Top Five Exporting Mistakes, Part 5
#5: Do Not Ship Without the Right Documents!
If a shipment of used goods arrives in India without the right documents and India Customs impounds the shipment, it will be sent to a bonded warehouse where the shipper will be paying demurrage on a daily or monthly basis until the status of the shipment is determined.
Depending on the circumstances and the whim of the bureaucrat involved, the shipper may be required to send a Chartered Engineer from the country of origin to inspect the shipment and prepare the Chartered Engineer Certificate on site or they may require the shipment be returned to sender. Either way, the cost and delays could be prohibitive.
Don’t get stuck in this situation! Tom Hennig Company has over 60 years of experience in the industry. We supply Chartered Engineers Certificates for export and can help guide you through the process of exporting goods & machinery to India. Contact Us today to get started.
Top Five Exporting Mistakes, Part 4
#4: Do Not Crate Your Shipment, Until it is Inspected!
To avoid additional cost, do not crate the shipment until the Chartered Engineer Certificate has been completed. We cannot stress this enough!
Generally the Chartered Engineer has an extensive background of all manufactured equipment throughout the world. It is possible that the Chartered Engineer may be very familiar with the used equipment you are shipping to India. In that case, the Chartered Engineer may only require photographs of your shipment showing all pertinent details required for the document. Other times, a physical inspection must be performed.
Sometimes, companies will send out “freight inspectors” to do this chore. The quality of the “freight inspectors” varies greatly, and there is no sure way to determine you will be getting qualified people to accomplish this. To be absolutely sure of a professional inspection, please contact the Chartered Engineer.
Tom Hennig Company has over 60 years of experience in the industry. We supply Chartered Engineers Certificates for export and can help guide you through the process of exporting goods & machinery to India. Contact Us today to get started.
Top Exporting Mistakes, Part 3
#3: Preparing and Completing The Right Documents For Export
The two main documents that accompany your used goods’ shipment to India is the Chartered Engineer Certificate and the Commercial Invoice. The figures on both of these documents must match. In other words, the Chartered Engineer Certificate is completed first, then the Commercial Invoice can be completed.
The Chartered Engineer Certificate establishes the used value allowed by various India Customs regulations and will contain:
- Manufacturer
- Model
- Serial Number or Identifying Marks
- Detailed Description (picture if unique)
- Country of Origin
- Date of manufacture or a good estimate
- Original Value
- Used Value, based on India Customs guidelines
- Accessories, if any
- Refurbishment, if any
- Weight
- Method of shipment, air or surface
- Freight Rate
Tom Hennig Company has over 60 years of experience in the industry. We supply Chartered Engineers Certificates for export and can help guide you through the process of exporting goods & machinery to India. Contact Us today to get started.
Top 5 Exporting Mistakes, Part 2
#2: India Customs “Experts”
Be skeptical of supposed India Customs “experts” . Often these “experts” have very little knowledge of the actually regulations pertaining to your shipment of used goods. They may have heard of horror stories of shipment errors that may or may not pertain to your shipment, and often the actual facts are totally distorted. Your main contact in this situation should be the Chartered Engineer who will advise you of the correct way to handle your shipment. They should be able to provide all the verifiable facts and information relevant to your situation.
The Chartered Engineer has no bias or hidden agenda; his job is to make sure the Chartered Engineer Requirement is fulfilled within the frame work dictated by the Ministry of Commerce. The Chartered Engineer will supply the document that conforms to all these regulations.
Remember, the general requirement is that the Chartered Engineer Certificate shall be completed by a Chartered Engineer from the equipment’s country of origin. Since there are so few Chartered Engineers and not all countries even have one, Chartered Engineers are often engaged to complete the certificate in different countries. They should be able to verify themselves through past work and referrals.
Tom Hennig Company has over 60 years of experience in the industry. We supply Chartered Engineers Certificates for export and can help guide you through the process of exporting goods & machinery to India. Contact Us today to get started.
Top 5 Exporting Mistakes, Part 1
#1: Pick the Right Freight Forwarder
Not all freight forwarders are created equal. Some have more experience with the nuances of India Customs requirements as established by the India Ministry of Commerce. A simple bit of due diligence will direct you to a list of reliable freight forwarders to India. These will be companies that do regular business there and have a high rate of successful completed shipments of machinery and other industrial goods. If used goods are to be shipped to India, the freight forwarder will know that a Chartered Engineer Certificate is required. If they do not mention this requirement – BEWARE. Look for a new freight forwarder.
