Moscow - Importing Goods Without the Trademark Owner’s Consent

Let us imagine that a bona fide importer has legally acquired goods from abroad that are protected by trademarks (for example, it has concluded a foreign trade contract and executed the requisite forwarding documents) and declared the goods for customs clearance, and that it transpired during customs clearance that the importer did not have the consent of the trademark owner to import the goods into the Russian Federation. How will this affect the customs clearance of the goods and the possibility that they will be released on the market?

I personally believe that the import of goods bearing trademarks is covered by the definition governing their use and requires the consent of the owner. Trademarks are one of the most common forms of intellectual property. The exclusive right to a trademark is owned by a legal entity or an individual entrepreneur that obtained the relevant certificate or acquired this right on the basis of an agreement on alienation of an exclusive right to a trademark. The legal substance of this competence implies that it is up to the trademark owner to decide whether to permit or prohibit the use of means of identification by other persons. It should be stressed here that the lack of a ban does not constitute the consent of the trademark owner.

Pursuant to the provisions of Part IV of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, this consent should be expressed in a contract on the alienation of an exclusive right to a trademark (which stipulates de facto the sale of the exclusive right to the trademark) or a licensing agreement (which implies only the transfer of the right to use the trademark). According to Part 1, Article 1229 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the use of intellectual property or means of identification without the consent of the trademark owner is unlawful and entails liability. The provisions on ensuring compliance with said legal norms are, inter alia, contained in the Customs Code of the Russian Federation (hereinafter — the “Customs Code”) and the Code of Administrative Offences of the Russian Federation (hereinafter — the “Сode of Administrative Offences”).

WTO Ministers Say Complete Doha Round Or Suffer Irrelevance

World Trade Organization members today called for a completion of the Doha Development Round of trade liberalisation talks in 2010, tying its success to the relevance of the organisation as a whole, at the opening plenary session of this week’s WTO ministerial. Members also urged a stronger review mechanism, and the head of the World Intellectual Property Organization questioned the effectiveness of the multilateral system.

Deadlines set to finish the round have been missed again and again, said the trade minister of Hong Kong, adding the “credibility of this organisation, and the multilateral system, is at risk.… We cannot afford to miss this critical window again.” The Doha Round was launched in 2001.

Many other ministers speaking on the opening day of the 30 November to 1 December conference echoed these sentiments. Singapore said it is a “matter of WTO credibility to conclude the Round.” Mexico asked “is the WTO system and the [Dispute Settlement Mechanism] sufficiently agile enough to guarantee our producers that they will have fair play” when economic practices move faster than the policies and processes of the WTO, and called for an updated dispute settlement system to reflect new realities.

…………………..

And the following text has been proposed for inclusion in the chair’s summary of this ministerial meeting, currently supported by Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, European Union, Hong Kong, India, Jamaica, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mexico, Norway, South Africa, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tanzania on behalf of the Least Developed Country Group, Turkey, the United States and Uruguay:

FOREIGN TRADE: Brazilian exports seen falling 20% in 2009

SAO PAULO, 11/25/09 - Brazilian exports should fall by over 20% this year due to the global crisis, said the foreign trade secretary of the Brazilian Development Ministry, Welber Barral, on Tuesday. The estimate is in line with an expected decline in global exports. Barral attended the 29th National Foreign Trade Conference (Enaex), in Rio de Janeiro. However, Barral believes that in 2010 Brazil’s exports will grow by 10%, to an average of US$168 billion against the US$153 billion to US$155 billion expected for 2009. In 2008 Brazil’s exports reached US$198 billion.

The secretary pointed out that this year’s decline would have been bigger had it not been for Brazil’s diversified export agenda, namely commodities, and for steady demand from Asian countries, especially China.

Barral pointed out that in 2010 the government will focus its efforts on diversifying the export agenda even more and on increasing the participation of small and medium-sized businesses in the country’s exports. “We have to invest more in added value products and in service exports”, he added.

Source  http://www.americanchronicle.com/

Planning for Economic Recovery: Establishing a Regional Distribution Centre in China

The luxury retail industry is one sector that has weathered the economic downturn well and is now planning to grow from strength to strength. This article summarizes the experiences of a US luxury retailer as they evaluated options for establishing a Regional Distribution Centre (RDC) on Mainland China.

