Archive for Customs Compliance

GTM Industry Leaders Discuss Using First Sale and Duty Drawbacks to Increase Financial Returns

May 14, 2013 Caroline Amber Road, Customs Compliance, Export Compliance, Global Trade Management, Import Compliance, Trade Compliance No comments

At a recent retail seminar held in New York on Financial Returns in Global Trade, speakers reported that retailers engaging in global trade best practices can expect to see substantial financial benefits, improved operations and lower compliance risks. This event, hosted by Amber Road and Sandler & Travis Trade Advisory Services, Inc., focused on how retailers can automate trade compliance for increased financial returns.

STR Financial Returns webinar_25459276-250px

Hung Lee, Senior Product Manager and Vin Ramundo, Solutions Consultant, both of Amber Road, spoke extensively on this subject and discussed methods for increasing financial returns such as utilizing First Sale and duty drawbacks. Ramundo noted that typical reductions include a five to eight percent reduction in transportation costs, ten to fifteen percent reduction in cycle stock inventory, and four to seven days’ compression in order cycle times.

“Typically, First Sale savings within the first five years are ten to twenty percent on duty,” commented Laura Siegel Rabinowitz, Of Counsel, Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg. First Sale bases the duty rate on what the manufacturer paid for the goods, rather than after a middleman’s markup, which is what Customs duties are typically assessed on.

Dawn Olesky, Director, Drawback Operations, Sandler & Travis Trade Advisory Services, Inc., noted that, “Duty drawback can offer as much as a 99 percent refund of import duties, taxes or fees.”

“With duty drawback, you have the ability to lower costs to customers and, therefore, should increase sales,” Olesky added.

Interested in learning more about how you can leverage compliance to increase financial returns? Join Amber Road and Sandler & Travis Trade Advisory Services, Inc. for a free webinar, Financial Returns in Global Trade: ROI of Compliance, on Wednesday, June 5th, at 2:00 pm.

The Current State of US Import Policy

April 8, 2013 Caroline Customs Compliance, Import Compliance No comments

International trade is a critical component of the US economy, with US imports alone amounting to $2.2 trillion in 2011. The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the primary agent charged with ensuring the smooth flow of trade. A recent report by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) analyzed the US import process and uncovered complex challenges CBP faces in creating import policy.

CRS found that tension underlies many aspects of import policy making because of CBP’s three competing goals:

  • Facilitate the smooth flow of trade
  • Enforce trade and customs laws
  • Enforce import security laws

While trade facilitation involves promoting faster and more efficient trade flows, trade enforcement and import security involve identifying and preventing illegal flows – tasks that often involve slower cargo flows and reduced efficiency.

In order to overcome this tension, CBP’s current import strategy uses a risk management approach. This strategy segments importers into risk pools and focuses trade enforcement and import security procedures on higher-risk imports, while expediting lower-risk flows. In order to determine risk level, CBP requires importers to submit advance electronic cargo information, which is sent to the Automated Targeting System (ATS). ATS reviews this information and assigns a risk-based score to every incoming shipment. Businesses can also enroll in CBP’s “trusted trader” programs to receive low-risk trader status and become eligible for expedited processing.

CBP has also adopted a “multi-layered” approach to import policy. This means that security screening and enforcement occur at multiple points in the import process, beginning before goods are loaded at foreign ports (pre-entry) and continuing after goods have been admitted into the US (post-entry). Importers are subject to security measures such as radiation detection scanning, non-intrusive inspections (NII), trade enforcement examinations, and post-entry audits.

For more information on current CBP import policies, please read U.S. Customs and Border Protection: Trade Facilitation, Enforcement, and Security.

Crocs Inc. Facing $36 Million in Fines from U.S. and Mexico

February 27, 2013 Caroline Customs Compliance, Import Compliance, Trade Compliance No comments

Crocs Inc., a worldwide shoe manufacturer, disclosed in its 10-K filing last week that the company may owe up to $36.2 million in fines to U.S. and Mexico Customs and taxing authorities. This estimate is based on two separate audits by the U.S. Customs crocs& Border Protection agency and Mexico’s Federal Tax Authority.

On January 9th, Crocs received notice from Mexico’s Federal Tax Authority that they could be facing a fine of $22 million, based on the value of raw materials imported into the country. These fines were discovered during an audit of the company from January 2006 to July 2011. Crocs officials have claimed that the Mexican Federal Tax Authority found no major discrepancies during the audit’s first phase, which covered capital equipment and finished goods. The second phase, which covered raw materials, revealed the potential fines.

