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

[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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