What was the regional footprint of the business in Asia?
Well-established third party manufacturers (services providers) were located in China, Vietnam and India. Related party distributors existed in Japan, China, Hong Kong, and Macau whilst third party distributors supported the remaining markets in Asia. The third party manufacturers sold and shipped products to headquarters in the US, where a global RDC existed. Headquarters then sold and shipped products to the respective related and related party distributors in Asia. With markets in the West suffering and all markets in Asia yielding revenue growth for the company, particularly Mainland China, it become imperative to reduce logistics costs and lead times by locating inventory destined for consumption in Asia nearer to distributors.

What location options were considered?
An internal study identified a short-list of potential locations on the Mainland, namely Futian, Yantian, and Shanghai. Hong Kong was also included in the short-list due to the presence of a mature logistics infrastructure and well established international service provides. The internal study confirmed that Hong Kong was comparatively more expensive – up to three times in storage costs – which forced further study in respect of options on the Mainland.

What were the key considerations when evaluating Mainland China?
We recognized that the range of bonded zones available has rapidly evolved, so deciphering which zone(s) was best placed to support our business needs was the primary obstacle to overcome. Thereafter, we aimed to focus on more specific issues of comparison, such as the ease of customs clearance and management, exemption from quarantine and inspection and other nontariff barriers, relaxed foreign exchange controls, and use of Free Trade Agreements.

Read the rest of this article at its source  http://www.chainaonline.com/2009/11/planning-for-economic-recovery-establishing-a-regional-distribution-centre-in-china/

Exporting Product Samples

Introduction
The foreign customer may ask for product samples before placing a confirmed order. So, it is essential that the samples are made from good quality raw materials and after getting an order, the subsequent goods are made with the same quality product.

Extra care should be taken in order to avoid the risk associated in sending a costly product sample for export. Secrecy is also an important factor while sending a sample, especially if there is a risk of copying the original product during export.

Before exporting a product sample an exporter should also know the Government policy and procedures for export of samples.

While sending a product sample to an importer, it is always advised to send samples by air mail to avoid undue delay. However, if the time is not an issue then the product sample can also be exported through proper postal channel, which is cheaper as compared to the air mail.

Sending Export Samples from India

Samples having permanent marking as “sample not for sale” are allowed freely for export without any limit. However, in such cases where indelible marking is not available, the samples may be allowed for a value not exceeding US $ 10,000, per consignment.

For export of sample products which are restricted for export as mentioned in the ITC (HS) Code, an application may be made to the office of Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT).

Export of samples to be sent by post parcel or air freight is further divided into following 3 categories, and under each category an exporter is required to fulfill certain formalities which are mentioned below :

1. Samples of value up to Rs.10, 000- It is necessary for the exporter to file a simple declaration that the sample does not involve foreign exchange and its value is less than Rs. 10,000.

2. Samples of value less than Rs. 25,000- It is necessary for the exporter to obtain a value certificate from the authorised dealer in foreign exchange (i.e. your bank). For this purpose, an exporter should submit a commercial invoice certifying thereon that the parcel does not involve foreign exchange and the aggregate value of the samples exported by you does not exceed Rs. 25,000 in the current calendar year.

3. Samples of value more than Rs. 25,000- It becomes necessary for the exporter to obtain GR/PP waiver from the Reserve Bank of India

Export Samples against Payment
A sample against which an overseas buyer agrees to make payment is exported in the same manner as the normal goods are exported. Sample can also be carried personally by you while travelling abroad provided these are otherwise permissible or cleared for export as explained earlier. However, in case of precious jewellery or stone the necessary information should be declared to the custom authorities while leaving the country and obtain necessary endorsement on export certificate issued by the Jewelry Appraiser of the Customs.

Export of Garment Samples
As per the special provision made for the export of garment samples, only those exporters are allowed to send samples that are registered with the Apparel export Promotion Council (AEPC). Similarly, for export of wool it is necessary for the exporter to have registration with the Woolen Export Promotion Council.

Export of Software
All kinds electronic and computer software product samples can only be exported abroad, if the exporter dealing with these products is registered with the Electronics and Computer Software Export Promotion Council (ESC)

Similarly samples of other export products can be exported abroad under the membership of various Export Promotion Councils (EPC) of India.

