Heading to Ukraine. 8 good practices for carriers

Oceń post

The war in Ukraine has shown that Polish carriers shipping to and from that country are able to adapt to changing geopolitical and market conditions. Currently, there is no threat of interruption to the supply chain of goods, although the delivery time itself may be extended. That’s why it’s so important to know all the currently required procedures and documents to ensure that shipments run smoothly.

Here are 8 good practices for carriers importing goods from Ukraine into the EU:

1. Trade talks

During trade talks and agreeing on a transport order, it is necessary to determine not only the route of transport and the rate for this service, but also the approaches to customs branches along the route, and then in accordance with these guidelines this route should be implemented. It should be remembered that from the point of view of customs law, there is no term “general cargo”, a term that is used in the transportation industry on a sudden. Notoriously, this term is used to refer to non-dangerous palletized goods. This is an incorrect practice from the point of view of customs procedures, which causes further problems during transportation execution. It is therefore important to specify, when accepting an order for “general cargo” or “neutral cargo,” what is to be transported.

2. Correct data in commercial documents

The driver who carries out the transport of goods must physically receive and carry with him during transport the necessary documents, including:

transport document (CMR);
goods specification or packing list;
certificates that are required for the transit of certain goods, such as the certificate of origin of the goods, health certificate (HC), sanitary certificate;
commercial invoice.

3. Properly written CMR document.

CMR is the International Consignment Note, which is the basic document that confirms the conclusion of a contract for the carriage of cargo in international trade. The consignment note must be written out in accordance with the commercial documents.

For international carriage, which is subject to the provisions of the CMR Convention (Ukraine is a party to this Convention), the waybill should contain the following data:

the place and date of its issuance;
the surname (name) and address of the shipper;
the name and address of the carrier;
the place and date of acceptance of the goods for transportation and the scheduled place of delivery;
the name and address of the consignee;
the commonly used designation of the type of goods and the method of packaging, and for dangerous goods, their generally recognized designation;
the number of pieces, their characteristics and numbers;
the gross weight or otherwise expressed quantity of the goods;
the costs of transportation (freight, incidental costs, customs duties and other costs incurred from the conclusion of the contract until delivery);
instructions necessary for customs and other formalities;
a statement that the carriage, notwithstanding any clause to the contrary, is subject to the provisions of the CMR Convention.

According to Article 5(1) of the CMR Convention, the waybill shall be issued in three original copies, signed by the shipper and the carrier. These signatures may be printed, or they may be replaced by the stamps of the shipper and the carrier, if the legislation of the country where the waybill is issued allows it. The first copy shall be handed to the shipper, the second shall accompany the shipment, and the third shall be retained by the carrier.

4. Check the correctness of the data in the export declaration and drive to the designated export customs branch.

5. Compatibility of customs documents, transit declaration with export documentation, commercial documentation and CMR letter.

The carrier that performs the transport should check that the correct letter is written out:

Customs office of declaration;
Customs office of exit;
the name, description of the goods, and whether the quantity is consistent with the commercial documents.

6. Knowledge of the driver’s obligations to possess and show required documents

According to Article 87(1) of the Road Transport Law, a driver performing road transportation should have in his vehicle and show the following documents whenever requested by an authorized inspection officer: driver’s card, record sheets, handwritten records and printouts from the tachograph, as well as the drivers’ working time certificate.

Other important documents that a driver should have include:

extract from the permit to practice the profession of road transport operator or extract from the license;
documents related to the cargo being transported, including relevant permits and certificates.

7. Knowledge of the requirements for the driver in case of transit transportation

After crossing the border, the driver should notify the customs agency to verify that all procedures have been properly closed. As a rule of thumb, it can be expected that if the carrier is traveling with goods from a port, the goods may have a non-EU status and need a transit declaration. If the place where the goods are received is a terminal/warehouse inside a so-called inland country, then the driver will need a transit customs declaration, because the goods may be at a customs warehouse or at an MCS, or temporary storage warehouse. Knowing these procedures will speed up the transportation of goods to their destination.

8. Closure of the transit declaration

Closure of a transit declaration takes place in different ways and at different locations. Most often we do it at the customs branch, releasing the goods for circulation-which is a standard import clearance.

If we do not have a set of documents, or the consignee of the goods for other reasons holds the goods without clearance, then the closure of transit is carried out by placing the goods in Temporary Storage or Customs Warehouse. For the duration of the procedure, we present the goods at the customs branch, at a designated place or a recognized place.

By admin