Import and Export Services

If feasible it may also be a good activity to visit the suppliers personally to inspect their premises and to understand the manufacturing or supply environment better. This may also highlight possible new opportunities or risks that may have not been suspected at all.

Placing An Order
Once the importer is satisfied that they have a suitable supplier and trade partner, an agreement can be finalized that is mutually beneficial to all parties and the first order can be placed.

Shipping the Goods
Depending on the terms of the agreement the supplier or the importer takes responsibility for the shipping of the good from the warehouse of the supplier to the address of the importer taking into account shipping, insurance, customs clearance, taxes and duties that are involved in getting the goods from one location on the planet to another location.

Receiving the Goods
Once the goods are received they need to be inspected. If there are any defects a claim has to be lodged with the relevant insurance company or the supplier to claim the damages to rectify the situation. If the goods are received in good condition then it is only a matter of getting them safely stored and then distributed into the market.

What Are The Important Documents Required In Importing?
Importing goods is of extreme interest to customs authorities all around the world. Goods are inspected to make sure that they are legal and that there are no illegal goods contained within a shipment. In addition tax authorities seek to ensure that commercial invoices are correct and not discounted and also to ensure that the correct duties and taxes are paid to them since imported goods, like all traded goods and services attract taxes which are one source of income for any government.

As such the following documents are extremely important:
1) Bill of Lading that is signed
2) Commercial Invoice that contains the correct addresses for both supplier and importer
3) Necessary Certificates of Origin
4) Necessary permits and licenses
5) Necessary certificates confirming tests have been done

What Permits Or Licenses Are Needed To Import Goods?
Generally, importers require a license to import goods. For specific goods, such as fuel or livestock or vehicles, additional licenses and permits are usually necessary. There are changes in the codes of each country’s requirements and these have to be consulted before the order is placed with the supplier to ensure that all the necessary licenses and permits are gotten beforehand.

Our Importing Services Include:
1) Going through agreements and documents to ensure that they are correct and that the best form of shipment is obtained in terms of INCOTERMS – International Commercial Terms of Agreement.
2) Liaising with suppliers to ensure shipping dates and volumes and also obtaining bills of lading that correspond with the order placed.
3) Making note of which vessels are being used and tracking the vessel’s progress to the importer’s destination port.
4) Ensuring that the proper insurance policies are taken to ensure goods against loss or damage in case of any eventuality apart from Force Majeure (an Act of God or War breaking out)
5) Ensuring that the goods are offloaded and are safely gotten through customs and that all necessary documentation is submitted to Customs timeously in order to get the shipments cleared and all duties and taxes paid by the importer.
6) Liaising with freight forwarders to have the shipment safely delivered to the destination of the importer.

What Is Export?
Export is the purchase of locally produced goods and services by people or businesses in other countries, requiring that those goods are shipped out of the country to another country.

Who Needs Exporting As A Service?
Businesses or individuals who have a source of good products and a market or buyer of the goods in a foreign country, who don’t want the hassles involved in working out the logistics of shipments and would rather focus on the manufacture or production of the products and on the other aspects of their customer service.

The Process Of Exporting
A Good Product That is In Demand
The export process begins with having a good product that is in demand in other places in the world.

Obtaining the Necessary Licenses to Export the Goods Concerned to The Markets
An exporter has to be registered with their local country’s customs authority in order to export items. This process is usually for administrative purposes and for managing the country’s balance of payments accounts that deal with trade differences between the total exports and total imports. These figures have an impact on the strength of a country’s currency and the standard of living enjoyed by its population.

Having A Market In A Foreign Country
It is then required that an individual or organization establish a market by having a buyer in another country that is interested in the goods that you and your organization are able to supply.

Sending Samples Of Products To Potential Buyer
The potential market and buyers in the foreign market may require samples to be sent to them so that they can test the market and assess the quality of the product for their needs and the market in which they are looking for the goods to be consumed or used.

Terms Of Agreement
The terms of the agreement can be agreed to should there be a mutual interest in doing trade between the exporter and a buyer in the foreign market. These terms of agreement will include the quality of the products, the quantity, the size of the packaging, the delivery method, the payment terms, the mode of transport, the insurance policies in place and any other specifics that are necessary for a positive export transaction to occur smoothly.

