BREXIT: New Year, New Insight?

As we begin 2019 it is still difficult to predict the outcome of the future relationship between Britain and the European Union.

WHAT DO WE KNOW NOW?

Even in the event of “no deal” the UK is set to remain a member of the Common Transit Convention (CTC) which assists and simplifies the process of trade between UK suppliers and other members of the convention. A draft withdrawal agreement published on November 14, 2018 sets direction for ongoing debates in the House of Commons and may come into force if support is obtained before March 29, 2019.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

As our valued customer, you can help assist us in preparation for successful customs clearance in the event of a “no deal” scenario by becoming aware in advance of the relevant documentation and processes required.

We would therefore like to take this opportunity to remind our customers of the procedures and the steps we will need to take IF customs procedures become necessary for your UK and USA imports:

1. WBS would make a customs entry covering your shipment, based on the information we have on the consolidated consignments contained in it.
2. Pallets and cartons will be loaded in our Wickford base as normal and the delivery into the EU will be covered by T1 transit document. (A T1 is a transit document used to transport goods from the customs office at the place of departure to the customs office at the destination without paying customs duties and taxes within the territories of the countries included in the transit agreement).
3. Delivery is then made to our agent in your country where they must be customs cleared.
4. If you have your own clearance agent already please let us know as we will need their details. If you do not have an agent we can assist with local solutions wherever you are located.
5. In advance – and in order to make this process quick and easy – WBS would provide a “customs invoice” for your complete consolidated delivery which will show the value, status, and quantity of everything contained in it – this is the information customs will need to clear your goods. We will also attach to this document copies of all the supplier invoices for the books and material you are receiving.

It is our aim to do everything within our control to make sure that you can continue to offer books from the UK and the USA to your customers without unnecessary disruption.

EDI Transmission

Should it become necessary for us to record and output the value of the books we are delivering to you for customs clearance purposes, you can help us by asking your suppliers to ensure that they are giving us the information we need in the form of invoice values and invoice detail for the items in your orders.

They can do this in two ways:

1. The old and traditional method is to attach paper invoice copies to the outside of packages which our staff remove here and manually record in our database. We do this already, especially for orders from smaller and low volume publishers.
2. However, by far the most efficient way for you and for us is for the publisher to send this information to us in the form of EDI transmission. We use this data to populate our stock database both in advance and then upon receipt of your orders into our warehouse – keeping you updated throughout the process via email and our online portal. It maximises speed and accuracy of the entire process.

When we need to we can also use this data to record the value of your consignments and all the details you will need to quickly arrange customs clearance should this become a requirement.

Whatever the outcome Worldwide Book Services will be with you every step of the way with export help and guidance.