Customs Brokers and Freight Forwarders Federation of New Zealand Inc (CBAFF)

Transcription

1 Customs Brokers and Freight Forwarders Federation of New Zealand Inc (CBAFF) Country Report July 2009 June 2010 For presentation to delegates of the 37 th Singapore June 2010 FAPAA ECM CBAFF holds its annual general meeting in March every year for the election of officers. The CBAFF is established with elected representatives nominated to represent the following regions: Invercargill in the south island, Christchurch South Island, Wellington North island and Auckland North island. The council comprises 1 elected representative from Invercargill, 2 from Christchurch, 2 from Wellington and 5 from Auckland. From this council a management team of 4 is elected as president, two vice presidents and past president. The full council meets quarterly and management team 2 monthly. Elected council members for 2009/2010 are as follows: Invercargill David McAllister Advance Customs Ltd Christchurch Donna Yarrell DHL Global Forwarding Steve Pugh GVI international forwarding Wellington Sean Neary Pengellys NZ ltd Scott Thompson Toll Networks ltd Auckland Dev Dhanji Fliway international CBAFF Country Report to FAPAA June 2010 Page 1 of 5

2 Glen Coldham DHL Global Forwarding Tony Lynch UTI NZ Ltd Trevor Duxfield Hemisphere Freight Willie van Heusden Damco NZ Ltd The management team elected from council is as follows with the relevant responsibilities President Vice president Vice president Past President Willie van Heusden Glen Coldham Trevor Duxfield Sean Neary The positions of elected council and management team are honorary positions with the secretariat supplied by Business Professional Services Ltd Rosemarie Dawson Executive Director for another year. During CBAFF was actively representing the interests of its members on a variety of critical industry issues faced during a particularly tough and challenging year for imports and exports in New Zealand. Sea freight volumes declined some 18% over the previous year and with a number of high profile receiverships New Zealand customs revenue decreased substantially, an every larger drop of approximately 60+% in used vehicle imports meant a severe decrease in revenue for border agencies not the least of which was MAF Bio security. The resultant decrease in imports and reduction in dry imports meant that the government run department entered negative territory in its cost recovery. Obviously both Customs and MAF Bio security are public good departments, yet are still expected to recover their operating funds from industry and our members. Of interest to FAPAA members for inclusion in this years report are the following: Airfreight security New Zealand Civil aviation authorities introduced a regulated air cargo agent program in 2008 with full implementation and take up by industry. As with the comparable South African and Singapore programs the TSA doesn t recognize any regime that does not screen 100% of cargo. Unfortunately this in CBAFFs opinion really makes the program redundant and rules 108 and 1209 as they apply to airlines make them culpable. Air New Zealand the local airline and major GSA issued the following statement with an attendant increase in fees and lengthened receival time. Bearing in mind that the top 5 IATA agents in New Zealand are perishable the impact could be significant. CBAFF will continuously monitor the situation and advise members. Air New Zealand release reads: CBAFF Country Report to FAPAA June 2010 Page 2 of 5

