Answers UK Export Documentation

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1. What do the following abbreviations stand for?

a) NES - National Export System

b) UCR - Unique Consignment Reference number

c) EORI - Economic Operator Registered Identification number

See our glossary of terms for more international trade abbreviations

2. What is the pre-shipment inspection (PSI) certificate called?

A Clean Report of Findings (CRF)

3. Under a FCA contract your customer selects a forwarder you have never used before for the air freight shipment.  Can you issue an aviation security certificate? Why?

Yes you can still issue an aviation security declaration as long as you quote your certificate number and name the forwarder who did the inspection.  It is governed by the Department for Transport DFT..

4. What are the steps you must take to check that your goods qualify for preference before issuing an EUR1 form?  

Are the goods manufactured in the EU - if not you can't pursue preference so don't issue the EUR1 Form, if they are manufactured in the EU move on

Check the country has a preferential trade agreement with the EU and which preference origin rules apply

Classify your goods according to the tariff - ensure you have the first 4-digits of the commodity code

Check to see what the duty rate is in the receiving country for the goods with that commodity code - if it is already zero duty then there is no need to issue a preference document

If there is a positive duty rate then using the preference agreement will save your customer money

Check the rules of preference origin (they differ per tariff number): this can be down quickly in UK Customs Notices 828 (or 829 for Syria and 832 for Mexico) to see what qualification rules apply to the goods.  This may require additional information on how the selling price has been made up, eg labour, overheads, profit EU material costs and non-EU materila costs

Verify that you meet the rules and retain evidence for future Customs audits - evidence may include supplier declarations for raw materials, parts or finished products bought in from other UK/EU companies.

If satisfied issue the EUR1 Form (or invoice statement - see below)

5. Under the EUR system of preference, there are two ways an invoice statement may replace the full EUR1 document. What are they?

Either because the value of the goods is below a stated low value level (generally based on EUR6,000) or the exporter is an Approved Exporter approved, that is, by HMRC to make an invoice declaration instead of needing to complete an EUR1 Form regardless of the value of the shipment.

6. What does it mean if document have to be legalised? To which country(ies) does this generally apply?

If you are asked to legalise a document then it means it must be stamped by the Embassy of the country you are exporting to.  Though it can be requested by any country you will see it more often when trading with Middle East countries.

7. What is a black list certificate and when may you be requested to issue one?

Generally requested by Arab League countries it is a statement to say you boycott a named country as a supplier or transport operator, e.g. Israel.  May also be asked for between India and Pakistan.  It is illegal under US and German law to issue these "negative" statements under these countries Anti-Boycott Regulations, so be careful.

8. For what reason(s) may your customer require a Certificate of Origin?

Unlike a preference certificate, ie EUR1 Form, the Certificate of Origin can be used in many different situations including:

• To verify the origin of goods for perceived quality reasons
• To give country evidence in support of aid or off-set contracts
• To support the correct collection of additional duties, generally Anti-Dumping Duties, based on where the goods were made not on where they were shipped from
• To support boycott policies to assure the buyer they are not buying from boycotted countries
• To support tariff preferences (ie ones not covered by the EUR system) which may work on a tariff suspension procedure sometime operating quotas or ceilings.

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RELATED TRAINING COURSES

Export Essentials

The Export Course

Understanding Origin & Preference

Direct Shipping: Modern Supply Chain Procedures

On-line Training with S&H LLP

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