Source www.infodriveindia.com

Export declaration of common sense

1. Documents required for export declaration: box, invoices, customs commission, inspection commission (need inspection goods), non-wood packing material to prove (non-wood packing material goods), write-off single, drugs that (export goods as drugs), field station receipts. Must follow the declaration of export goods to the goods only after the declaration of principles, which should be noted that where there is: A: According to prepare and complete declaration, and all need the original, HS code must be identified in order to determine accurately Are there any special conditions of supervision (such as electronic product updates replacement is faster, there is no registered product codes, you can export to the Customs inquiry, to find a commodity code similar to the goods.). B: Customs prior to shipping to confirm whether the company has entered EDI, otherwise it will affect the speed of customs clearance. C: declaration of data to and boxes, invoices match, otherwise it will affect the input port of destination, manifest, affecting delivery. Fill in declaration: the export declaration is generally six joint, customs retained Alliance, the joint customs operations, customs clearance company retained joint (Customs the right to audit within three days, so the declaration enterprises should be retained), the Customs verification Alliance, the export volume proof of Alliance, the export tax rebate that joint.

Second, fill in the basic method declaration and the associated elements of the fill and import declarations are basically similar, but there are some places to note the following:

1. France seized goods: must have a license, the card is a card number of the system.

2. If the goods with a manual: In the “record number” at No. fill in manual, do not fill in HS CODE, manual on the volume of exports will be provided, a total volume of walk shall not exceed the requirement, but it can take less.

3. If the goods are processing: In the “tag Marks and Remarks” is necessary to specify: incoming payment processing fees.

4. Turnover method: FOB / C&F / CIF … If the FOB, while “freight” do not be filled in; if C&F or CIF, “Freight” column to specify. However, if CIF, had to indicate on a “premium”, is generally of the value of 0.15 ‰.

A) business units and delivery units may not be the same unit, but under normal circumstances are the same unit. Business units: those that have registered in the customs, foreign trade contracts signed and the implementation of import and export of domestic enterprises, unit or individual industrial and commercial households. Delivery unit: refers to import and export of goods from outside their own units and commission have the right to operate import and export business unit of imported goods.

2) the main country (region) code: 110: Hong Kong, China; 116: Japan; 132: Singapore 133: South Korea; 142: China; 143: Taiwan Peng Mazu tariff to go; 303: United Kingdom; 304: Germany; 502: United States;

Read more at:  http://news.alibaba.com/

East Africa to have fixed withholding tax

By Mary Karugaba

EAST African Community (EAC) finance ministers have agreed to adopt a fixed withholding tax rate on dividends, interest and royalties throughout East Africa.

This is ahead of the Council of Ministers� meeting to discuss the draft on the common market protocol.

The ministers meeting in Arusha, Tanzania last week adopted fixed rates for withholding tax at 5% on dividends, and 10% on interest, royalties, management and professional fees under the draft agreement on avoidance of double taxation.

According to a press statement by the EAC secretariat, the ministers agreed that partner states should not negotiate with third parties rates lower than those in the EAC Double Taxations Act.

They also approved the remission of duty on goods used in the manufacture of exports subject to conditions of the protocol establishing the EAC Customs Union.

The this entire article at its source:  http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/13/701287

Vietnam - Lawsuit on float glass import enters new phase

VietNamNet Bridge – The lawsuit filed by Viglacera Float Glass Company (VIFG) and Vietnam Float Glass Company (VFG) against imported float glass products has entered a new phase as on Monday was the deadline for related sides to present their case.

VIFG and VFG in early July asked the Competition Administration Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade to initiate a safeguard investigation into imports of float glass from different countries and territories. The probe, the first of its kind since Vietnam joined the World Trade Organization in 2007, was set to inspect imports from Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand.

The petitioners, who accounted for 91% of float glass productivity in Vietnam last year, said their production was hard hit when the market was flooded with imported float glass classified under HS code of 7005.29.90.00 and 7005.21.90.00. The Vietnam Float Glass Industry advocated the petitioners.

A report from the department says that foreign-made float glass increased sharply in the country in a short time…..

Read this article in full at http://english.vietnamnet.vn/

Want Some Easy, Accurate HS?

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Want Some Easy, Accurate HS?

Hi guys, hi businessman, hi business minded people. I came across this site that talks about HS or Harmonized System. As our business grows, we really need something that will organize or should I say harmonized to our business or organization. Effective hs codes is really very important to have an efficient, booming, and growing business. They provide in house classification capabilities to manage almost everything including risks and costs associated with customs compliance, and delivering true and accurate landing cost.

The hs code is very useful if you want your organization to be secured or to be more progressive and to make sure you are on the right track.