How can the right software help streamline supplier declaration solicitation requests?

There are many opportunities available when it comes to gaining customs relief for importers and exporters. Free trade agreements (FTAs) and other preferential arrangements between countries can offer significant savings with low or zero-rated tariffs. However, in order to take advantage of these, businesses must have a full understanding of where all their items originate.

This is where supplier declarations come in. This documentation clearly states the origin of goods - either finished products, components or raw materials - to help ascertain which items may be eligible for customs relief. 

However, managing these critical activities can prove challenging. Therefore, it's important for businesses to have the right tools in place to collect this information, ensure it is stored and processed effectively and is available for review whenever needed. Here's what you need to know to make this a success.

Supplier declarations are essential for businesses to make use of FTAs to import items without paying tariffs or other duties. As part of this, they must clearly state the origin country for every item being shipped. In today's environment, these can usually be produced electronically and shared via customs authorities' digital platforms.

This documentation is essential for ensuring the supply chain flows freely and goods can be exported without delays. Failing to provide accurate declarations may also incur a financial penalty, as well as businesses having to pay the full rates of duty on any goods imported. A lack of full supplier declarations can therefore greatly increase the costs of importing, which will then have to be passed on to the customer, leaving a business uncompetitive.

When conducting a supplier declaration solicitation, it is important that you are asking for all relevant information. If documentation is returned incomplete or a business has failed to ask for the correct information, this could result in claims for preferential treatment being rejected.

A supplier declaration solicitation should therefore include requirements for all of the following:

• A full description of goods supplied
• Details of any non-origin materials included in the items
• HS codes for all materials
• Value of materials included
• Name and address of suppliers
• A signature affirming that the goods have preferential origin status

A supplier declaration may be requested for each consignment of goods. Alternatively, for businesses that have an ongoing relationship, companies can provide a long-term declaration, where a single declaration can cover multiple shipments. However, this is only available if all these goods are expected to have the same country of origin. These declarations must also include the start and end dates between which the declaration will be valid.

Managing supplier declaration solicitations and documentation can quickly prove to be a highly complex process. This is especially the case for large businesses such as manufacturing companies that have very lengthy global supply chains.

Common issues that will need to be tackled include:

• Dealing with a large number of separate suppliers, which may be in different jurisdictions with their own rules and languages.
• Tracking solicitation requests across these organizations in a timely manner.
• Ensuring responses are complete and accurate.

Managing all this manually can be a hugely time-consuming process. Therefore, software that can take the work out of this through automation will be hugely valuable to many businesses. Typically, this can be found as part of a wider customs management software solution that also enables companies to submit declarations, customs claims and other documentation directly to authorities.

This can send declaration solicitations directly to suppliers via email, which automated reminders can follow up if no response is received in a timely manner. This reduces the risk of shipment delays while documentation is still pending. 

Goods software will also allow suppliers to fill out or upload the required information directly to the platform, again reducing the amount of steps required. Responses can then be checked for accuracy and completeness and then added immediately to other shipment and customs documentation.