible for getting goods to our nominated agent’s warehouse in Cape Town. From there onwards, t.ward shipping would be able to take responsibility for the shipment up until it was delivered to the client’s premises in Edinburgh.

There were no nasty surprises with the next shipment as we could decide which UK warehouse the goods arrived into. This saved a few hundred pounds and led to a happy client. In summary, t.ward can assist with all shipping, import/export and customs matters, and we are able to use our many years shipping experience to tailor our services to fit clients’ precise needs, potentially saving them money and ensuring that they don’t need to pay over the odds for shipping costs.

T Ward Freight Forwarding Service

Freight forwarding involves moving goods from one part of the world to another in the most efficient and economical way possible. We believe it’s an essential service which helps to promote international trade and stimulate the economy, so providing cost effective and reliable freight forwarding services is a vital part of our repertoire at T Ward.



We can offer extremely competitive quotes for;

• Sea freight forwarding
• Air freight forwarding
• Road freight forwarding

...speak to us and we can advise you about the most effective option for your own particular needs.

Freight Forwarding By Sea

We are happy to transport any type of goods, to and from any destination, and we will ship anything from 15kgs to 150,000 tonnes.
Our sea freight forwarders are quite used to being able to handle different sizes and types of cargo, so we can ship anything from personal and household goods as part of a move overseas to industrial and construction machinery and equipment. We use a large range of vessels, which can be anything from a container or bulk carrier to a tanker or project cargo ship.

We ship Full Container Loads(FCL) and Part Container Loads (LCL) so if you’re not sure about whether your cargo is suitable, speak to one of our advisers and we’ll soon find the best option for you.

Air Freight Forwarding Service

We also offer a top quality air freight forwarding service which includes guaranteed daily distribution to and from all major airports, along with specialist customs clearance, on-site attendance and even hand carry and courier services.

Road Freight Forwarding Service

If your items don’t need to be shipped overseas, we can also move cargo by road to whatever destination you require, with a range of driver accompanied full load and groupage freight forwarding services which can transport your items from door to door, quickly and at very competitive rates, too.

Freight Forwarding throughout the world

We work with some of the best partners in the world, which gives us access to the most flexible freight network in Europe. On top of this, we are also represented all over the world by independent agents who offer similar services.

This means that we are able to make the most of sea, air and road transport and arrange reliable delivery and collection of your goods, as well as being able to clear them through customs on your behalf.

For more information or a quote, please contact us.

The History of Leith Corn Exchange

As you stroll around Leith, you will see many imposing buildings, some of which have an illustrious history. One fine example of Victorian Scottish architecture is the famous Corn Exchange, in Baltic Street, which was built in the 1860s and is said to have cost the princely sum of £7000.

The Corn Exchange is built in a Roman style, with a corn-hall that measures 110 feet long by 70 feet broad. The building also features an octagonal tower.

The former Corn Exchange building is popular with architects and well known locally for its attractive frieze, which shows ‘putti’ at all stages of the grain; figures are also depicted milling grapes to make wine and processing wool; sowing and harvesting; reaping and threshing; celebrating the harvest; shearing sheep; counting woolpacks and importing cereals.

The frieze was created in 1863 by a Scottish sculptor called John Rhind, who was based in Edinburgh. He was born in Banff the son of a master mason.

In recent years, the Corn Exchange has been converted into 8,000 square feet of high quality studio space where several design companies are currently housed. The building also includes exhibition gallery space at the entrance level, and forms the Eastern gateway to the historic centre of Leith on Constitution Street. This conversion project has been praised widely, and even received the “Best Re-Use of a Listed Building” commendation at the 2006 Scottish Design Awards.

IDEA•2 – the go-to shop for Marine Contracts

Have you ever needed to arrange a BIMCO contract but been at a loss about how to make sure that your contracts are authentic and comply with all the right legislation? It’s worth taking a look at IDEA•2, an online portal that lets you download standard maritime contracts with all the potential clauses you could possibly need. IDEA•2.

It’s a really useful web based portal that you can use to get access to the whole range of BIMCO’s standard contracts and clauses, all based around IDEA•2 is built a secure online version of Microsoft Word 2010.

All you have to do to create a BIMCO standard contract is create a company account and log into it, find the template you want to use and type into it. Although it’s not essential to be a member to use the contract templates, you can save a lot of money if you do set up an account so we recommend it. It’s compatible with Windows and Apple computers and you can access your documents from any computer and anywhere that has Internet access.

