Exporting Turkish Cotton towels via the UK to Mexico
Question
I have a very small wholesale business whereby I import Turkish cotton towels and retail them primarily in the UK and to a few EU countries. Now I have been approached by an hotel in Mexico. They want to import the towels however I am totally unaware of the requirements governing the export of goods produced in Turkey, handled by my company in the UK then exported to Mexico. Where do I find out about the documentation required? The tariffs and the duties payable? I looked at the HMRC website however there was so much information, I didn’t know where to start. I hope that you’re able to point me in the right direction.
Answer
Not my specialist subject, but as I’m likely to be asking for help, I might as well try and provide some….though not easy to cover all the variables in a short message.
As a starting point would, are you hoping to ship from the UK or direct from your supplier in Turkey?
(If you’re shipping from the UK then this COULD mean you have payed import duty and tax here, unless you have brought them in under something like IPR/OPR/Temporary import) and would also need to factor this in on your costs.
Assuming you know all this and have that in hand,,, if you are shipping from the UK you would only be required to know the duty/Tax in Mexico if you were shipping as DDP (delivering duty/tax paid in to Mexico…which it’s unlikely you could do as its one of those places requiring a customs broker and import licence and may also, though less likely, need a special certificate if the goods are deemed " animal products"..).
In regards to commodoties, it looks like your goods would be in Chapter 52 of the tarrif (web address as follows) https://www.gov.uk/trade-tariff/chapters/52 , and you then work done the classification until you have an 8 charcter code (incidentally if you are already importing from Turkey then the import documents form those shipments should already have provided you with the likely commodity code).
Document requirments for Mexico :
Shipping Invoice and Cert of Origin
importing requires a Customs broker (acting for your customer) and customer having import licence.
There might be a slightly easier route via the USA.
Answer
Information on the Customs requirements for exporting are given in HMRC Public Notice 275. Information regarding Tariff Preference Rules of Origin for Mexico can be found in HMRC Public notice 832. All notices can be found on our website www.hmrc.gov.uk under Quick Links > Library > Official Statistics – Publications – Notices, Info Sheets & Other Reference Materials > Import, Export & International Trade. The Public Notices are in numerical order.
I would suggest that you contact the Mexican Customs Authorities regarding their import requirements and restrictions.
HM Revenue & Customs
Customs International Trade & Excise
www.hmrc.gov.uk/contactus