Experiences in Wood Import Customs Clearance

Model: Experiences in Wood Import Customs Clearance, flooring | Date:2024-11-02

 Experiences in Wood Import Customs Clearance

A friend in the timber customs clearance industry, with over four years of experience, has finally found the time to share some insights and reflections, despite being perpetually busy (which he admits is an excuse) and somewhat lazy (which is a fact). (He's being very honest; it'd be great to meet him. Now, I'm forwarding his insights to you all.) Taking Pterocarpus erinaceus (commonly known as African Padauk or African Saffronwood) as an example, he would like to share some of his understandings regarding wood import customs clearance. Feel free to read and disregard if you're not interested. No hard feelings.

I. Requirements for Issuing Bills of Lading Abroad

Weight: Based on the guaranteed actual weight of the goods (erring on the side of caution by overestimating rather than underestimating).
Volume: 15.816.5m³/container for lumber; 13.814.5m³/container for logs.
Except for PIL (Pacific International Lines), most shipping companies allow changes to the weight and volume of the goods when submitting supplementary information at the destination port.
If the bill of lading is to order, the back of the bill of lading must be stamped with the official seal of the notify party.
If the notify party on the bill of lading is an individual, a copy of their ID card is required.
If the consignee on the bill of lading is an individual, their original ID card is required!
Destination port: Taking Guangzhou Huangpu Port as an example, there is a distinction between "New Port" and "Old Port". Pterocarpus erinaceus is mainly shipped to "Huangpu Old Port (HUANGPU OLD PORT)", so please specify this when shipping.
Ocean freight: If the bill of lading states "FREIGHT COLLECT", it means that the ocean freight will be paid at the destination port. From August 1, 2013, all shipping companies' fees will be subject to a 6% tax. It is recommended that ocean freight be paid at the port of origin or in Hong Kong to save costs.
Shippers are advised to apply to the shipping company at the port of origin for a 14-day (or more) free container detention period at the destination port to avoid container demurrage charges.

II. Documents Required for Customs Clearance

Original bill of lading, trade contract, packing list, invoice, detailed list, certificate of origin, plant quarantine certificate, and species certificate.
Obtaining a species certificate takes 10~15 working days and can be processed with a copy of the bill of lading. Customers need to provide a copy of the bill of lading to the customs broker at least 7 working days before the goods arrive at the transit port to arrange for the species certificate in advance. This avoids delays in customs clearance due to an incomplete species certificate.

III. Inspection and Customs Clearance Process

Arrival of goods at port – Inspection (1 day) – Customs clearance (1 day) – Tax payment (1 day) – Customs release or inspection – Inspection and disinfection by commodity inspection authorities (1~2 days) – Release and pick-up of container.
Customs inspections are randomly controlled by customs computers. Whether an inspection is required will only be known after tax payment.

Common customs inspection methods include: weighing, X-ray scanning, container unpacking (full or partial), sampling for inspection, and issuance of commodity inspection certificates.

Weighing:
If the difference between the actual weight obtained through weighing and the declared weight is more than or less than 5%, calculated as (declared weight - actual weight) / actual weight, customs will require the warehouse receipt to be amended and re-submitted. The process of amending the warehouse receipt is complicated (usually taking 10~15 working days). A business entity that has amended the warehouse receipt and resubmitted it four times within a year will be blacklisted by customs and become a key inspection target.

Container unpacking:
Due to the inability of dock workers to fully reload the goods after unpacking the container, any scattered goods left on the dock will be marked and stacked separately by professional customs brokers based on the bill of lading number to avoid mixing. After customs clearance, these goods will be transported away using a small truck.

Issuance of commodity inspection certificates and sampling for inspection:
The speed of completing these two inspections is largely influenced by the customs broker's coordination abilities with relevant departments (you know what I mean...).

Customs inspection fees are as follows:
X-ray scanning: 800 yuan/container
Issuance of commodity inspection certificate: 800 yuan/invoice
Fee for amending the warehouse receipt: 800 yuan/invoice
Sampling for inspection: 300 yuan/invoice

In just a few hundred words, I can only briefly discuss some of the general processes in this industry. I hope this can bring some help to everyone and save you some trouble. At the same time, I hope everyone can have more understanding and tolerance for those in the logistics industry like us.