Shipping Tools

Duty is calculated on the destination tariff code and the declared customs value, so the same goods can land at very different rates in two neighbouring markets. Preference matters here: China has agreements in force with the RCEP members, ASEAN, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Switzerland, Chile and Peru, among others. Where one applies, a valid certificate or origin declaration can remove the duty entirely — but the certificate has to be correct and issued in time, and a missing one cannot be retrofitted after clearance.

Several markets require documentation that must exist before the cargo sails. Nigeria requires SONCAP, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda require PVoC, Saudi Arabia requires SASO or SABER, and a number of West and Central African ports require a cargo tracking note (ECTN, BESC or CTN). These are pre-shipment instruments by design. Arranging them after departure ranges from expensive to impossible, and the penalty is normally assessed at the destination port where you have the least leverage.

Finally, look past the port. A quote to the port of discharge and a quote to your door can differ enormously depending on inland haulage distance, whether the address takes a full-size truck, and whether the destination charges a chassis or congestion fee. For landlocked destinations the inland leg is often the largest single line in the landed cost, and it is the line most often left out of a first quotation.