3 As you are aware approximately 2 years ago the United States government announced an intention by the 1 st August 2010 to move to 100% screening of all cargo moving to, through and from the US. The latest issue of the TSA MSP received outlines screening requirements that effect export shipments for cargo travelling from New Zealand on one aircraft or flight number to / through the United States. A key point to note is that the TSA does not currently recognise CAANZ Regulated Air Cargo Agent (RACA) system as an acceptable alternative and categories freight into two groups, Exempt and Non Exempt. Criteria for meeting each are contained in the attached letter about to be issued to industry. Key cargo screening changes as a result of this are; From the 1st of May % of all Non Exempt freight presented will need to be screened. A percentage of Exempt freight will also need to be now screened. We are unable to divulge what percentage and how we will select that percentage due to TSA security regulations. From a cargo terminal operation perspective this has meant we have had to reassess acceptance cut off times, labour required to carry out additional screening and the associated increased costs to conduct the security screening. Further bulletins received from Air New Zealand define exempt and non exempt cargo as well as the amount of increase and terminal cargo acceptance deadlines Exempt cargo is defined as freight shipments loaded in a shrink wrapped ULD or attached to skids meeting the following criteria, the cargo is shrink wrapped on all exposed sides and secured to the skid or is secured with bands to a skid or all sides of the cargo shipment is secured with bands. Security charges will be NZ$0.05 per kg minimum Cargo acceptance close out times Loose express 2.5 hrs general 4 hrs ULD express 2.5 hrs general 4 hrs Unknown express 3 hrs general 6 hrs Volumetric changes. A new formula to calculate the Dimensional Weight, or Volumetric Weight, of shipments was introduced by FedEx from January 18, Under the new formula, the dimension divisor is changed from 6,000 cubic centimeter/kg to 5,000 cubic centimeter/kg. It applies to all countries and territories in the Asia Pacific region. This was followed by other integrators following suit. CBAFF took this up with FedEx and was advised by FedEx: IATA resolutions do not apply to shipments travelling on a House AWB (HAWB) but rather apply to shipments travelling under a Master AWB (MAWB). The letters we sent our customers in NZ are those who possess a valid FedEx Express internal 9-digit account number for our International Priority and International Economy package delivery service. FedEx is free to set our own Tariffs, Conditions and Surcharges for our HAWB package delivery service. We do not CBAFF Country Report to FAPAA June 2010 Page 3 of 5

4 follow TACT, zoning (TC-1, TC-2, etc) or the orange rules book. You can find our tariffs, zone index, surcharges and standard conditions of carriage at Now, FedEx s airline code is 023. We have not changed our dim divisor for shipments tendered to FedEx on a 023 MAWB in accordance with IATA resolution 502. If any Forwarder in NZ wishes to tender a shipments to FedEx on a 023 MAWB then the normal 6000 cc/kg dim divisor will apply. This response from Charles Maguire Managing Director Asia-Pacific Pricing (RM), Planning & Analysis of FedEx Express in Hong Kong is still being challenged. CBAFF sees this as a contradiction to res 504 and views it as revenue enhancement by stealth. Customs proposed increase During 2010 The New Zealand customs service proposed to apply import transaction fees (ITF) that were previously exempt from the fee. The proposal follows a review of Customs charges which identified that some import charges do not adequately reflect Customs time and cost. It mainly affects low value imports that enter New Zealand via parcel post or integrator networks. Currently the ITF is NZD levied against every formal import. The new charge will target items valued at below $1,000 on which duty and GST of over $50 is liable (this typically applies to import consignments of over $400). There is currently no charge for informal clearance documents. CBAFF representation In 2009 CBAFF acted on behalf of industry by attending the following forums and / or making submissions on the following important proposed legislation. Tomorrow s cargo logistics Ports of Auckland CCA development Border sector Governance group NZ Dangerous goods council Tranzqual Food safety authority IATA e freight committee Austrade single window ERMA BARNZ Airline operators committee NZ customs service meetings on joint border management system Biosecurity cargo consultative council cost regs Biosecurity cargo consultative council transshipment containers CAA CILT EMA free trade meeting FIATA world congress, CBFCA and AFIF Australia conferences as well as FAPAA and for the first time the IFCBA conference last year. CBAFF Country Report to FAPAA June 2010 Page 4 of 5

5 Conclusion CBAFF is fighting fit and continues to be actively involved in industry threatening policies and procedures providing advocacy and consultation to a wide range of members on a wide range of topics. We enjoy a strong relationship with NZ customs and Biosecurity departments at the highest levels. Challenges for membership are still prevalent in the strong head winds faced by the airfreight industry and import / export industries in general. The strength of the upturn is yet to be measured. Training and education are presented separately. W Van Heusden President CBAFF Country Report to FAPAA June 2010 Page 5 of 5