Sea freight is currently a major transportation option in China's export trade, especially for sellers who engage in Amazon cross-border e-commerce. Sea freight FBA is a commonly used transportation method for them. Nowadays, maritime transportation can be said to have ushered in the most chaotic period: suspension of shipping, crazy price increases, shortage of containers everywhere, port strikes, and so on. According to the Shanghai Shipping Exchange's published spot (real-time contract) freight rates for departing from Shanghai, the cost of shipping to the West Coast of the United States is $4432 per 40 foot container, and to the East Coast of the United States is $5452, both of which are more than 10% higher than the end of March immediately after the grounding accident occurred, Set the highest price since 2009.
The congestion at the West Coast port has never eased in recent months. In early May, there were basically no cabins available for the US shipping line, which was close to paralysis and resulted in a large shortage of containers. In addition to basic transportation costs, there are also many other surcharges in sea freight costs:
Sea freight surcharges were originally only used to compensate for the increased additional costs incurred by the transportation party, but in reality, they come in various forms and types, and their composition is becoming increasingly complex.
Part of the additional fee payment often occurs after the import declaration of the goods, and is borne by the import recipient. According to current standards and regulations, it should be included in the dutiable price of the goods. How should these expenses be supplemented and declared? A professional editor specializing in Amazon FBA's initial logistics services will introduce you to them.
1. Determine if the transportation surcharge needs to be taxed
Taxation needs to meet the following conditions: firstly, it is related to transportation; Secondly, it should be calculated until the goods arrive at the place of import within the territory of the People's Republic of China before unloading; The third is that the buyer actually pays or should pay.
In addition, the timeline is also very important, and "before loading and unloading" is an important node to distinguish whether various expenses need to be declared. The cost after unloading does not need to be declared.
If you still don't understand, you can clearly apply for price pre determination to the customs and customs offices of each jurisdiction.
2. Definition of Maritime Logistics Transport Surcharges
Due to various reasons at the ship, goods, port, and other levels, shippers will incur corresponding shipping costs during transportation. On the basis of maintaining a relatively stable basic rate, shippers will charge various additional fees to compensate for losses.
3. How to supplement the declaration of transportation surcharge
Enterprises should proactively declare to customs to avoid corresponding legal liability risks.
（1） Before the goods are declared for release.
Enterprises can proactively supplement their declarations to the customs department, and when declaring the declaration form to the customs, complete the declaration of the transportation surcharge according to the electronic supplementary declaration form of the "Customs Department Supplementary Declaration Management System".
（2） After the goods are released, the customs department requires the completion of supplementary declaration.
The customs department shall inform the enterprise of the electronic instruction for price review issued by the "Customs Department Supplementary Declaration Management System", and the enterprise shall complete the declaration of transportation surcharge according to the electronic supplementary declaration form of the system within 5 working days from the day of receiving the electronic instruction for supplementary declaration.
（3） After the goods are released and there is no customs department review
4. Common types of sea freight surcharges
The most common surcharges include fuel surcharges, low sulfur fuel surcharges, currency depreciation surcharges, port handling fees, and usually include:
（1） Surcharges derived from the characteristics of the goods, such as surcharges for overweight, oversized, and oversized items;
（2） Surcharges derived from transportation and ports, such as direct shipping surcharges, transshipment surcharges, port surcharges, etc;
（3） Temporary surcharges, such as port congestion surcharges, deviation surcharges, optional discharge port surcharges, modified discharge port surcharges, peak season surcharges, etc;
（4） Other reasons that have evolved include container imbalance surcharges, safety surcharges, inland fuel surcharges, etc.
Reminder from customs department
There are various types and names of surcharges, and they may be revoked or new surcharges may be formulated according to specific transportation conditions. In fact, different surcharges are targeted at the same category of fees, such as Low Sulfur Fuel Surcharges (LSS), which are also known as global ship fuel recycling surcharges, sulfur reduction fuel treatment fees, low sulfur green recovery fees, and other 10 different names.