The Importance of Freight in Import Customs Declaration

In International trade, customs declarations is crucial in shipping. Here, you will learn some importance of freight in import customs declaration.

  1. Documents are the means and proof of contract performance

The three types of trade contracts commonly used in international trade (FOB contract, CFR contract and CIF contract) are explained in accordance with the International Chamber of Commerce’s “Incoterms 2000” (INCOTERMS 2000). Both are based on the seller’s submission of documents related to the goods as its fulfillment of the delivery obligation, while the buyer’s payment responsibility is based on the receipt of the documents submitted by the delivery party.

  1. Documents are the basic tool for international settlement

With the development of international trade, international trade goods are documented, so that the sale of goods is realized through the sale of documents. In today’s export settlement payment method, the most important payment method is the letter of credit. This method of payment has transformed the charity sale of actual commodities into the sale of documents; the seller’s presentation of the documents means that the goods have been delivered, and the buyer can redeem the documents after payment, which means that the goods have been bought. Naturally, the settlement between the two parties is no longer based on goods, but on documents. The principle of convection of documents and goods has become the general principle of commodity sales and payment in international trade. It can be seen that in the export business, correct, complete and timely preparation of documents can ensure safe and timely collection of foreign exchange, otherwise it will bring double losses in terms of economy and reputation to the enterprise and the country.

  1. The vast majority of modern international trade adopts the method of delivery against documents and payment against documents. Especially in the letter of credit business, some parties deal with the documents instead of the actual goods. If there is something in the document that does not meet the requirements of the letter of credit, the buyer can refuse to pay the payment. Therefore, more stringent requirements are imposed on the documents.

Declaration of freight in the import declaration form

The declaration of freight in the customs declaration is closely related to the transaction method. The common transaction method and the declaration of the freight column of the corresponding import declaration are as follows:

The total price in the CIF transaction price generally includes the value of goods + freight + insurance, and the columns of freight and insurance in the customs declaration form do not need to be filled in;

The total price in the FOB transaction price generally includes the value of the goods + the inland transportation, loading and unloading and other terminal fees from the factory to the shipment, and the freight and insurance columns need to be filled in the customs declaration form;

The total price in the EXW transaction price generally only includes the value of the goods, and the freight and insurance premium columns of the customs declaration form need to be filled in.

  1. Relevant regulations

According to the Announcement No. 20 of 2016 of the General Administration of Customs (announcement on revising the “Regulations for Completing Customs Declaration Forms for Imported and Exported Goods of the Customs of the People’s Republic of China”)

  1. Transaction method

This column should be based on the actual transaction price terms of the imported and exported goods, and the corresponding transaction method code should be selected and reported according to the “Transaction Method Code Table” stipulated by the customs. There is no actual customs declaration form for entry and exit, fill in CIF for import and FOB for export.

  1. Freight

Fill in this column to report the transportation cost of imported goods before they arrive at the import location in my country, and the transportation expenses of export goods after they are shipped to the export location in my country.

Freight can be reported in one of three ways: freight unit price, total price or freight rate, and the freight mark should be indicated (freight mark “1” indicates the freight rate, “2” indicates the unit price of freight per ton of goods, and “3” indicates the total price of freight ), and fill in the corresponding currency code according to the “Currency Code Table” stipulated by the customs.

The declaration source of the import customs declaration freight

The international transportation link is generally completed by the consignee and consignor entrusting the import customs declaration company to act as an agent. How to clarify the freight charges that should be declared through the documents, and are different types of documents helpful for the review of freight charges? Zoe details the source of the freight declaration:

  1. Confirm the transaction method

The different costs included in the total price in different transaction methods are very important for the declaration of freight charges. It can be obtained from the invoice that the transaction method is FOB. The column of the transaction method of the import declaration form needs to be filled with FOB, and at the same time, the freight and insurance premium of the imported goods need to be filled in the column of freight and insurance premium of the customs declaration form.

  1. Freight data source

Domestic shipping invoice. Taking import by sea as an example, in the case of EXW or FOB transactions, the sea freight is generally paid on delivery, and the shipowner or agency company chosen by the consignee is mainly a company with an office or agency in the country to ensure convenient communication. In this case, the ocean freight is paid directly by the consignee to the shipowner or agency. logistics agreement. The annual service agreement signed between the consignee and the shipowner or agent, in the price clause, the name of the fee, the standard of the fee, the currency system, the settlement period, etc. are all detailed. Shipping instructions. In special circumstances, if the shipowner or agency cannot provide the freight invoice in time, they can negotiate with them to provide an explanation of the freight amount.

The above is a small introduction to the importance of customs declaration documents how to reflect the relevant content. Through the above introduction, I think you understand the importance of customs declaration documents, if you are looking for freight forwarding needs in the import and export of goods from China, you can come to us TJ CHINA FREIGHT, where there will be experts to serve you.