Export/Import Terms Company Profile

International Chemical Business Terms

Below is a list of export and import related terms to help you navigate the international chemical business. All terms are listed alphabetically.

A

Accommodation Ladder (gangway)

The ladder attached temporarily to the side of a ship so that people can get on and off. A trap. A gangplank.

Actual Total Loss (actual total loss, absolute total loss)

A total loss/damage that can actually be proven, such as in cases when the insured cargo is totally destroyed, lost its shape and deteriorated to the extent that it is evidently useless for the original purpose. Also called total loss.

Additional Tax for Deficient Declaration (additional tax for understatement)

A 10% additional tax imposed upon the increased amount of tax to be paid in cases when, after the import declaration of the cargo, a revised tax return or a reassessment is carried out because an understatement in the amount of tax is found during the customs inspection. The additional taxation is not imposed in justified cases or in cases of voluntarily filing, however not when anticipating that a reassessment will be made due to the customs inspection.

Air Freight Forwarder

A forwarder specialized in air transportation.

Air Waybill (AWB, Air Waybill)

A document representing the shipping contract for the air cargo, serving as documentary evidence that a transportation agreement has been concluded, as a receipt of the transported goods and as a detailed statement of the shipping charges. It is the equivalent to a bill of lading (B/L) in maritime transportation, however whereas the bill of lading (B/L) is a valuable paper, the Air Waybill is not a valuable paper, therefore the receipt of the cargo is possible even without submitting the original to the forwarding agent.
For the air cargo transportation, each consignor entrusts the transportation to a consolidator and the consolidator signs a transportation contract with the airline operating aircrafts, considering those freights as one large consolidated shipment. On that occasion, the document issued by the airline to the consolidator is a Master Air Waybill. The consolidator issues a House Air Waybill to each consignor from his position as a forwarding agent.

Aircraft’s Stores (aircraft goods)

The goods used on aircrafts. Consumable supplies such as fuel, foods and drinks.

All Risks (A/R, All Risks Clause, Against All Risks)

The insurance condition most commonly used in marine cargo insurance, securing against the danger of a wide range of accidents. However, as far as there is no special contract, damage caused by war, civil war, strike, delay in transportation, radioactive contamination, defective packing, the nature of the freight and intentional damage are not covered. The All Risks Clause is an insurance clause mentioned in the old Institute Cargo Clause created in 1963 and the “Institute Cargo Clause A” of the new Institute Cargo Clause (ICC) 2009 is most similar to the All Risks Clause.

Amendment

The act of modifying the clauses of the letter of credit (L/C) after its issuance. Amendments are made in cases when it is necessary to perform corrections or revisions regarding the differences with the original contract, errors in writing, items that cannot be included while creating the negotiation documents. All of the letters of credit generally issued are irrevocable (irrevocable L/C), therefore even in case there is a clear error in the letter of credit, without an agreement of the beneficiary of the letter of credit (usually the exporter) the applicant (usually the importer) cannot correct or revise it unilaterally. In case there is any inadequacy in the content of an already obtained letter of credit, to ensure that the exporter collects the export price, it is necessary to request that the importer make amendments to the points concerned before loading.

Arrival Notice (notice of arrival)

The document through which the shipping company or its agent informs the Notify Party mentioned on the bill of lading (B/L) and the Consignee about the day of arrival in the port of the cargo ship and the freight details.

At Sight (at sight payment)

A merchandise price settlement method through which the payer has to pay a certain sum immediately upon being presented with the bill of exchange. In principle, if the importer doesn’t pay, he cannot receive the shipping documents including the bill of lading (B/L) from the bank and cannot obtain the goods.

Authorized Exporter

The exporter who has obtained the approval of the head of customs office that he has met the requirements for having a satisfactory security management and compliance systems, and who is permitted a simplified customs clearance procedure for export. By being able to receive the export authorization at the company’s warehouse or factory without carrying the cargo for export to the customs area, reduction in customs clearance time and distribution cost can be achieved.