Importing from India

[Kellie01]

Hi,

I am completely new to importing goods, and in the process of setting up my business. Apologies if this comes across as a basic question. Google is confusing me further and I've been unable to find direct answers in any of the other posts on here so thought I'd throw my confusion out there and hope someone can help clear it up for me.

I'm looking to import from India, I already have my EORI number. The company I'm ordering from states their shipping costs cover C&F only, Q1. should this be CIF? all I can find on the internet is in reference to CIF, should I be seeking the insurance factor myself? Q2. Their website also states that they are not responsible for customs charges / forwarders handling cost etc. (this I understand) What I'm not sure of however, is that upon googleing, CIF appears to just get the product to the destination port. Does this mean I need to organise forwarding or does their shipping include getting the item to my address once I've paid the customs charges?

I hope that makes sense many thanks in advance

Kellie

 

[Mike Foulds]

Hi Kellie.

C & F covers freight through to UK port/airport. CIF is the same, but also includes Insurance. If the shipper doesn't offer insurance, then I would recommend arranging this before you place the order with them, as it is definitely important to have. There are various insurance brokers online, I would recommend speaking to a couple, getting quotes, and then going with a quote based on a large insurance company who's name you recognise.

As you say, with both CIF and CFR, you are responsible for clearing, paying airline/shipping line costs, and arranging the delivery from port/airport to your location.

For your convenience, I would strongly recommend speaking to a UK based Freight Forwarder and asking them to arrange this, as they will have accounts and agreements in place with all major shipping lines/airlines, and system set up to arrange the clearance.

I would, however, also be careful purchasing cargo on a CFR basis. Some sellers will basically pick freight rates which are extremely favourable to them, but push all costs to the UK customer as UK arrival charges, which are MUCH higher than normal.

I would strongly recommend considering purchasing cargo on a Freight On Board (FOB) basis, and looking to ask a UK Freight Forwarder to arrange freight, clearance and delivery through to your door.

Good luck with your shipping

 

[Kellie01]

Hi Kellie.

C & F covers freight through to UK port/airport. CIF is the same, but also includes Insurance. If the shipper doesn't offer insurance, then I would recommend arranging this before you place the order with them, as it is definitely important to have. There are various insurance brokers online, I would recommend speaking to a couple, getting quotes, and then going with a quote based on a large insurance company who's name you recognise.

As you say, with both CIF and CFR, you are responsible for clearing, paying airline/shipping line costs, and arranging the delivery from port/airport to your location.

For your convenience, I would strongly recommend speaking to a UK based Freight Forwarder and asking them to arrange this, as they will have accounts and agreements in place with all major shipping lines/airlines, and system set up to arrange the clearance.

I would, however, also be careful purchasing cargo on a CFR basis. Some sellers will basically pick freight rates which are extremely favourable to them, but push all costs to the UK customer as UK arrival charges, which are MUCH higher than normal.

I would strongly recommend considering purchasing cargo on a Freight On Board (FOB) basis, and looking to ask a UK Freight Forwarder to arrange freight, clearance and delivery through to your door.

Good luck with your shipping

Thank you so much for clearing that up for me, and so swiftly. I think I will go back to the drawing board and go with FOB as you suggest.

Kellie

 

[Deleted member 351022]

Hi Kellie

Customs and International Trade can become complex and easily go wrong if you don’t know what you are doing. Relying on Google isn’t a reliable way of understanding what is required.
If you are shipping in bulk by sea or air It may seem a cost saving to try and understand these things yourself . It’s really not possible for someone to do customs declarations themselves so you will need to engage the services of a customs broker/ agent. Ports and airports also charge for various things such as handling, storage etc so you need to be clear on costs you could be responsible for if you don’t clarify exactly what is covered in your agreement with your supplier.
You will also incur some import duty and import VAT charges so you also need to be aware of that. How Import VAT is dealt with will depend on whether you are VAT registered or not.

With the Incoterms some are only suitable for use for sea transport some for any modes.
Eg FOB - Free on Board cannot be used for air.

 

[DoolallyTap]

Are you importing a parcel or a container full? For a parcel, you pay up and hope to receive the goods by air freight or sea freight. Possibly delivered by Fed ex or DHS or similar.. For a container, just let your shipping agent deal with it.

 

[Kellie01]

Are you importing a parcel or a container full? For a parcel, you pay up and hope to receive the goods by air freight or sea freight. Possibly delivered by Fed ex or DHS or similar.. For a container, just let your shipping agent deal with it.

Thank you for your response. I'm just importing a large parcel of fabric, not a container or even a pallet at this stage. So do you think I will need to arrange the fedex/DHS or will that come within the shipping offered by the company?

 

[DoolallyTap]

There are many Indian wholesale fabric suppliers in the UK, you possibly spend more by buying direct from Indi after all the shipping costs are included.
You pay for shipping just like buying a stamp, the goods turn up at your door, hopefully. The supplier should add tracking. FedEx and DHS will charge you the import duty, VAT and disbursements and these usually must be paid before delivery. You should receive e mails with invoice attachments although DHS will take payment at the door when delivering. Check your junk emails for Fedex notifications. If you don't see any check the tracking and try to contact FedEx because they will return the parcel to sender if not processed within 14 days of it landing in UK.