Customs Tariff Classification and Export Control Classification

Overview

The most fundamental task in international trade is determining the correct customs tariff classifications and export control classifications for a product. Subsequently, it is critical to consistently apply these classifications once they have been established. Global classification can be a difficult undertaking but is an essential part of customs and trade compliance. Without  correct classifications, it is not possible to achieve the correct customs duty calculation or preferential treatment determination.

It is  common that people in different divisions of a company often make different decisions about customs tariff and export control classifications. This usually causes duplicative effort and inconsistent results for the same product. Furthermore, in an international environment, with multiple national tariffs, commodity lists, languages, complex interpretive notes and preferential duty rates, classification is quite difficult to manage. This leads to inconsistencies which are “red flags” to authorities, resulting in costly fines and penalties. To avoid this, a central and standardized product classification process is required.

MIC's Central Classification System (MIC CCS) offers a cost-effective solution for the determination, assignment and validation of customs tariffs classifications and export control classifications according to particular customs tariffs and export control commodity lists. Additionally, MIC CCS contains all necessary content in a user-friendly format. Most importantly, the software allows clearly structured control of the entire product classification process at a global level.

Global product customs tariff classification and export control classification

  • A global customs and export control item resp. product master, fully integrated with ERP systems
  • Stores, classifies and validates products against national customs tariffs and export control commodity lists
  • Fully automated, semi-automated, or manual workflow-based assignment of the customs tariff and export control classification for multiple countries
  • Automated customs tariff and export control classification based on company specific product characteristics (user-defined configurable select and matching rules)
  • Automated suggestion logic for customs tariff and export control classification based on intelligent matching algorithms using artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI&ML)
  • Automated customs tariff and export control classification of recurring articles
  • Automatically updated classifications throughout your organization due to cross-classification rules
  • Efficient transnational mass re-classification of multiple articles (e.g. for annual changes of customs tariffs)
  • Consistent customs tariff and export control classification through application of user-defined decision trees
  • Customs tariff and export control classification assignment for a new country based on that of another country (cross-classification)
  • Dashboard for quick overview and navigation to open classification requests
  • Integration of documents and images of the products (document management) used in the analysis and review of the product

Simplified data management

  • User-friendly look-up of customs tariffs, export control commodity lists, as well as duty, tax and trade measures by means of a search assistant
  • Easy transfer of part data to be classified via interfaces with ERP systems and third-party service providers
  • Complete audit trail as well as customs tariff/export control classification history for each item
  • Full audit trail in case of revision
  • Global workflow management of classification tasks, performed from one or many locations
  • Data analytics for analysis and optimization of the quality in the customs tariff and export control classification processes

Optimized communication interfaces

  • Site-specific access to customs tariff/export control classification data
  • Web access to global customs tariff/export control classification data base (internet, intranet)
  • Regularly updated trade content by MIC’s Global Trade Content Service (GTCS) for more than 150 countries via fully automated interfaces to selected national and international content partners (e.g. national authorities, Mendel Verlag, PST.AG, etc.)
Benefits

01

Avoids double effort & inconsistency

due to cross-country workflow-based standardized product classification

04

Cost-efficient product classification

according to the national customs tariffs as well as export control commodity lists

02

Facilitates the determination

validation as well as allocation of customs tariff classification and export control classification numbers for a product through intelligent matching algorithm

05

User-friendly

format and look-up functionalities by means of search assistant 

03

Allows global control

of the entire product customs tariff classification and export control classification process

06

Regularly updated trade content

for more than 150 countries via fully automatic interfaces to selected national and international content partners

Resources

New US tariffs on French imports delayed

Imports and Exports | | MIC Customs Solutions |

The US has suspended new tariffs imposed on French products in retaliation for a digital services tax.

 


The US has delayed tariffs on $1.3 billion of French goods imported into the US it had imposed in response to new taxes faced by American tech firms operating in the European country.

Duties were set to be imposed from Wednesday (January 13th) and would have included levies of up to 25 per cent on products such as designer handbags and cosmetics, among other products.

Announced last July, the measures were taken in response to a new digital services tax (DST) in France, which the US argued unfairly impacted on American tech giants such as Amazon, Google and Apple.

However, the office of the US Trade Representative has confirmed the tariffs will be suspended indefinitely while it investigates similar DSTs in ten other countries, including Italy, the UK and India.

The US may instead look to take more coordinated action at the conclusion of this investigation, although any such plans could change after president-elect Joe Biden takes office on January 20th.

According to the Financial Times, Mr Biden is keen to repair relationships with traditional allies such as France, with some Democrats calling for a multilateral solution to the issue of digital taxes that would involve the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

EU trade commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said on Twitter: "The EU stands ready to explore all options should the US unilaterally apply these trade measures.

"More broadly, we are willing to work constructively with the US on finding a timely global solution to the fair taxation of the digital sector."

The delayed tariffs are unrelated to other levies the US has imposed on French products such as spirits and aircraft parts, which go into effect on January 12th. 


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