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WHAT'S NEW

Smart Words................ - Wednesday, 20 February 2008
'The boss called an employee to his office and said "Wilson, you have been in the same job with the company for 10 years now, so I have decided to make you Plant Manager"
"Thanks Boss" Wilson beamed.'What do I have to do?'
"Just water them every day", came the reply.'

IMPACT ON EXPORTS TO UK - Friday, 9 March 2007
UK customs are changing the existing customs compile system to a new and untested version without a dual system trial period, due to late changes to the software. Implementation date of July 1 will now be introduced via a 'big bang' approach.

It is expected that there will be delays and chaos as data requirements will change overnight with possible negative impacts on freight movements, customs clearances and other logistics related transactions.

Please work with your customers in the UK to ensure your cargo is not held up on or around July 1, by planning your exports to the UK, to arrive well before or some time after the implementation date.

The new system will standardise customs declaration codes across Europe and is intended to integrate seamlessly into the EU's requirements for Single Administrative Document Harmonisation (SADH).

Please discuss this issue with your UK customers.

SELLING TO THE UNITED STATES - Saturday, 10 June 2006
The Austrade website has a guide for business, with informative details on the 'how to' win business in the competitive US market.

The guide has details on winning US government contracts, AUSFTA benefits and regulatory information. It's a long document, but worth looking at if you are interested in expanding (or winning) your USA exposure and marketshare

USA ISPM 15 IMPLEMENTATION - Thursday, 16 March 2006
Please note, that the USA has begun implementation of their very stringent ISPM 15 compliance regulations, where cargoes are rejected by USA customs and goods returned to sender, if the regulatory compliance of using and documenting ISPM for all crates, pallets, dunnage etc is not met.

Please contact our office if you require any further information.

AQIS CHANGES TO AIR IMPORT REGULATIONS & PROCEDURES - Friday, 25 November 2005
This notice is to provide important information regarding changes to current AQIS regulations and procedures. CHANGES ARE EFFECTIVE 1ST JANUARY 2006.

Compliance is mandatory either via ISPM15 compliant packaging or evidence of offshore treatment(packing declaration/treatment certificate).

If conditions mentioned are not adhered to, the wood/timber packing will be treated/destroyed or re-exported at the importers expense.

To ensure that you experience minimal disruption to your business, please inform your overseas suppliers of the above new regulations as quickly as possible, it will be the responsibility of your suppliers to complete the neccessary AQIS documentation together with your usual commercial documents at the time of export. This documentation includes:

AIRFREIGHT ISPM 15 PACKING DECLARATION (SEE ATTACHED)

This document is to be completed for ALL airfreight consignments, it will be used to state whether wood packing has or has not been used and if wood packing has been used, whether it is ISPM 15 compliant or not. It must be printed on a shipper/supplier letterhead, stating the MAWB and Commercial Invoice number and be dated, signed and stamped.

If the wood packing is marked/stamped with the compliant ISPM 15 stamp and the Airfreight ISPM 15 packing declaration is supplied, no additional documentation
is required.

IMPORTANT NOTE:
If your consignment contains wood packing and the wood is NOT ISPM 15 compliant, a VALID fumigation certificate must accompany the airfreight packing declaration otherwise the consignment will be directed to AQIS for inspection, treatment, destruction or re-exported at the importers expense (AQIS intervention services are all on a 'user pays' basis)

PLEASE NOTE: Every airfreight consignment will require an Aifreight Packing Declaration.

If you require any further information or clarification on this matter, please contact our office.

USA joins ISPM15 list of countries - Wednesday, 31 August 2005
RED ALERT....USA will implement ISPM as from 16/9/05 however will NOT allow fumigation of timber at time of entry, they will re export to place of origin with original shipper to carry all costs!

This is a critical and import issue to consider when you are packing your goods for export the USA. ALL CARGO will be turned around.....if it does not comply, so please alert all your team to this very important matter.

Pls contact staff at Scorpion International for assistance in sourcing an ISPM accredited pallet/crate/dunnage company in your area.

FREE directory service - Friday, 1 April 2005
By law, Telstra has to provide a FREE directory service assistance number, because they are still majority owned by the government. They choose however, not to pass this number on the the public. WHAT'S THE NUMBER? 1223

Timber fumigation for export - Thursday, 31 March 2005
Several destinations now require fumigation (and certification) for any wood packaging material (such as packing cases, boxes, crates, drums, pallets and box pallets, timber dunnage in containers etc).

The following are some current areas to which the above applies:
Canada, USA, South Africa, Turkey, China, Fiji, New Zealand, India, Phillipines and Europe (the European Community introduced ISPM15 regulations as from March 15, 05)

For more information, please log on to: www.forestry.gov.uk/planethealth

As fumigation and regulatory fumigation certificates are costly, we recommend that you research other options ie. plastic or metal pallets or ISPM15 compliant export pallets/packaging medium to ensure your exports are not caught up in Quarantine at the destination point, adding to your customers cost and frustration.