“We believe that the proposed penalty amount is unfounded and without merit,” Crocs noted in its 10-K. “We have retained local counsel to handle the matter and who will argue that the amount due in connection with the matter, if any, is substantially less than that proposed.”

In addition, a draft audit report by the U.S. Customs & Border Protection for the period of 2006 to 2010 cited unpaid duties of $14.3 million. The company, who is disputing this initial report, does not expect a final report and notice of formal claim from Customs until the middle of this year.

For more information, please read this article from the Denver Business Journal.

Going Global Involves Heaps of Regulations, Other Hurdles

January 29, 2013 Caroline Customs Compliance, Denied Party, Export Compliance, Foreign Trade Barriers, Import Compliance, Regulatory Compliance, Restricted Party Screening, Trade Compliance No comments

Small businesses have increasingly found opportunities to expand globally over the past few years and have only more reason to continue to do so in the future. But as a recent article in Inc. Magazine points out, importing and exporting isn’t as simple as booking a spot on the nearest cargo ship.

In fact, companies face a staggering number of regulatory hurdles when looking to import or export. “Know you customer” laws prevent US companies from sending potentially dangerous items to US enemies overseas, and they can be difficult to navigate, especially for smaller companies with limited compliance staff.

Take Cincinnati Thermal Spray, for instance. The 200-person company manufactures high-performance coatings for the aerospace, steel, and energy industries, and exports to Great Britain, France, Italy, Singapore, and Turkey. To do so, they must decipher multiple, separate lists of over 100,000 restricted trade entities issued by various governments. They must also obtain licenses for many of their products that are contingent on where these products end up, and they must monitor for fake companies trying to mask the identity of the final owner. The stakes for compliance are high – fines can reach $250,000 per transaction.

Inc. offers some tips to deal with the overwhelming amounts of data: create a formal export compliance program.  Educate your employees on the types of regulations they’re responsible for. Trust your gut. And if the field becomes too complicated, find a software provider to take care of it for you.

Read more on Inc.’s analysis and advice here.

DOJ Uncovers Massive U.S. Customs Fraud Scheme

August 17, 2012 Caroline Customs Compliance, Import Compliance, Trade Compliance No comments

Three international trade companies, the President of the San Diego Customs Brokers Association, and seven others face federal charges after investigators uncovered a multi-million dollar import fraud scheme in Southern California.

Looking to evade taxes, customs duties and other charges, the fraud ring illegally imported over $100 million of goods, according to the Department of Justice. The group allegedly exploited the in-bond import process, which allows goods intended for sale in other countries to pass through American ports duty-free. San Diego Customs Brokers Association President, Gerardo Chavez, created fake documents claiming that the imports were destined for Mexico. He also created false database entries to back up the paperwork.

After claiming the goods as en-route to Mexico, the group got truck drivers to take the goods to warehouses all over Southern California. From there, the goods (including clothing from China and cigarettes produced in India) were shipped all over the U.S. According to Laura Duffy, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California:

The charges announced…underscores our commitment to ensure that no one exploits the import process for personal gain. Not only does such illegal conduct present a significant danger to the American people, but it deprives law abiding companies of a level playing field resulting in the potential loss of billions of dollars in revenue.

The Department of Justice approximates that the scheme may have deprived California of over $10 million in customs duties, taxes and other revenue. Even more disconcerting is the claim that some vegetable shipments handled by the group were contaminated with salmonella.

Two of Chavez’s companies, Tecate Logistics LLC and International Trade Consultants LLC, were implicated in the scheme, as well as British citizen Sunil Mirwani and his company M Trade Inc. Additionally, several employees and agents of wholesalers, customs brokers and transport companies have been charged with knowingly aiding the conspiracy.

Click here to read the full article.

Upcoming Webinar: The Secrets to Import Success

June 7, 2012 Caroline Amber Road, Customs Compliance, Global Trade Management, Global Trade Management Software, Import Compliance, Regulatory Compliance, Trade Compliance, Trade Compliance Solutions, Webinars No comments

Join Amber Road and American Shipper on Wednesday, June 20at 2pm EDT for a webinar that will discuss findings from the second annual Import Operations & Compliance Benchmark Study, published by American Shipper and BPE Global. Key topics will include:

  • Regulatory compliance policies and practices
  • Import operations management and outsourcing
  • Supporting technologies solutions and functionality
  • Organizational structures and policies
  • Training and education

Panelists for The Secrets to Import Success: Best Practices in Managing Import Operations & Compliance include:

  • Nathan Pieri, SVP, Marketing and Product Development, Amber Road
  • Andrea Appell, Director, BPE Global

Click here to register.

