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Thread: Foreign / Customs / Protocols Help Please

  1. #1
    The Gobby one! WittyBird's Avatar
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    Foreign / Customs / Protocols Help Please

    I wasn't sure where to post this! Was umming and R'ing between here and Geeks Corner.

    Can anyone help me with an issue I have regarding shipping to Russia -Moscow ?

    Someone may be able to point me in the right direction they may not.

    Scenario......

    I have a large global customer who have started purchasing all IT equip from the UK and have standardised on UK specification. This means that all their global locations have to purchase through the London office.


    For example they will order a UK spec laptop and accessories and add memory, imaging and asset tagging. The supply, configuration and reporting is done by my company. Configuration meaning we install the memory, image, we asset tag it, change keyboards etc, we also put all accessories into 1 box so they don't have 5 boxes when they could have 1 we then ship it to one of the locations specified.

    Because it's UK spec - it has a UK PSU, UK OS and a UK keyboard, we then change these for country specific, so if it was Russia we would take the UK keyboard out and change it to a Russian one, etc, etc.

    I am finding it difficult to get information around shipping to Russia....

    I don't understand 'Customs rules' import/export etc. I would appreciate information regarding Regulations or details of where to get this from.

    Are we seen as the exporter or are Our Customer?

    What applications/forms/admin need to be fulfilled?

    I don't know which way to turn and seem to be getting conflicting information for different resources.

    Other questions.....

    Does it get stopped at Customs?
    Are there Delivery Duty's?
    What issues/problems may arise?

    Help me please!!!

    Protocols
    Procedures
    Thinking out of the box-delivering it myself
    etc
    etc


    Are there Freight agencies that will take this on?
    Can you outsource to agencies to get the paperwork sorted?

    Any realistic/serious suggestions gratefully received


    I am in the process of losing the will to live.

    They are looking at a quantity of 50 laptops including accessories (extra memory, port replicators/docking stations, usb mice, usb keyboards, bags, nbk stands and Displays)per month(150 nbks over Quarter 1) Plus extra software, printers, consumables, displays etc.
    They are predicting a growth of 400% this year, they currently have 200 employees in the Moscow Office.

    Is there any advice please?

    I have also been told that it's almost impossible to ship/deliver to :-

    Israel
    Croatia
    Thailand

    does anybody know where else I might have problems shipping to and if so any solutions or idea's to try please ?

    Thank you

  2. #2
    Registered User Mezzosoprano's Avatar
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    Re: Foreign / Customs / Protocols Help Please

    Hiya Witty,

    I used to be a Customs Officer but that was 10 years ago and my info may be rusty but I think for some of this I can help out.... You are exporting to Russia, the importer is the person at the other end... Depends on Russian Tax Rules what duties may be imposed at the other end (I would see that as the importers problem - not yours) Your best bet is to get onto the hmrc website (they are pretty good) or see if you can get the number for a local customs office. The rates (or Tarriffs) are different depending on what items you're shipping and, they change (hello Mr Taxman!) And, of course, the goods may be stopped and searched - container rummage is great fun! - either before leaving the uk or on arrival in Russia - Alternatively contact a frieght company and see if they'll carry it for you - you are still the exporter though. Stick with it...

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    Re: Foreign / Customs / Protocols Help Please

    Have you talked to some Russian people / friends about this? If you don't know any, would it help if I sent you the e-mail address of a Russian girl I know? (not really a friend of mine, but she might help ?)

    Good luck anyway

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    Registered User Blind_Dynamo's Avatar
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    Re: Foreign / Customs / Protocols Help Please

    Hi Witty bird
    I work in purchasing and buy globally the DTI may be able to help. You may need an export licence and/ or end user certificate, I'll try and more info and get back to you.

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    Re: Foreign / Customs / Protocols Help Please

    Quote Originally Posted by WittyBird View Post
    {commercial enquiry}
    The short answer is that you should really consult a specialist in the area: it's a commercial matter so your company should really factor the cost of such consultancy fees into its costs of sales.

    The general principle is that there is freedom of trade: anyone can sell anything to anyone else.

    There are two provisos, however: the first is that items may be subject to export controls (the primary example of course is armaments) and the second is that it may be subject to imposts: taxes, duties, levies, tariffs and so forth.

    Dealing with imposts. As far as I know, the UK government does not levy duties on exports. In fact, the opposite is usually the case as it wishes to encourage products going abroad and currency coming back to the UK. I cannot say that this is definitely the case. The DTI would be the people to check with; HMRC will simply say what their interpretation of the rule is - a bit like the situation where you want to avoid taxes in a way that might be illegal; the people to consult would be tax lawyers rather than the Revenue! Having said that once you have ascertained the position, HMRC will be very good with the formalities. They have advisory pages on their website.

    Duties imposed by Russia are not, strictly, your problem. You would usually be expected to state on the outside of the consignment what it is, how much it is worth and so forth and the importer will then be obliged to pay whatever imposts are required before being able to take possession of the goods. The people to contact, rather obviously I would have thought, would be the Russian embassy!! They will be more than ready to inform you of whatever is required of you as the exporter, exporting to their country.

    There will definitely be freight forwarders who will handle everything for you, though this will probably only become financially practical if there are large shipments involved - such people are geared to operate in terms of containers-full; if you are talking of 5 laptops, it's a definited no-no; 500 and they may come into their own. 50 is in the maybe/maybe not area.

    Export controls will be the responsibility, I would have thought, of the Foreign Office and/or DTI. As I understand it certain types of US technology cannot be exported anywhere - 128-bit encryption software used to fall into this category. It may be that there are similar restrictions imposed by the UK, but the technology in commercial laptops is unlikely to fall into those categories.

    You may wish to check with the manufacturers of the laptops: these might qualify as grey imports in Russia, causing problems with their local 'sole importer'. If that is the case you may need to keep the exports 'under the radar'.

    How would you 'deliver them yourself'? In a self-drive truck? or were you thinking of 25 flights to and from Russia? If you choose the self-drive route you can hire me as navigator at very reasonable rates!

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    Registered User LMC's Avatar
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    Re: Foreign / Customs / Protocols Help Please

    Does the Russian Embassy have a trade attaché? - I've found going straight to them if I have any customs problems (Ethiopia) helps (the attaché at the Ethiopian Embassy, not the Russian one, obv.)

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    The Gobby one! WittyBird's Avatar
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    Re: Foreign / Customs / Protocols Help Please

    Thanks guys the help is appreciated

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    Re: Foreign / Customs / Protocols Help Please

    Quote Originally Posted by Mezzosoprano View Post
    Hiya Witty,

    I used to be a Customs Officer but that was 10 years ago and my info may be rusty but I think for some of this I can help out.... You are exporting to Russia, the importer is the person at the other end... Depends on Russian Tax Rules what duties may be imposed at the other end (I would see that as the importers problem - not yours) Your best bet is to get onto the hmrc website (they are pretty good) or see if you can get the number for a local customs office. The rates (or Tarriffs) are different depending on what items you're shipping and, they change (hello Mr Taxman!) And, of course, the goods may be stopped and searched - container rummage is great fun! - either before leaving the uk or on arrival in Russia - Alternatively contact a frieght company and see if they'll carry it for you - you are still the exporter though. Stick with it...
    Speaking as a current Customs Officer, albeit one that hasn't done freight work for several years, you probably would be wasting your time trying to get hold of any local Customs offices. Most of these have been closed or are in the process of being closed, and all of the enquiries work has been centralised into the National Advice Service 0845 0109000.

    Container rummages were good fun

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