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Pre-shipment Inspection

Pre-shipment Inspection

PRE-SHIPMENT INSPECTION

  • “Pre-Shipment Inspection” or “PSI” is the practice of employing specialized private companies to check shipment details — essentially price, quantity, quality — of goods ordered overseas. Used by governments of developing countries, the purpose is to safeguard national financial interests (prevention of capital flight and commercial fraud as well as customs duty evasion, for instance) and to compensate for inadequacies in administrative infrastructures.

 

  • “The Pre-shipment Inspection Agreement” recognizes that GATT principles and obligations apply to the activities of pre-shipment inspection agencies mandated by governments. The obligations placed on governments which use pre-shipment inspections include non-discrimination, transparency, protection of confidential business information, avoiding unreasonable delay, the use of specific guidelines for conducting price verification and avoiding conflicts of interest by the inspection agencies. The obligations of exporting members towards countries using pre-shipment inspection include non- discrimination in the application of domestic laws and regulations, prompt publication of those laws and regulations and the provision of technical assistance where requested.
  • The agreement establishes an independent review procedure. This is administered jointly by the International Federation of Inspection Agencies (IFIA), representing inspection agencies, and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), representing exporters. Its purpose is to resolve disputes between an exporter and an inspection agency.
  • Government” is a government body (e.g. the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Commerce, Central Bank, Customs Service, Bureau of Statistics, Export Promotion Council, Ministry of Industry, Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development, Agency for Food & Drug

 

  • “Certificate” means the report issued by Neuf inspection entity indicating that the quantity and/or the price and tariff classification of goods have been verified based on (i) the documents provided by the exporter or the importer, and (ii) in most cases a visual inspection, depending on the Government’s requirements. The Certificate is solely intended for use within the Customs clearance process in the importing country.

 

  • “Commercial Expertise” means the performance of Customs Valuation and Classification (as defined below).

 

  • “Customs Classification” means the classification of goods according to the standards defined by the Government, usually the Harmonized System of Classification issued by the World Customs Organization.

 

  • “Customs Valuation” means the provision of an opinion or advice (according to the Code of Practice of the International Federation of Inspection Agencies – IFIA) on the price mentioned by the exporter (or the importer, as the case may be) on its commercial invoice, according to the regulatory process defined by the Government (e.g. the GATT 1994).

 

  • “Full Container Load” or “FCL Container” means a container that, at the time of inspection, exclusively contains goods pertaining to one exporter and one importer, and which fully falls within the scope of the PSI program.

 

  • “Inspection Report”: means an intermediary report issued following completion of the visual inspection. This report, which is not a Certificate and is intended for internal use only, may indicate that the visual inspection result is or is not “satisfactory”. The term “satisfactory” relates to the (i) consistency of the inspected goods with the description made to Neuf by the importer or exporter, (ii) compliance with the regulatory criteria specified by the Government of the importing country, or (iii) the conditions of performance of the inspection (obstacles, lack of access, ethical issues, security or safety risks, etc.). This document covers the scope of the visual inspection only,

 

  • “NNRF” or “Non Negotiable Report of Findings” means a report intended for the importer and the Government, issued after completion of the physical inspection, which indicates that the physical inspection result is not “satisfactory” (see above) and/or the documentation remitted by the exporter or the importer does not comply with technical criteria allowing valuation and/or classification tasks, is not consistent with the inspected goods, or is incomplete.

Purpose of service

  • Help the Government achieve optimum revenues derived from imported and/or exported goods through its Customs, by determining a correct valuation and classification of imported/exported goods;
  • Assist the Government in enforcing the principles and obligations set forth in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (“GATT 1994”);
  • Assist the Government in enforcing defined regulatory requirements (prohibited goods, labeling requirements…) for imported goods;
  • Assist Customs’ capacity building through the performance of additional services such as technical training modules and/or specialized IT systems and equipment (access to valuation databases and other data related to Pre-shipment inspection, the building of inspection facility, etc.).

Benefits

  • Exports from Cameroon meet international standards;
  • Provide correct and reliable data to Government agencies;
  • Provide data that is used for planning purposes;
  • Improve compliance with export regulations by exporters;
  • Improve co-operation from ship agents and operators;
  • Improve repatriation of export proceeds and import duties;
  • Improve documentation and monitoring activities of imports and exports;
  • Protection of local production and industries;
  • Facilitation of legitimate trade;
  • Safety enhancement;
  • Accelerated Customs clearance;
  • WTO & WCO compliance.

Why Choose Neuf

  • Neuf will improve performance and provide solutions and technical services;
  • Neuf is recognized and accredited by the most important organizations;
  • Neuf is a member of an international network providing global presence.

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