EU Customs ruling will hike carrier charges - shippers

Shipping lines have started introducing their predicted additional surcharges for Europe-bound cargo following the official implementation on January 1 of new EU Customs import data requirements.

Confusingly for Asia-Europe trade shippers and others, they have begun by implementing different levels of charge, under various names, spread over several start dates. On average, though, the initial basic surcharge is US$25 per B/L (bill of lading).

Under the new EU Customs rules, carriers operating on Asian and other international trade lanes to the EU now have to declare cargo information in advance to the European authorities to enable the latter to evaluate any potential security and safety threats.

That information, which has be submitted in a declaration known as an 'Entry Summary Declaration' (ENS) to the first port/airport of entry into the EU, includes details of the cargo, the traders involved in the movement, the vessel/aircraft and the envisaged route into and across the EU.

Shipping lines say they need to implement surcharges to cover the additional work involving in collecting that data from customers and transmitting it to the relevant EU Customs authorities.

Among prominent Asia-Europe trade carriers, CMA CGM was due to implement "Customs Documentation Charges" of $25 per B/L for all containerised traffic with the EU as final destination, $10 per B/L for non-containerised traffic (including trailers) and $40 per B/L for all amendments to original submissions, effective January 1.

Maersk Line originally published plans to introduce a similar "Cargo Data Declaration" (CDD) fee of $25 per B/L for all cargo bound for the EU, also effective January 1.

However, on December 28 it announced that implementation was being postponed to January 15, apparently to allow customers more time to familiarise themselves with the new rules.

In the same December 28 statement, Maersk also announced a change to its earlier plans regarding charges for amendments to the advanced manifest. Originally, the line had stated that any such changes would initially be covered in the CDD charge "as it is not clear how amendments will be handled".

In its latest statement, though, Maersk said it had now been informed that EU Customs authorities were accepting amendments to advance manifest information and that any such amended information must be re-submitted.

As a result, said the line, it was extending its Cargo Declaration Amendment fee of $40 per amended B/L, effective February 1, to cover such transactions. "This fee will now be applicable every time a transport document is amended," added Maersk.

COSCO Container Lines (COSCON) has also opted for a basic surcharge of $25 for all shipments to the EU from the Far East and Indian sub-continent, effective January 1, and $40 for any amendments made after an original submission has been filed with customs, while Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) plans to levy a Cargo Data Declaration (CDD) charge of $25 per B/L for all shipments to the EU, also from January 1.

Hapag-Lloyd has opted for slightly different surcharge rates. The German line's recently-published 'Security Manifest Document' (SMD) fees, due to have come into effect January 1, are $30 per maritime document for all cargo discharged/transhipped in an EU port or remaining on board a vessel calling at such a port and $30 for any amendment to data already filed.

The advent of such surcharges was flagged up by Andrew Traill, managing director of The Shippers' Voice, an independent website set up to highlight key issues for shippers worldwide, when he commented in mid-2010 on the likely impact of the new EU Customs requirements (Cargonews Asia, July 12, 2010).

"As sure as night follows day, shippers can expect charges from the carriers when they undertake to communicate the data. That is not a criticism - the carriers will incur additional costs in new systems and procedures and no doubt in chasing many customers for the necessary data," he stated.

Commenting specifically on the implications for Asian shippers, Traill suggested then that some would no doubt fear over-charging by carriers.

"Shippers' representative organisations should monitor the situation closely and report to government competition and trade and industry departments any suspicions of abuse," he advised.

"European importers must look out for it and persuade their carriers not to over-charge their customers, or else take the charges themselves as part of the overall rate and service negotiations.
(Source:www.cargonewsasia.com)