Most importers will be well aware the Christmas rush is almost upon us. Each year it seems the festive season, (and the increase in consumer purchasing that comes with it) starts sooner. And with that, so does the Christmas shipping rush and subsequent clearance delays. So what does this mean for your business?
A 72-hour strike by the Maritime Union of Australia at Fremantle Terminal announced yesterday brings strong possibility that importers’ budgets will blow out by as much as thousands, making them the real losers in the dispute. Today the union has confirmed the industrial action will also affect Port Botany operations from April 13. Importers should consider if other ports might also be affected in the coming weeks and plan accordingly.
Leading Australian Customs clearance agency Platinum® Freight Management will reach further into the international market this month with the appointment of Kumar Karuppusamy to lead the development of new Indian Region business services from the company’s Sydney office.
From July this year, all container shipments will be assessed by Port authorities under new conditions. Called Container Weight Verification, the process checks the weight of contents of all shipping containers before they are cleared to load onto ships and leave port. This change was designed by authorities to improve safety standards on container ships.
Over Christmas we saw a huge surge in hover-boards flooding the market. They were flying through the mail centres, shipping yards are air freight terminals across Australia. But the result was dangerous.
Suppliers and importers have acted fraudulently to import these goods, declaring low value to avoid tax. Plus, knowing this would mean the goods suffered less scrutiny than more expensive imports, some – in fact, many – haven’t acquired an import permit from www.infrastructure.gov.au.
Fast-forward to the Victorian house fire. When importers act fraudulently and don’t gain the relevant certificates checking safety, people can get hurt. It also leads to a higher overall cost to taxpayers. In the end, we’re all the losers.
Leading independent Australian Customs clearance agency Platinum® Freight Management today celebrates 22 years of operation. The company has undergone impressive geographical and financial growth in this time, and this month was named one of the top brokers in the country.