Manufacture or Production And Shipping
Once a contract is signed an the agreement ratified, if the necessary payment arrangements are followed the exporter now has to ensure that they have sufficient stock of the products that are in demand according to the contract and then has to manufacture more if need be and then ensure packaging is in accordance with the agreed terms in the contract. Shipping containers are packed with the products and the products are then shipped to the buyer.

Bills of Lading And Commercial Invoices
The exporter is responsible for issuing an official commercial invoice for the products and ensuring that all details and pricing is correct. The bill of lading is proof that the products have been shipped and is an important document to have copies of and to send to the buyer for their own importing processes in their country.

Final Payments
Once the goods have been shipped according to the agreements final payments are to be processed and the relevant taxes paid on the goods.

What Is Included in TAG-R’s Services?
1) Liaising with freight forwarders.
2) Making sure that adequate and appropriate insurance policies are in place for the goods in transit.
3) Liaising with shipping companies to track vessel locations and schedules to ensure shipments arrive on time and that there is no breach of contract between the exporter and the buyer in the foreign country.
4) Ensuring that the appropriate documents are obtained and then sent to the relevant parties. In some instances where the buyer has a letter of credit as a means of payment the, buyer’s bank will have to receive the necessary documents such ass a bill of lading and commercial invoice as well as the contract and certificates of origin in order for the payment to be made to the exporter. Should any of these points come into contention there could be a messy legal battle between two parties which operate in different judicial zones and are there under the jurisdiction of international trade laws if that is the nature of the agreement. These points have to be taken into account before the trade is done to avoid such losses in costs and time.

TAG-R offers trade-related consulting services. Should buyers or sellers (importers or exporters) desire more information about a trade transaction that they are looking to get involved in, we are more than willing to offer assistance in the following areas:

1) Contract structure before and after the contract goes to the legal entities involved.
In our experience, while there are very many competent lawyers and attorneys internationally, there are instances where a legal office is not fully experienced in trade-related contracts, while they might be superb in commercial contracts in their domestic countries.

2) Consulting regarding the use of appropriate INCOTERMS to use in an agreement
INCOTERMS are Internation Commercial Trading Terms and outline the basic agreement for delivery and payment as well as give the responsibilities to importer and exporter despite the language barriers that may exist between the parties. This is especially vital when a Letter of Credit or other financial instrument is used as a means of payment.

3) Consulting regarding the appropriate shipping modes to use and for intermodal transport.
There are often occasions where goods have to travel over land and then via sea to their destination port and then overland again to reach their final destination. This is known as intermodal transport. In some instances, it is cheaper and more efficient for a trading party to use rail as a means of transport and in other instances, it may be more beneficial to use road transport. This is dependant on the product, the infrastructure, the distances involved, the costs involved to name a few.

4) Consulting regarding the payment terms to be used.
As much as there is a thrill involved in delivering a good product to a satisfied buyer on the other side of the world, there is little joy in being paid late or not being paid at all. In this regard, there are a number of payment options available to trading parties these days, some of them can be facilitated by international or local banks and some of them should not be because the costs become prohibitive to the trade transaction and the parties concerned.

5) Consulting regarding the appropriate trade insurance to take out.
Trading across continents has its fair share of risk and rewards. Things can and do go wrong from time to time and while we all work to improve the state of the world we live in, sometimes that hard work takes its toll. Human error may result in a container being accidentally dropped or there could be a mechanical fault that causes the trouble. With great distances between the supplier and the buyer, there are more chances for things to slip up and greater risks as the distances and the times related to those distances are increased.

We would be happy to field your questions and advise how we can be of assistance to your questions and queries. We tend to charge an hourly rate based in United States Dollars for these consultations which can either be in person or via electronic channels. However, if there is a particular project involving more complex considerations we are happy to review the nature of the work and the research involved in working out a solution on the merit of the transaction and price our services accordingly.

Thank you for visiting our website and we look forward to your interaction.