Tom Hennig Company has over 60 years of experience in the industry. We supply Chartered Engineers Certificates for export and can help guide you through the process of exporting goods & machinery to India. Contact Us today to get started.
Shipping Goods to India – Horror Story #2
In 2010, an American corporation, which will be referred to as “Corporation”, was arranging to ship used equipment to an Indian subsidiary. The Corporation CEO, while talking to one of his competitors, found out that he could save money if he sent his shipment without a Chartered Engineer Certificate. He would then hire an Indian-based Chartered Engineer when the shipment arrived in India.
The shipment arrived in India. India Customs noted the lack of a Chartered Engineer Certificate. The result: the shipment was impounded and relegated to a bonded warehouse.
When the Corporation found out they were now paying warehouse rent on their shipment in India, they scampered to find a Chartered Engineer. The local Chartered Engineer went to the warehouse, inspected the equipment and issued an India Chartered Engineer Certificate.
After reviewing the certificate, the Customs Official determined the following…
Since there are qualified American Chartered Engineers, and India regulations state that where available, the Chartered Engineer Certificates should be issued in the country of origin, two alternatives were offered to the Corporation. (1) India Customs instructed the Corporation to either bring in an American Chartered Engineer to issue the certificate, or (2) return the shipment to America so a proper inspection could be performed and the certificate issued.
The Corporation shipped the used goods back to America and incurred all the added cost and loss of time.
Recommendation: Don’t listen to your competitor’s recommendations! If the Corporation had contacted his in country Chartered Engineer, he could have avoided all this added cost.
Tom Hennig Company specializes in preparing goods and machinery for export. Contact us today to get started.
Shipping Goods to India- Horror Story #1
In 2011, an American corporation, which will be referred to as “Corporation”, was planning to set up a computer lab in India for ones of its subsidiaries. To make this move more cost-effective, the Corporation decided to equip this lab with computer servers that were surplus to their current operation in Poland. These were operating computer servers that would fulfill the India lab’s requirement.
While researching the move of this equipment from Poland to India, the Corporation received a notice from one of the largest professional services company in the world, which will be referred to as “Consultants”, warning them of certain requirements that must be satisfied in such a move.
The title to this notice was “Customs Classification on Import of Used Electrical and Electric Assemblies.’ The Consultants said that all used electronic equipment must have a license from the India Ministry of Forest and the Environment before shipping any electronics to India. The Consultants stated that the regulation was based on the India Circular No. 27/2011-Customs “Import of hazardous waste under Hazardous Waste (Management, Handling and Trans-boundary) Rules, 2008 – Reg.”
Unfortunately, (or deliberately?) the Consultant did not read (or did read and did not understand) that this regulation and the prior regulations cited were concerning electronic scrap, not usable electronics. Because of the prestige of the Consultant, the Corporation did not seek a second or third opinion, but just accepted the notification as fact.
Based on the Consultant’s recommendation, the Corporation abandoned the project. If the Corporation had contacted the Chartered Engineer they have used in the past, they would have learned that the Consultant’s recommendation was, in fact, bogus.
Recommendation: Just because some large consulting group offers business advice does not necessarily mean it is true. It is in your best interest to inquire and ask the advice of companies and/or individuals that deal in this field every day.
Tom Hennig Company specializes in preparing goods and machinery for export. Contact us today to get started.
My shipment is packed up, do I still need a CEC?
Do not crate your shipment, before you talk to us! In the past we have had to tear crates apart to inspect the goods inside. This is time consuming and expensive. Do not prepare a commercial invoice until you receive the Chartered Engineer Certificate. The figures we supply on the Chartered Engineer Certificate are used to complete the commercial invoice.
Tom Hennig Company provides a comprehensive service that will eliminate as many headaches as possible when preparing to export goods overseas. Contact us to get started.
What Makes Tom Hennig Company Different?
Tom Hennig is a small, closely held firm without bureaucracy of any type. Therefore, reaction time to any request is fast and decisive. Generally, a request for quote on a job to complete a Chartered Engineer Certificate is returned within two hours during normal business days.
Our expertise and rapid service is unbeatable in the industry. Contact Us today to get the process started.
Do I Really Need a CEC?
This is one of the most common questions we receive. Since a Chartered Engineer Certificate is only required in certain circumstances, it is best to contact Tom Hennig Company first. We have Chartered Engineers on staff and can advise you on the best course of action to take.
