We attach a newsletter from one of the shipping lines servicing Asia-Australia trade, this is a general warning on the fines involved when cargo is mis-declared, by accident or intentionally.
The current level of fine from most shipping lines is around USD 30,000 per occurrence, however that is set to increase to USD 50,000.
These fines are particularly relevant to chemical consignments and shipments where batteries have been included, there have been several incidents over the last few years where severe damage or death has been caused by these misdeclarations.
It should also be noted that under the terms of Chain of Responsibility, anyone or everyone in the supply chain can be found liable, including overseas suppliers, origin forwarders, Australian forwarders, customs brokers truckers and importers. A conviction could lead to extremely substantial fines and even jail in Australia where any parties have been found to be negligent.
In a recent case we noted that a China forwarder was subject to China Customs investigation with loss of operating licence combined with substantial fines from China Customs.
Attachment: Notice to Customer (Misdeclaration Charges)_REV.pdf