Freight Forwarding
A freight forwarder is working as an agent for an exporter or importer of goods or merchandise to or from an overseas destination. The freight forwarder will be familiar with all the forms and documents needed to properly process a shipment. With the constant changes that occur with regards to freight forwarding throughout the world it is often best to book your shipments through an agent working as a freight forwarder.
With countries improving their homeland security, imports have become a real concern. This has caused many changes to take place in the shipping industries and I am sure we will see many more changes to come in the future. The shippers export declaration is probably one of the most common forms used for export shipments better known as a SED or Form 7525-V. The SED is to be completed only when the shipment is in excess of $2,500.00 in value. If the shipment is made up of several different commodities and none of these commodities individually exceed $2,500.00 the use of a SED is not required. When completing an SED there are certain situations that will require the exporter to have a current and valid export license. You will also have to know the export control classification number of the product or products you are shipping.
There are also certain countries that will require an SED regardless of the value of the item being shipped for example Cuba, North Korea and Libya all require an SED to be completed.
A commercial invoice will have to accompany the shipment this is often used by the country receiving the goods to determine the duties and taxes that need to be charged for the shipment in question.
A certificate of origin is required by some countries and can often be used to help determine if duties and taxes need to be filed. If a certificate of origin is unavailable often a statement printed out on company letterhead specifying where the product was manufactured will suffice.
A temporary import certificate or merchandise passport will allow the temporary importation of product into a country and will eliminate any tariffs or value added taxes (VAT). This can only occur when the product is being exported to a country usually for a short period of time such as a manufacturing process and will be shipped back to the country or origin in a timely manner.
The freight forwarder should be able to provide you with an insurance certificate. You should check the level of insurance they are able to provide to make sure that it will properly cover the material being shipped against loss or damage.
Export packing lists are often required and are a little different from the standard packing list that is used for domestic shipments. The export packing list is an itemized listing of the material in each individual package. The packing list form can be obtained from any of your freight forwarding agencies.
Sometimes an inspection certification will be required. This is a unique requirement with certain countries and products that mandates a third party attest to the products being shipped are stated correctly on all the export documentation.
