At Aport, we only perform relocations for laboratories. So our sole focus is protecting your sensitive, expensive and sometimes irreplaceable assets.
Our specialist crew follow detailed standard operating procedures on every project and ensure our vehicles meet the stringent requirements needed to carry hazardous chemicals and validated cold-chain samples. Basically, our crew are very busy doing what they do best while on a project.
Add in highly technical, post-Brexit customs formalities and even with a highly experienced crew, without the proper management, delays are almost inevitable.
Since the rules changed, Aport Project Managers personally oversee customs processes and have successfully facilitated the compliant relocation of thousands of scientific assets between the UK and Europe.
The success of any project, whether scientific or logistical, depends on the quality of its planning phase. Our proposals state we require four weeks’ notice to complete customs forms before any vehicles leave our depot. This can come as a shock to a lot of clients who obviously want their assets in the country they are in or moving to, as soon as possible. Unfortunately, the situation is now far more complex than it was before the UK left the EU, and a formal, legally documented process must be followed to obtain clearance for commercial goods. Therefore, the earlier you involve Aport, the more smoothly the customs process tends to go.
We spend most of those four weeks compiling your asset list into a format acceptable to a customs broker.
Once you grasp the implications of the post-Brexit process, it’s easy to get caught up in the complexities of cross-border regulations and feel compelled to itemise every single asset on a customs commercial invoice – down to the last test tube and notebook. What is not always appreciated, however, is that a border agent must verify each line item for accuracy. If the list contains several thousand entries, this can take a significant amount of time – and the agent will charge accordingly.
Aport are happy to use your procurements department’s own commercial invoice template, should you have one and similarly with brokers and internal processes, if it isn’t broke don’t try and fix it.
However if you don’t have a template, you are able to utilise ours, which follows the industry standards. Assets can be grouped together if they have the same harmonised system (or HS) code and are manufactured in the same country. This allows invoices to be submitted in as efficient format as possible, whilst still providing the border agent with all information they need.
We can assist you in determining HS codes based on our experience as scientists and previous successful relocations and share approved valuation methods for used laboratory assets. The HS code and valuation are used to calculate the applicable duty payable upon import clearance of the goods. We can also provide guidance on how to compile supporting evidence in the event of an inspection or post-clearance audit.
In some cases, where there are only a few assets to relocate, we may even be able to clear customs before our vehicles set off. However, in full laboratory relocation scenarios, when we arrive in your lab we still need to collate the weights of all assets combined with their packaging and itemise a packing list, before the invoice can be submitted to a customs broker and then a border agent.
Another important aspect of collating a compliant commercial invoice is the maths. You may be exporting 15,000 different items and dividing each of these over their appropriate line items. All line items must have a unit value and a total value and all of these must add up to the same! Not just in your workings but on the finalised invoice as well.
Similarly, each line item must have a net weight (asset without packaging) and a gross weight (asset plus packaging). When you imagine adding several different line items to the same box or pallet, the division or pro-rating of the weight of this packaging can become very complicated very quickly.
The key is a methodical, calm process that is followed consistently, much like the packing itself. Every weight is recorded in the same way, at the same stage of the process, so nothing needs to be repeated – especially once everything is packed and loaded, as all information has already been documented. This ensures that all details contributing to a commercial invoice are readily available, allowing a customs broker or border agent to access any additional information instantly. Without such a process, the only option in many cases would be to open the boxes and start over.
During a recent project, German border agents in Berlin pulled the shipment for extra checks. The required information was sent to the broker by our PMs within the hour and the shipment was cleared by the next morning.
Part of this planning is also understanding and accounting for the variances in each EU country. Although all follow the same process under EU law, the focus of each country can be very different.
Germany is renowned to be the most stringent when exporting. Any inaccurate technical information needs to be formally corrected. Our experience in some other European countries is that they are slightly less concerned with the accuracy of line items (despite all invoices always being to German standards) but may take more time to clear.
When you have been relocating assets across the channel for as long as we have, you develop strong relationships with your customs brokers. We use two, depending on whether we are using our own vehicles or are utilising the services of our shipping partner. Both companies are certificated and audited to the highest level. We keep them updated throughout the planning phase so they know exactly what they are expecting every time we submit an invoice.
At Aport, we understand that every lab relocation is unique. By combining hands-on scientific experience with meticulous planning and customs expertise, we ensure your assets reach their destination safely, compliantly and on time. Contact us today to start planning your next European laboratory move.