Kerim Allam

According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), foreign trade zones are the United States’ version of Free Trade Zones. A United States Foreign-Trade Zone is a secure, geographical area authorized by the federal government, where commercial merchandise, both domestic and foreign, receives the same treatment by US Customs as if it were outside the commerce of the United States. Many firms use FTZs to defer the payment of duties and taxes, and in the case of re-export of cargo, avoid the applicable duties and taxes all together as the merchandise was considered to have never entered the US consumption area. FTZs can be operated by both public and private entities.

The import documents required in Nigeria also depends up on the nature of goods importing (General goods, Personal effects, Dangerous goods, Livestock etc.) ,regular trade policy of Nigeria Government, specific goods importing to Nigeria (Arms and ammunition, health products, food products, chemicals etc.) To receive clearance for goods imported to Nigeria, traders must present a Bill of Lading, Commercial Invoice Exit Note, duly completed Form ‘M’, Packing list, Single Goods Declaration, and a Product Certificate. Until recently, the importer was also required to submit a Combined Certificate Value & Origin (CCVO) which contains the description of goods, port of destination, country of origin, date of shipment, country of supply etc. However, in line with international trading procedures and recommendations from stakeholders, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) reviewed its trade transactions guidelines and replaced the CCVO with the simpler Certificate of Origin. The revision also prescribes a 48-hour maximum processing time from the receipt of application.

Many exporters, think that freight forwarders and customs brokers are two names for the same thing. This is further from the truth. Freight forwarders are defined as experts connected within the supply chain who concentrate on the logistics and physical transportation of cargo. They are in touch with any entity in the exporting process who handles or is aware of a shipment moving via truck, boat, plane or a combination thereof. In other words they are as “travel agents for cargo,” a third-party entity who sets a trip up, and then, for a sum of money, will facilitate that entire trip, including paperwork and documentation. On the other hand Custom broker is defined as a private individual, partnership, association or corporation licensed to assist importers and exporters in meeting country government requirements governing imports and exports. Brokers submit necessary information and appropriate payments to CBP on behalf of their clients and charge them a fee for this service. They must have expertise in the entry procedures, admissibility requirements, classification, valuation, and the rates of duty and applicable taxes and fees for imported merchandise.

India and Singapore maintain a good bilateral trade for many years. Agro and food ingredients are the main commodities which is exported from India. India holds the name as the largest rice supplier to Singapore. Basmati rice, non-basmati rice and idli rice are highly exported from India to Singapore. Every year, the country exports about 12 million tonnes of rice, including the premium basmati variety. Till the third quarter of FY20, the country had exported 6,398,275 tonnes of the commodity, as per data from Agricultural and Processed Food Product Export Development Authority (APEDA).

Exporters may require a third party, usually a bank, to guarantee payment of a bill of exchange drawn on an importer under a trade contract. This action, known as "avalisation", can be provided by a bank on behalf of the exporter upon request. By endorsing the bill on the back, the bank commits itself unconditionally to pay should the drawee default. An "avalised" bill substitutes the bank's risk for the importers risk thus providing the exporter with assurance that payment will be met. This bill can subsequently be discounted or used to negotiate better credit terms thus can enhance the trading relationship with the importer. Whereas an avalising bank assumes the credit risk of the importer, it plays no part in any independent document examination role and thus may not offer any comfort to the exporter.