Multi-line customs entries on commercial invoices

[DefinitelyMaybeUK]

When exporting, can anyone recommend a courier that doesn't charge multiline / additional tariff line fees?

This is when you typically have more than 5 lines on a commercial invoice and the carrier (UPS, DHL etc) charges a fee per additional line. These fees are extortionate for small value items and are typically £2.50 to £5 per line.

We've found with DHL there is possibly a relaxation of this rule if the customs info goes electronically (i.e. no paper commercial invoice on the package), but it it likely destination country dependent e.g. France seems ok, but Ireland is a definite no. Germany with UPS is looks to be a major money spinner for UPS

We've tried to confirm the exact processing rules with UPS & DHL but getting an answer seems impossible - constant referrals and promises to call-back is the norm.

Depending on your business, it may be possible to state the same generalised tariff code for all items (even though a more specific code could apply), but you'll still need to declare different countries of origin perhaps and even that could go over the 5 line limit. Is this an acceptable practice?

We don't (knowingly) have an issue to USA / Canada / Australia etc and the problem has only come to light post Brexit to the EU as DHL for instance, only introduced the fee in 2020.

 

[Mike Godwin]

Maybe I can shed some light on this subject.
1. It's normal practice for a courier/freight forwarders to charge a 'fee per line' on customs entries and this is largely due to the additional time it takes to prepare the entry.
2. All customs clearances are processed electronically.
3. The fact you may not have paid this previously with shipments to long haul destinations is a question for your courier to answer. However since Brexit, all freight companies have been inundated with additional customs paperwork on each shipment, the cost of which has to be recovered somehow.
I would suggest you speak with other courier/freight forwarding companies and try to negotiate a better fee structure based on your volumes. Many UK Forwarders have special deals with the major courier companies and this may be a good option for you also.
Hope this helps a little.....

 

[DefinitelyMaybeUK]

Hi Mike - thanks for the reply. I'd naively assumed that as the sender supplied all the customs info to the shipper electronically, then there shouldn't be any extra overheads - I'm guessing this isn't checked by hand at the far end - but maybe I'm wrong here and that's where those 'extra' costs come into play. As mentioned, getting clarification from the big boys is seemingly impossible. I've discovered today that ParcelForce may be worth another look as they *may* not have any line item charges unless it's their globalpriority service - the PF customer services weren't 100% convincing though! That said, contacting a forwarder could be the best answer

 

[maffp]

Hi,

Wondered if you'd got any further with this. We have exactly the same station with Fedex (They call them Additional Line Items). 30-40 lines getting charged a fiver each even if they're only a few pounds per line!. The supplier said they can't group their products into code/origin but it seems crazy to pay £150 for a few lines on an invoice!

Cheers,
Matt

 

[DefinitelyMaybeUK]

Hi @maffp - unfortunately nothing has really changed since my original post. We've been using a generalised code to group multiple items for each country of origin as that appears an acceptable practice. It shouldn't matter if you have multiple lines of the same code and origin, as these should only be counted as one customs entry line. This is the approach our main EU supplier takes and experience shows the import agents of our pallet orders handle it ok. I can't recall any express courier imports that have had excess lines of mixed code/origins, so can't confirm if it's the same.

I believe ParcelForce doesn't apply multi-line charges as originally mentioned, but TBH we now group the lines as described where ever possible. Of course this may not be possible depending on your products. I am surprised your supplier can't come up with a generalised code or two which would be suitable. If the products are EU origin and an appropriate preference statement (+REX code if over £6000) is given (or if the order is under £1000), then there isn't an duty due so no one is missing out. That doesn't mean you won't erroneously be charged duty, but you can claim it back. Equally, a generalised code may attract a higher duty than a specific code would, so you could incur a greater duty than is strictly necessary, but it's swings and roundabouts.

 

[Import&Export]

Try using a Parcel Broker, some don't charge for additional line entries.

 

[Customs Geek]

Hi @maffp - unfortunately nothing has really changed since my original post. We've been using a generalised code to group multiple items for each country of origin as that appears an acceptable practice. It shouldn't matter if you have multiple lines of the same code and origin, as these should only be counted as one customs entry line. This is the approach our main EU supplier takes and experience shows the import agents of our pallet orders handle it ok. I can't recall any express courier imports that have had excess lines of mixed code/origins, so can't confirm if it's the same.

It is quite legitimate to declare goods of different commodity codes to the commodity code that has the highest duty rate. There used to be a consignment limit of £6000 for this but I’m not certain whether this is still the case now HMRC are using CDS.
There was a requirement to declare to a specific procedure code 4000 600.
I believe that a specific document code 00600 now needs to be used instead.
see below HMRC notes.
Where the goods are being grouped under a single commodity code the commodity code that attracts the highest duty rate must be declared.

The conditions of grouping as set out in Appendix 4 for the AI code must be met in order to use this simplification. Additional Information Code 00600 must be entered in DE 2/2 where grouping is used

If you can get any one at the courier to talk to you it’s worth mentioning this to the carrier to see if they can use this facilitation to reduce line charges.