Export & Import Procedures

Export Procedures

If the exporter is arranging his shipment directly with the carrier or using the services of a freight forwarding agent, he will encounter the following procedures:

1. Booking the necessary shipping space with the carrier's agent;

2. Calculating the sea/ air freight;

3. Preparing the bills of lading or letter of instruction for sea/ air freight;

4. Completing the Shipping Note and forward the goods to the docks if shipment is by sea. If shipment is by air, the cargo must be accompanied by an air waybill when the consignment is sent to the air cargo terminal;

5. Completing the Outward Declaration forms in 4 copies and submit them to the Controller of Import & Export office within 3 days after export. If the goods are subject to export control or licensing, the Outward Declaration must be approved and endorsed by the relevant authorities before shipment of such goods is effected;

6. Finally, the exporter will prepare the required export documents for presentation to the negotiating bank for payment, acceptance or for payment after collection depending on the methods of payment as agreed in the sales contract; and

7. When the above have been completed, the exporter will send all the shipment details to the overseas customer to enable him to collect the goods on arrival.

Import Procedures

An importer who purchase goods from overseas supplier may involve some of the following procedures:

1. Confirmation of purchase order or sales contract and arranging payment for the goods to be shipped within the specified period;

2. On receipt of the shipment advice from the supplier, the importer will wait for the Arrival Notice of Goods from the carrier's agent in order to prepare clearance of the consignment;

3. If the shipping documents are to be received through the local bank, the importer will have to settle the account (either by cash, trust receipt or bankers acceptance) in order to take up such shipping documents for claiming delivery of the consignment from the carrier;

4. Once the shipping documents are in hand, the importer must prepare the Inward Declaration in five copies and submit them to the Controller of Imports & Exports Office for approval. If the goods are dutiable, the importer will have to pay import duty to the Customs before removal of such goods;

5. The importer will surrender one original bill of lading duly endorsed by him together with the original copy of the approved Inward Declaration to the carrier's agent in exchange for a delivery order. In the case of air freight, the importer will have to surrender the Air Waybill duly endorsed to the airline company in order to claim delivery of the goods;

6. Usually, most import cargo are stored in the open shed or warehouse of the port authority;

7. The importer's agent will have to show the third copy of the approved Inward Declaration for examination and endorsement by the customs at the check point when the goods are taken out from the controlled area; and

8. Finally, the consignment will be delivered to the importer's warehouse at his disposal.

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Port & Customs Procedures

Definitions of Containerized Cargoes

"FCL" Container

A Full Container Load (FCL) is an import container with goods for one consignee only or an export container with goods from one consignor only. An import FCL can be delivered directly to the consignee's warehouse but for an export FCL, it can be moved from the exporter's warehouse to the Container Terminal for loading on deck the container ship.

"LCL" Container

A Less Container Load (LCL) is an import container with goods for more than one consignee or an export container with goods from more than one consignor. An import LCL container is delivered to the nearest container freight station for unstuffing and the goods are to be collected by the consignee. On the other hand, an export LCL container can be delivered to the Container Freight Station for stuffing with other export cargo into a full container load, thus reducing the overall cost of shipping.

Container Terminal

A Container Terminal is a berth or wharf demarcated by the Comptroller of Customs and Excise as a place for the loading and unloading of containers and this place may include a Container Freight Station.

Container Freight Station

A Container Freight Station is a place for the stuffing and unstuffing of LCL containers. It is also a place licensed for warehousing of dutiable goods which may not be removed without the permission of the proper customs officer. In addition, it also provides office and facilities for customs officers for the purposes of examining, weighing, fumigating, disinfecting and destruction of goods.

Each container freight station will be manned by customs officers and the movement of containers in the customs territory may proceed round the clock except stuffing and unstuffing of such containers which are restricted to normal office hours.

Customs procedures for clearance of import containers

All containers removed from the container terminal will be placed with Customs seals and the relevant permit duly endorsed before entering the customs territory. If any container is found to be damaged or the shipping agent's seal broken, such goods may not be permitted to enter the customs territory unless the consignee or shipping agent agree to waive claim any remission of customs duty on the goods found missing in the containers.

Customs seals placed on containers at the time of import should not be broken without the supervision or written permission of Customs.

Clearance of FCL Containers

FCL containers are meant for door to door delivery and their removal from the container terminal should be covered by a Customs permit if the goods are dutiable. For the purpose of classification and valuation the Inward Declaration should give a full description of the goods imported. When taking delivery of these containers from the container terminal, consignees or transport agents may have to apply for Customs supervision for unstuffing of the containers at licensed warehouse or at the consignee's premises.

Clearance of LCL Containers

Since LCL containers carry goods for more than one consignee, unstuffing of such containers have to be carried out in a container freight station. Goods unstuffing from the LCL containers will be treated as conventional cargo and reuire the Inward Declaration to be approved by the C & R of Imports & Exports and this permit must be produced on the day of removal for examination and endorsement by the Customs at the respective "OUT" gates of the wharves when delivery is made. If the goods unstuff are dutiable, they will be stored in the government warehouse and a relevant Customs permit will be required for their removal.

Unstuffing of containers will be permitted after seals placed on such containers have been checked by Customs and found to be in order. All the unstuff goods will be placed in one lot in the warehouse under the same container number and accordingly endorsed by the Controller and Registrar of Imports & Exports.

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