One website is: www.plasticpallets.com.au and a local company who supply AQIS compliant timber pallets with certification is : Rod Scott Pallets Pty Ltd
02 4969 4700 FAX: 02 4961 6179 (Plts, Boxes, Crates)

If you would like any further information or assistance with this issue, please contact me (Leigh).

INTERNATIONAL WOOD COMPLIANCE DATES - Tuesday, 1 March 2005
AQIS have circulated a guide for international wood compliance dates.
Argentina -end 2005
Australia - from Sept 1, 2004
Canada - full implementation 16/9/2005
Chile - from 1/5/2005
China - to be advised, however requires certification now
Colombia - 31/12/2004
Costa Rica - 1/1/2005
European Union countries - 1/3/2005...logo implementation 31/12/2007
Fiji - 1/1/2004
India - 1/11/2004....Phytosanitary certification required
Japan - to be advised
Mexico - 16/9/2005
New Zealand - 1/8/2003.....wood packaging must comply ISPM 15
Nigeria - 30/9/2004...certificate or ISPM 15 mark
Phillipines - 1/1/2005...ISPM 15 marks as from 1/6/2005
USA - 16/9/2005
Samoa - certificate required...or ISPM 15 compliant marks.
Singapore - not required at this stage/ only transhipment cargo
South Africa - 1/1/2005
South Korea - 1/5/2005
Sri Lanka - 1/3/2004....full enforcement not yet tabled
Switzerland - 1/6/2004....full enforcement not yet tabled
Taiwan - 1/10/2004...full compliance needs to be checked
Turkey - 1/1/2005
United Arab Emerites - 1/1/2005
Hong Kong - not required at this stage
Indonesia - 1/1/2005
Laos - 1/1/2005
Norway - 1/6/2004...full enforcement to be advised

If you are exporting to any of the above, please check full regulation/requirements....otherwise your clients will be negatively effected ie. fumigation, wood heat treatment etc. These are all very costly 'fix ups' which will cost your customer and may impact on future orders?

AUSTRALIAN PORT SECURITY LEVY - Tuesday, 4 January 2005
UPDATE ON PRE ALERT STORY BELOW.....CHARGES BECAME APPLICABLE FROM JANUARY 1, 2005......................................

Stevedores in Australia are considering (and are likely) to impose a $5 per container port security levy as from January 1, 2005.

A spokeswoman for Patrick Corp. was quoted in the media this week, saying the stevedores would negotiate the levy with shipping lines in the next few weeks.

The surcharge would pay for extra guards, fencing, lighting and closed-circuit cameras which the stevedores installed to comply with the Australian Maritime Security Act, which came into effect in July this year.

USA PORT AND PEAK SEASON CONGESTION - Wednesday, 6 October 2004
URGENT AND IMPORTANT...Australian importers and exporters have been feeling the impact of westcoast USA port congestion and the usual peak season issues.

Please consider the current shipping delays to and from USA when signing supply agreements or relying on the usual time parameters ie. 21-24 day transits.....since shipping line schedules to and from the USA westcoast have been adversely affected, with vessel rotation being somewhat unpredicatable at present.

If you have urgent cargo or time clause contracts, please contact us as soon as possible to discuss options for your export and import cargoes.

PLEASE NOTE: Notification from operating partners of the Oceania Vessel Sharing Agreement (USA Conference), has been received today to advise that a congestion surcharge of USD150 per 20'and $300 per 40' container will be levied as from October 22 until further notice.

AQIS EXPORT PACKAGING REGULATIONS - Wednesday, 6 October 2004
AQIS advice notice no 2004/16 re Implementation of ISPM15 for Wood packaging material in exports. This standard has now been adopted by Australia as a signatory of IPPC (international plant protection convention).

PLEASE LOG INTO AQIS ISPM 15 STANDARD ON HTTP://www.ippc.int/IPP/En/ispm.jsp or the International Phytosanitary Portal at: http://www.ippc.int./IPP/En/default.htm...for specific information.

Once the current batch of FTA's are fully signed off, we have been given to understand compliance with international regulations will also become compulsory and if you are currently looking at export viability and cost factors, it may be an opportune time to ensure all export packing materials are compliant.

Currently the following countries 'technically' require a phytosanitary certificates if you use wood pallets/dunnage:

New Zealand
Fiji
China
Canada
and by the year end: USA

Australia has this requirement in place for all imports into Australia, so other countries are now addressing their quarantine and bio security issues.

PLEASE NOTE: A number of our regular exporters have looked at metal and plastic pallets to overcome the cost factor of timber certification compliance.

SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT - SCM - Wednesday, 1 September 2004
SCM has been part of our service delivery for a number of years for our high volume clients. We have now formalised the process to add value, save costs and time and ensure the service delivery assists our international and domestic client base. Please contact Leigh for further details on how our SCM may be of benefit to your company.

CMR/TML - introduction to penalty guidelines - Wednesday, 1 September 2004
The Australian Customs Service (ACS) has released the penalty guidelines to the International Trade Modernisation (TML).

The legislation represents a significant change and together with the introduction of the Administrative Penalty Scheme and will allow ACS to impose the penalties under the Customs Act.