TALIS Group Centralizes its Global Trade Compliance with Management Dynamics’ Export On-Demand

September 7, 2011 Caroline Customs Compliance, Export Compliance, Global Trade Management, Import Compliance, Trade Compliance No comments

Management Dynamics, a leading provider of global trade management solutions, today announced that TALIS Group, a world-leading provider of water valves and services for the whole water cycle, has gone live with the Management Dynamics’ Export On-Demand solution for restricted party screening (RPS). Deploying Export On-Demand is a foundation technology for TALIS’s goal of centralizing and automating its global export compliance processes.

Over the past year, the company’s European group has acquired multiple companies that now operate as TALIS Group subsidiaries, prompting TALIS to consolidate management of its global trade compliance capabilities. Since the beginning of May, Management Dynamics’ Export On-Demand solution has been running at all German entities in TALIS Group, with additional European entities scheduled to come online in stages over the coming weeks.

For more information please click here

 

Last Chance to Register for Tomorrow’s Webinar: Best Practices in Integrating Logistics and Compliance Management

August 23, 2011 Caroline Customs Compliance, Export Compliance, Global Trade Management, Trade Compliance, Trade Compliance Software, Trade Compliance Solutions No comments

Broadcasting live on Wednesday, August 24 at 2pm EDT, “Best Practices in Integrating Logistics and Compliance Management” will take a close look at the ins and outs of integrating logistics and compliance management.

During the one-hour webinar, key industry experts will discuss the market dynamics driving importers to consider this strategy, and Management Dynamics customer Leggett & Platt will share their success story. Other topics will include:

- The benefits of integrating logistics and compliance
- Challenges importers will have to overcome
- The key role technology plays
- Actionable advice for importers exploring this idea

Register today!

 

Six of Top Ten Companies Ranked in Gartner’s Supply Chain Top 25 Use Management Dynamics

June 14, 2011 Caroline Customs Compliance, Export Compliance, Global Trade Management, Global Trade Management Software, Import Compliance, Trade Compliance, Trade Compliance Software, Trade Compliance Solutions No comments

Management Dynamics congratulates all the companies ranked in the top ten of The Gartner Supply Chain Top 25 for 2011: Apple, Dell, P&G, RIM, Amazon, Cisco, Wal-Mart, McDonald’s, PepsiCo and Samsung. Six of these companies listed use our solutions to automate their global trade management processes.

“We’re proud to be associated with these leading companies and we continue to be impressed by their innovative use of our solutions. The results are a testament to the fact that global trade management solutions, when combined with forward-thinking supply chain strategies, can have a measurable impact on return on assets (ROA), revenue growth, and competitive advantage,” said Jim Preuninger, CEO of Management Dynamics.

For more information on how the survey and research was conducted, please visit The Gartner Supply Chain Top 25 for 2011.

INCOTERMS 2010 Update from Export.gov

January 26, 2011 Caroline Customs Compliance, Export Compliance, Import Compliance, Trade Compliance No comments

The following is a message from Export.gov:

The new INCOTERMS® 2010 became effective January 1, 2011. Incoterms–which is an abbreviation for International Commercial terms–are a series of sales terms. They are published by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and are widely used in commercial transactions. In addition to providing a set of rules for the interpretation of commonly used trade terms, INCOTERMS® 2010 accomplish the following:

1. Significantly revises Group D listed in INCOTERMS® 2000;

2. Reduce Incoterms from four groups to two groups, allowing trade experts to choose the most suitable rule related to the mode of transport; and

3. Reduce the absolute number of Incoterms from 13 to 11.

Moreover, INCOTERMS® 2010 offer additional guidance which assists users in selecting the most appropriate Incoterm for each transaction. The revised terms also spell out rules regarding the use of electronic procedures; detail information on security-related clearances for shipments; and offer advice with respect to domestic trade.

Learn more about Incoterms 2010

If you still have questions regarding the new Incoterms 2010, please contact the Trade Information Center at 1-800-USA-TRADE (1-800-872-8723).

« Older Entries