[Nhcoll-l] international shipments being held up and extra fees

[Neumann, Dirk]

Dear Amanda,
regarding inspection costs charged for return shipments arriving via the 
FedEx Airhub in Cologne/Bonn, this is rather a German issue on a federal 
level; please check if these are "just" internal handling costs (pure 
brokerage costs), or involving additional costs (e.g. veterinarian 
clearance for preserved zoological specimens). You can claim part of the 
costs, but we may sort this out via phone or direct emails.

If you are not a regular FedEx shipper, FedEx (and all other postal 
carriers) need a mandate to do the customs clearance. If they don't have 
this, you/your institution would need to clear consignments via direct 
ATLAS entries using you institutional EORI-number. You can do this, but 
you need an own account for this. In this case, you would act as 
responsible broker (and not FedEx).

Hope this answers your questions, if not, let's continue offline.

with best wishes
Dirk


Am 2021-10-25 19:01, schrieb Amanda Bremner:
> Dear list serve members,
> 
> I am curious to know whether anyone is having difficulty this year
> with international research loan shipments of specimens being held at
> Customs brokers, and if your institutions are being charged
> additional, unexpected fees for incoming shipments (mainly returning
> loans).  Our borrowers have been using FedEx to return material to us,
> and unlike past years, we are frequently having packages held at
> Customs, followed by bills for additional unexpected brokerage fees to
> allow clearance of these packages.
> 
> When I send out a package and fill out the FedEx waybill I always opt
> to choose FedEx as the customs broker. I always include a clear
> description of our shipment contents (including taxon names,
> preservation method, weight, country of Origin, total declared value
> of $20 CAD) and HS code 9705.00 (for botanical, zoological,
> palaeontological collections).  I always include a boilerplate on the
> outside of the package and a label for dangerous goods in excepted
> quantities if the shipment contains 70% or 95% ethanol.  I always note
> that it is a commercial shipment and use the commercial invoice
> generated by FedEx.
> 
> Also, recently, even after I opted to choose FedEx to be the broker
> for an outgoing shipment to Spain, FedEx requested the recipient to
> fill out a "Power of Attorney" form to state that they would like
> FedEx to be the broker.  I called FedEx and they gave me no
> explanation, other than stating that Customs in Spain had requested
> this.
> 
> I would like to know if any other institutions are having any issues
> with packages being held up and if they are being charged extra
> brokerage fees.  Also, does anyone have any advice on how we can avoid
> packages being held at Customs and how we can avoid the extra
> unexpected brokerage fees?
> 
> Thank you for your time,
> 
> Amanda
> 
> Amanda Bremner, M.Sc.
> 
> Coordinator, Natural History loans and databases / Coordinateur,
> prêts et bases de données d'histoire naturelle
> 
> Department of Natural History/ Département d'histoire naturelle
> 
> New Brunswick Museum/Musée du Nouveau-Brunswick
> 
> 277 Douglas Avenue/ 277, avenue Douglas
> 
> Saint John, New Brunswick/ Saint John (Nouveau-Brunswick)
> 
> Canada E2K 1E5
> 
> Amanda.Bremner at nbm-mnb.ca
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