Airport Brokers Corporation

Freight Forwarding

Airport Brokers Corporation can assist you with all of your exporting needs. We offer air and ocean exporters complete services. These services include:

Assistance In Preparing Commercial Invoices & Packing Lists

Assistance In The Preparation Of The Shipper's Export Declaration (SED)

Providing Air & Ocean Freight Rates

Booking The Shipment On The Exporting Carrier

Preparation Of The Ocean Or Air Bill Of Lading

Preparation Of Documents In Accordance With The Letter Of Credit

Arranging The Pickup Of Your Goods & Delivery To The Exporting Carrier

Arranging For Cargo Insurance For Your Shipment

Tracing & Tracking of Your Shipment To Destination

Assistance In Filing Cargo Claims

Combining All Charges Onto One Invoice To You

Here are some things you should know about exporting:

What is A Freight Forwarder? - A freight forwarder is a firm that assists exporters in the preparation of the export documents, book the cargo on board the exporting carrier, preparation of the bills of lading, obtaining cargo insurance, etc. Ocean freight forwarders are licensed by the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission. There is no licensing requirement for air freight forwarders.

Do You Need A License To Export? - Most commodities can be shipped to most countries without an export license, in other words, there is No License Required (NLR). Shipments to some countries that are opposed to the United States still require a license and there is still almost a total embargo on to a couple of countries, like Cuba and North Korea. Commodities such as military aircraft parts, arms, ammunition, strategic materials and super computers. still require a license. However, most of the commodities that are being shipped to destinations like England, France, Germany, Central and South America and the Far East do not require a license.

When is a Shipper's Export Declaration Required? As a general rule, a Shipper's Export Declaration (SED) is required for all shipments valued over $2,500. The regulations state that if a line item, or classification, on the export declaration is under $2,500, then it does not have to be shown. However, to avoid confusion, we suggest listing all items and classifications on the export declaration or making sure that the commercial invoice is annotated well enough to advise Customs which items are not shown on the export declaration and why.

There is no longer a requirement for filing an export declarations on U.S. shipments going to Canada. Canada customs furnishes the U.S. with their import statistics that the U.S. can use for its export statistics. On shipments exported through the U.S. Postal Service, an export declaration is required for any shipment valued over $500.00.

What Documents Are Required For An Export Shipment? The basic documents required for an export shipment are a.) a commercial invoice; b.) a packing list; c.) a bill of lading; and d.) a Shipper's Export Declaration, if required.

Commercial Invoice - The commercial invoice for export is like the commercial invoice used to sell goods to a local customer. The commercial invoice should show the name and address of the seller, the name and address of the buyer, the date of the transaction, a description of the goods sold, the quantity of goods sold, the currency used in the transaction (U.S.$, British Pounds, etc.), the terms of sale (C.I.F. London, F.O.B. Seattle, etc.), the country of origin of the goods (the country where the goods were made) and be signed by the seller.

All items in the shipment should be shown on the commercial invoice, including those furnished free of charge. Free of charge items, like samples, can be annotated with a "value for customs purposes only". The value shown should be the value the seller would sell the goods for to an unrelated third party, if they had been sold. To not include items in a shipment on the invoice would amount to smuggling. Customs at destination can seize the shipment if they find uninvoiced goods in the shipment.

The actual transaction value, the amount the buyer will pay, should be the value shown on all of the documents. Sometimes buyers will ask that sellers show amounts on the commercial invoice under what the buyer is actually paying for the goods, that that the buyer can avoid paying customs duties. This is illegal. If you show the lower value on the Shipper's Export Declaration you will be making a fraudulent statement to the U.S. Department of Commerce. If customs at destination find a false statement they can seize the goods and issue fines and penalties against the buyer. If your buyer is caught your firm's name could be placed in customs' computer as a known provider of fraudulent invoices. All future shipment might be held up and examined by customs.

If you are selling goods on a C.I.F. basis, list the cost of transportation and insurance on the commercial invoice, it might not be dutiable and you buyer might be able to deduct it from the invoice value for customs' purposes. Also, list all discounts and other deductions on the invoice.

Packing List - If you are just shipping one carton you do not need a packing list because the commercial invoice will show everything that is in the shipment. If you are shipping more than one box you should have a packing list because, in the event of loss or damage, it will tell the carrier and the insurance company what was in the damaged carton(s). It will let your buyer know what to expect in each carton as the buyer unpacks and it will allow customs in the overseas country know which carton(s) to open for examination, depending on what they want to examine.

Certificate of Origin & NAFTA Certificate of Origin - Because of trade agreements between countries, like the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) between the U.S., Canada and Mexico, some countries are given preferential treatment. This is why some buyers require a Certificate of Origin, which is a document signed by the Chamber of Commerce stating that the goods shipped are grown, produced or manufactured in the United States. When U.S. goods contain parts manufactured in other countries, it is important to know the rules of origin for the agreement to make sure that the goods qualify as U.S. goods. We can assist with helping you in that determination.

Letters Of Credit - The letter of credit is a legal contract between the buyer, the seller and their banks. Provided the seller meets the terms and conditions of the letter of credit (L/C), the seller knows that they will be paid. Some of the important aspects of the L/C include the date the goods must be shipped by, the date the documents must be presented to the bank, the date the L/C expires, the description, quantity, value of the goods and the terms of sale. Sellers must let their buyers know when orders will be ready for shipment, so that the seller can meet the L/C ship date. If there are any changes that have to be made to the L/C, all parties (the buyer, seller and the bank(s)) have to agree to the change(s). And, any time the L/C needs to be amended, the banks charge for the changes. The L/C becomes the governing document for payment and all documents must match the terms in the L/C if the seller expects to be paid for the shipment and the buyer wants to receive the shipment.

Cargo Insurance - It is important to make sure that all shipments are insured. If the seller is selling the shipment on a C.I.F. (Cost, Insurance & Freight) basis, the seller is responsible for making sure that the shipment is insured. If the seller is selling the shipment on an F.O.B. (Freight On Board) basis and giving the buyer credit, if the shipment is lost or damaged the buyer might not just pay the seller and the seller would have to take the loss. Therefore, if you are selling on an F.O.B. basis and granting the buyer credit, we suggest that you make sure the buyer has insured the shipment.

The above information is just some of the important items you should know about if you are a shipper. We would like to assist you with your export shipments. Please contact us at: