CBAFF Customs Brokers and freight forwarders association of New Zealand. Country Report July 2010 June 2011

Transcription

1 CBAFF Customs Brokers and freight forwarders association of New Zealand Country Report July 2010 June 2011 For presentation to delegates of the 38 th FAPAA ECM Dhaka Bangladesh June 2011 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 2010/2011 are as follows: Invercargill David McAllister Advance Customs Ltd Christchurch vacant Steve Pugh GVI international forwarding Wellington Sean Neary Pengellys NZ ltd Scott Thompson Toll Networks ltd Auckland Dev Dhanji Fliway international Vacant Tony Lynch UTI NZ Ltd Trevor Duxfield Hemisphere Freight Willie van Heusden Damco NZ Ltd

2 The management team elected from council is as follows with the relevant responsibilities President Vice president Vice president Past President Willie van Heusden Dev Dhanji Trevor Duxfield Sean Neary The positions of elected council and management team are honorary positions with the secretariat supplied by BPS Ltd Rosemarie Dawson executive secretary 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 improved marginally over 2010 after the GFC by approx 9% over the previous year. 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. This recovery has been slow paced in 2010/2011. The high New Zealand dollar protected imported inflation pressures in the New Zealand economy, against surging oil prices and cost of raw materials. The New Zealand dollar hitting highs of 0.80 to the USD against traditional levels of 0.69 to New Zealand exporters by in large report a drop in trade however with Australia as principle trading partner the impact was less marked. New Zealand primary producers Fonterra milk in particular recorded record prices in a commodity driven market. Global food prices an example of the pressure in supply and demand. 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. Audit programs carried out in 2010/2011 have resulted in dissatisfied forwarders and RACA s due to length of audit, completion, findings and corrective action. As well impost fees not able to be passed on affect service delivery. Some agents report 2-4 audits in a 12 month period with others not being audited at all. The general implementation against a tight deadline in 2008 resulted in RACA accreditation being fast tracked with the attendant problems now of compliance.

3 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: 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

4 Over 2010 Air New Zealand and the other CTO Menizes have increased cost for cargo handling and collection. We cannot discuss fees however the introduction of the following is new to New Zealand and broadly follows global trends, it is however causing great concern to New Zealand agents, forwarders, importers and exporters Loose cargo build and up and break down fees Non electronic data processing fee Increase in security screening fees Increase in express handling consignments Introduction of minimum rate for terminal screening Introduction of AVI check fee Airlines. In early 2011 China Southern commenced direct flights from New Zealand to China and return on a fixed 6 day a week schedule. This has added valuable capacity to the air links between China and New Zealand. Primarily for produce and seafood. Air New Zealand currently owned by the New Zealand government is preparing itself for a government announcement on potential partial privitatisation. This move announced in the 2011 budget will not be ratified until after the general election in October New Zealand continues to be served by mainly code share arrangements and generally space is at premium during peak season. This is a perennial problem and one CBAFF urges airlines to look at frequently. Christchurch suffered two dangerous earthquakes in late 2010 and early 2011 both severely impacted service and quality of life in the South Island. Rebuilding efforts have commenced and at this stage there is no real disruption to supply chains. Opportunity exists for support and services to the rebuild with the cost estimated in the low billions. Customs 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. This move was ratified by government enacting legislation in March During 2010/2011 Customs reviewed the current level of de minimis with the result being the combined value for duty and GST collectable remains at NZD (no change)

5 CBAFF representation In 2010 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 CAA CILT EMA free trade meeting FIATA world congress, CBFCA and AFIF Australia combined conference- BAFA- as well as FAPAA 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 although it is reassuring New Zealand has not experienced the so called double dip. During 2010 two resignations from DHL global were received with two long standing members Donna Yarrell and Glen Goldham resigning, presentations for both were recorded at our annual conference. On a personal note I would like to add the following in memory of Wally Nahr. The Maori people of New Zealand have a saying: " Kua hinga he totara i Te wao nui a Tane "translated it means: A totara has fallen in the forest of Tane (Tane means man in Maori and a totara is a huge tree that grows for hundreds of years. For one of them to fall is a great tragedy. This proverb is said when someone of importance passes away. The Totara is a native tree of New Zealand.) Training and education are presented separately. W Van Heusden President