Policy & Compliance
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National Careers Week is an annual celebration of careers guidance across the UK taking place each March. With unemployment remaining high and BIFA Members concerned about the shortage of certain industry skills, there has never been a greater need for careers guidance to be promoted. The campaign is traditionally centred on those currently in education, to inform and inspire them as they enter the world of work. To support the next generation in their decision-making, BIFA executive director Carl Hobbis and YFN Chair for London East Kyle Lawrence hosted an online session called ‘10 Reasons to consider a career in Logistics’. Kyle was a finalist in 2018 for ‘Apprentice of the Year’ in the BIFA Freight Service Awards and spoke about his early work experiences within logistics and why it is a good industry to forge a career in. In addition to inspiring school/college leavers, BIFA believes that this week was also a great opportunity for those already in logistics to focus on the next step of their careers. To support Members with upskilling their existing workforce, BIFA teamed up again with James Billingham from Skills Office Network for a free online event exclusive to BIFA Members providing an insight into how the apprenticeships route can resolve their ongoing skills shortages. We also shared a range of resources on our social media pages to encourage Members to expand their own learning, showcasing the range of training courses available from BIFA’s Training team. BIFA’s Young Forwarder Network held its latest virtual event the same week and was joined by former apprentice Sam Greenhalgh, sales VP for Europe at Zencargo. Passionate about our industry, Sam also hosts the industry podcast ‘What’s In The Box?’, bringing industry leaders together to discuss the hot topics and trends in logistics. In essence, every week is National Careers Week for BIFA and we remain committed to promoting logistics as an industry of choice for the next generation, plus supporting our Members in achieving their own career ambitions. Championing industry talent through National Careers Week
it imports. This can be used instead of a statement on origin, but the information, which has to be held by the importer at time of import is more detailed than a supplier’s declaration. It must include details of the origin/value of the goods/input materials and production processes applied to them. Goods moving through the EU en-route to the UK from another country As Free Trade Agreements (FTA) proliferate, so do the complications stemming from these agreements. If the goods are in ‘transit’ from the originating country via the EU to the UK, in all probability origin is preserved and preference can be claimed. Most government guidance on this matter includes either this or a similar phrase: “Transit through any third country is possible provided your goods remain under Customs surveillance. Goods must not be altered in any way on their journey. However, a limited number of operations such as the adding or affixing of marks, labels and seals may be undertaken provided this takes place under Customs supervision. Consignments may also be split, again provided this takes place under Customs supervision.” However, the rules are complex and, in many cases, not fully understood. There is particular confusion when goods are sold by a company in, for example, Norway to an EU-based (eg German) company; the goods qualify for preference under the relevant FTA and can be imported into the EU and enter ‘free circulation’. The goods are then sold by the EU entity to the UK. As the UK has an FTA with both the EU and Norway, many assume that preference may be claimed at the time of import into the UK. In fact in many cases, unless the goods had been under some form of ‘Customs control’ for the period of their movement from Norway through Germany to the UK, it is likely that preference cannot now be claimed when imported into the UK. BIFA is aware that many importers and exporters do not understand these rules; in fact since 1993 there has been no need to. The freight forwarder/Customs agent may well have an understanding of these rules but will not have sufficient knowledge to determine the origin of the goods. It is essential to remember that determining goods’ origin and preparing the relevant declaration remains the responsibility of the exporter. Where importers rely on ‘importer’s knowledge’, the Customs agent should satisfy itself that the importer holds all the relevant information to justify the claim. This may include seeking written confirmation from the importer.
materials in the production of goods it wants to export to the EU under preference, it can ask the EU exporter to issue a supplier declaration for non- originating goods with the details of the EU processing that has taken place. The UK producer can then include the EU production towards meeting the rules of origin, to apply bilateral cumulation to export the final product back to the EU under preference. Statements on origin: to benefit from preferential tariffs when importing into the UK from the EU (or exporting to the EU from the UK), the importer needs to declare how they know that the goods qualify for a preferential duty rate. One of the primary methods of evidencing this is the statement on origin completed by the exporter on the export invoice or as an annual statement. Importer’s knowledge: in the EU-UK TCA, an importer can claim preference using knowledge it (the importer) holds about the manufacturing/production process of the goods
April 2022
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