While the 6 month moratorium became effective, some offences were not exempt:

* False or misleading statements (on customs entry) resulting in loss of duty for the ACS
* Incorrectly moving, altering or interfering with cargo

Under TML/CMR, penalties will now be imposed on prescribed offences relating to all levels of processing and Cargo reporting, even with no implications of loss of duty.

Main features of TML/CMR:

PENALTIES WILL BE IMPOSED FOR:
"false and misleading statements", whether or not there are loss of duty/revenue implications.
PENALTIES WILL STILL BE IMPOSED FOR:
"false and misleading statements" resulting in an underpayment or incorrect claim for payment of refund and drawback of duty applications.

* Introduction of a 3rd penalty level where the ACS may issue an "infringement notice" (20% on the spot fine) which is outlined below:

* The ACS have new monitoring powers to replace existing audit powers;
* New record keeping obligations
* Extension of liability time limit on most offences to 4 years;
* A new "accredited client scheme" for importers of regular high volume, low risk transaction

The nature of the INS is where an officer is satisfied an offence has occurred. A designated ACS decision maker may exercise his discretion to issue an infringement notice requesting the offender to pay an amount, which will usually be 20% of the penalty. Minimum penalties range is $250 - $275, depending on the offence. In the case of non-revenue offences the thresholds range from $220 to $1,100.

The guidelines do not formalise any review process, however there are provisions for the decision maker to withdraw an infringement notice. Another important consideration will be in the case of what may be considered "low value penalties" which may become too expensive to defend in court, rendering no other option than to pay.

Penalties can still be avoided by use of the Tariff and Valuation Advice, Amber Line and voluntary disclosure (before ACS detection) systems.

The above is a brief overview of this scheme, outlining some important areas for your information. We will be monitoring your import/exports and making recommendations on how penalties can be avoided.

THE ABOVE OUTLINE IS GENERAL INFORMATION ONLY AND WE ADVISE YOU SEEK ADDITIONAL INFORMATION REGARDING TML/CMR AND PENALTIES.

AQIS CONTAINER WASH INFORMATION - Wednesday, 1 September 2004
Since there has been a considerable increase in AQIS container wash demands, here is information re access to the AQIS web site explaining the process:
Website http://www.affa.gov.au

Go to left side blue menu and click on 'quarantine and inspection"
then click on "import"

Go to middle of white menu and click on 'info for brokers and commercial importers" and then click 'external cleanliness standards of ISO cargo containers"

PLEASE NOTE:
Containers deemed to be low level contamination are released at wharf
Containers deemed to have high level contamination are directed to an AQIS
approved yard for steam washing/treatment.

UPDATE TO ONLINE TRACK AND TRACE - Wednesday, 1 September 2004
For our valued and regular customers, the security tracking system to enable you to access information on all your imports and exports at your convenience regardless of where in the world your company is located, has been trialed and tested by a number of our clients and is now fully operational.

If you wish to use this service, please contact Cathy via fax/phone/email to obtain your password and instructions on usage. We hope this tool will be of value to those of you, who require information other than our standard fax version of pre alert/advice ...and for those of you, who prefer personal contact via phone.

Please give us your feedback (negative as well as positive?) so we can ensure the system works to your benefit.

AQIS/INDUSTRY CARGO CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE - Monday, 16 August 2004
Leigh has been appointed to the AICCC, as the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry representative. Her role is to lobby on behalf of Australian importers, bringing issues to the discussion table based on the needs, concerns of particularly the SME sector of Australian companies.

The AICCC is a federally appointed advisory committee and reports directly to the Federal Minister for Trade. We encourage our clients to address any issues they would like tabled in that forum, either in fax or email format to Leigh's email address: leigh@scorpioninternational.com

CALLING ALL IMPORTERS WHO EXPORT - Thursday, 5 August 2004
AUSINDUSTRY advise that the updated Tradex scheme has been simplified and many Australian companies are benefitting. Tradex provides up-front exemptions from customs duty and importation GST on imported goods that are intended for direct export, or imported goods that are used, lost or wasted in the manufacture of other goods that are exported at a later date.

HOW DOES IT BENEFIT IMPORT/EXPORTERS?
Normally, importers of goods destined for export later on would have to pay duty and GST at the time of import. Before TRADEX, you had to claim a refund (drawback) after exporting the goods.

Under TRADEX, duty and GST are exempted up-front, and this can deliver significant cash-flow advantages. The savings can flow through the entire supply chain. Example: if goods normally attract 5% duty and 10% importation GST, a TRADEX order means an upfront saving of 15% on the value of the imported goods when they first arrive into Australia.

HOW DOES IT WORK?
If you meet the eligibility requirements, you will be given a TRADEX order with a distinguishing number. When you import goods for export, you quote your TRADEX order numbers on the Customs Import Entry. Once this is done, you do not pay customs duty or GST on these imported goods.

WHO CAN GET A TRADEX ORDER?
An individual or a corporate entity based in Australia or overseas can apply for a TRADEX order. Overseas entities must, however, keep and maintain their records in Australia.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION EMAIL OR CALL THE AUSINDUSTRY HOTLINE:
hotline@ausindustry.gov.au OR 13 28 46