The files are stored on BIMCO’s highly secure web servers, and they even make sure that they are regularly backed up, and that the latest versions of all templates are always available. The whole point of a service like this is to give businesses secure and authentic copies of BIMCO contracts, saving time on having to proof check them all. You can edit the contracts to your needs but any changes will show up on the final agreed document so that all parties know where they stand, and whether there have been any changes to the standard wording.

It’s a great idea (see what we did there) and it makes life so much easier and less complicated for any business that wants to draft a contract securely and in the knowledge that they will be including all the relevant clauses. Why not give it a try?

For more information about the product, check out the website: https://www.bimco.org/Products/idea_2.aspx

The Pros and Cons of using LNG in Shipping

There has been a lot of discussion about Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) as a viable fuel option for the shipping industry, so we thought we’d take a look at some of the pros and cons. More than 100 vessels in merchant, offshore and ferry applications already operate on gas, and it’s likely to become more popular with new regulations and environmental legislation coming into force.

Advantages

• Natural gas is mainly made up from methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Using LNG as shipping fuel could reduce sulphur oxide (SOx) emissions by up to 95 per cent. The lower carbon content of LNG compared to traditional ship fuels gives a 20 – 25 per cent reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
• LNG is likely to cost less than marine gas oil. Lower LNG prices in Europe and the USA suggest that the price is likely to be price below heavy fuel oil even when taking the small-scale distribution of LNG into account.
• LNG is readily available - carriers move the natural gas from liquefaction terminals to re-gasification terminals at locations all over the world, making the fuel easily available from shore-based facilities. 
• There are Marine LNG import and export terminals everywhere, which means that LNG is available anywhere in the world. In addition to this, there are more terminals planned for the future.

Disadvantages

• LNG does need more storage space, and specific bunkering arrangements also have to be provided. 
• LNG is pumped from one location to another through pipelines in gaseous form or transported by sea as a liquid, and during the transformation phase from gas to liquid it requires cryogenic temperatures.
• The infrastructure can make things harder with LNG, and the ability to transfer it from terminals and into the vessels that need it. On the plus side, though, availability of LNG bunkering is spreading, especially in regions with a strong environmental awareness or where it’s more economical than other fuels.

What do you think about using LNG? Is it a viable option for your business?

Further Developments at Cockenzie

As we’ve mentioned previously on our blog, the future looks bright for the offshore renewables industry, which is expected to play a crucial role in Scotland’s energy mix in years to come. With this in mind, Scottish Enterprise is seriously looking at plans for the development of an Energy Park at Cockenzie. They believe that the site would be the perfect location for companies involved in the offshore wind supply chain.

The idea has been on the cards for some time now, since the announcement of the National Renewables Infrastructure Plan (N-RIP) and the National Renewables Infrastructure Fund (N-RIF) in 2010.

Cockenzie is seen as an ideal location for many reasons, including its location close to major offshore wind sites, its history and potential for deep water berthing. In the long term, it’s also seen a good place for investment into jobs and economic development, with potential for further development in the future.

The project

Experts think developing an Energy Park at Cockenzie will help to establish Scotland as a European hub for the offshore wind industry.

The main plans for the site include:
• New marine infrastructure
• A new quayside
• Serviced plots and associated infrastructure
• Aggregate extraction.

At the moment there’s no timescale for the plan, as so many aspects of it are yet to be agreed, and the planning consents needed to take the project further haven’t been obtained. The Energy Park could accommodate a wide range of end-users, and because they haven’t yet been identified, plans for the development have to stay very flexible.

The proposed development requires a number of consents before it can go ahead;
• Application for Planning Permission in Principle
• Application for Marine Licence (under the Marine Works
• Application for Harbour Empowerment Order.
(A Proposal of Application Notice, relating to the application for Planning Permission in Principle, was submitted to East Lothian Council on 2 June 2014.)

Consultations

If you want to have your say on the proposals, or just want to know what’s going on, there are consultation events at every stage of the development.The first consultation events have already been held - on 16 June 2014 in Prestonpans Library and 18 June 2014 in Port Seton Community Centre. There will be a second round of consultation events in early 2015, before the planning applications are made. At these events, anyone interested will be given information about how to view the formal documents.

After the applications have been submitted there will be another round of consultations and ongoing consultations will happen at milestones in the development process.

We’ll keep you up to date with any developments as the news comes through.