Disputes With Custom Authorities
Under
the
Ukrainian
Customs
Regulations,
the
local
customs
authorities
require
to
complete
a
customs
declaration
for
inward
clearance
prior
to
arrival
at
the
port.
The
customs
declaration
shall
contain
all
items
on
board,
including
goods,
materials,
spare
parts,
bunker
quantity,
paints,
medications,
etc.
The
list
of
mandatory
items
to
be
declared
is
not
clear
enough
and
this
results
in
significant
problems
with
Customs
Authorities
when
some
items
are
not
declared
properly.
Misdeclaration
of
items
onboard
is
a
serious
problem
and
entail
a
delay
in
ship
sailing
and
confiscation
or
fine
imposing
on
the
Shipowners.
Case
study
Upon
arrival
at
the
port,
the
Customs
Authorities
conducted
an
inspection
onboard
and
found
undeclared
lubrication
oil
in
drums
in
the
engine
room.
Despite
all
explanation
that
lubrication
oil
in
drums
is
necessary
for
vessel
and
it
is
part
of
vessel
consuming
materials,
the
Customs
Authorities
made
a
protocol
on
confiscation
of
seized
undeclared
goods
or
its
custom
values
and
passed
the
case
materials
to
the
local
court
for
consideration.
We
were
notified
about
this
case
and
visited
the
ship
before
sailing.
We
discussed
the
matter
with
the
Master
and
the
Chief
Engineer
and
obtained
their
statements
that
the
lub
oil
in
drums
is
necessary
for
proper
technical
maintenance
of
the
vessel
and
its
seaworthiness.
We
prepared
the
power
of
attorney
from
the
Master
duly
signed
and
stamped.
We
negotiated
the
case
with
the
Customs
Authorities
and
convinced
them
not
to
detain
the
ship
in
exchange
of
providing
the
Letter
of
Guarantee
used
by
the
agent
to
pay
the
custom
values
of
goods
in
case
of
issuance
negative
court
judgment
and
vessel
sailed
without
delay.
We
attended
the
hearings,
submitted
the
power
of
attorney
issued
by
the
Master
along
with
the
Master’s
and
the
Chief
Engineer’s
witnessing
statements
and
proved
that
lub
oil
was
necessary
for
vessel
current
technical
maintenance
and
repair
and
requested
that
the
Customs
Authorities
decision
on
confiscation
should
be
canceled. The court accepted our explanations and issued a judgment on releasing the sized items and did not impose any fine on the Shipowners.
Result
Due
to
the
involvement
of
legal
P&I
Correspondent,
the
vessel
sailed
without
delay,
no
fines
were
imposed
on
the
Shipowners,
and
we
proved
that
the
Custom
Authorities
demands
should
be
rejected.
Meanwhile,
this
case
shows
the
importance
of
ensuring
that
customs
declarations
should
be
accurate.
If
any
doubts,
the
shipping
agent
at
the
port
or
P&I
Correspondents
in
the
port
of
call
should
be
contacted
for
relevant
advice
and assistance.
P&I Correspondents recommendations:
• Immediately hire P&I Correspondent to avoid further complications.
•
Stay
in
touch
with
the
shipping
agent
as
a
matter
of
urgency
and
ask
the
shipping
agent
to
assist
the
Master
to
complete
the
customs
declaration properly, and make corrections and/or amendments, if needed.
•
Stay
in
touch
with
the
Master
and
the
Chief
Engineer
and
obtain
all
necessary
information
about
the
Custom
Authorities
demands
and
possible solution, such as provide the Letter of Guarantee from Legal P&I Correspondent or agent in order to release the vessel as soon as possible.
• Send updates and inform the Customs Authorities about our presence in this case.
• Collect all evidence, customs declaration, manifests, protocol, list of undeclared items, their characteristics, and usage onboard.
•
Discuss
the
situation
with
the
Master
and
the
Chief
Engineer
before
the
vessel
sailing,
obtain
their
witnessing
statements
referring
to
the
reasons for non-declaration or incorrect customs declaration.
•
Prepare
and
obtain
power
of
attorney
for
the
court
(bilingual
wording
in
two
columns:
in
Ukrainian
and
English)
signed
by
the
Master
and
certified by ship stamp.
•
Attend
the
court
and
explain
your
legal
position
to
the
judge
and
prove
that
undeclared
items
are
necessary
for
proper
technical
maintenance of the vessel and its seaworthiness.
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