www.bifa.org


Robert Keen’s Column


BIFAlink


BIFAlink is the official magazine of the British International Freight Association Redfern House, Browells Lane, Feltham TW13 7EP Tel: 020 8844 2266 Web site: www.bifa.org E-mail: bifa@bifa.org (A company limited by guarantee. Registered in England: 391973. VAT Registration: 216476363)


Director General Robert Keen r.keen@bifa.org Executive Director Robert Windsor r.windsor@bifa.org Executive Director Spencer Stevenson s.stevenson@bifa.org Policy & Compliance Advisor Mike Jones m.jones@bifa.org Policy & Compliance Advisor Pawel Jarza p.jarza@bifa.org Training Development Manager Carl Hobbis c.hobbis@bifa.org Editorial Co-ordinator Sharon Hammond s.hammond@bifa.org Administration Controller Jane Robinson j.robinson@bifa.org


Published by Park Lane Publishing peter@parklanepublishingltd.com Contributors Robert Keen, Robert Windsor, Mike Jones, Spencer Stevenson, Carl Hobbis, Sharon Hammond, Pawel Jarza


Regional Consultants to BIFA Scotland and the Borders Len Hobbs: bifa.scot@gmail.com Northern Ireland Carson McMullan: carsonconluce@aol.com Midlands and the North Paul Young: youngyes@aol.com London West and the South West Colin Young: young_colin.t21@btinternet.com Anglia, London East and the South East Paul Newman: paul@pnauk.com


Please be advised that BIFA DOES NOT OFFER LEGAL ADVICE. BIFA is not a law firm and the authors of this publication are not legally qualified and do not have any legal training. The guidance and assistance set out herein are based on BIFA’s own experience with the issues concerned and should not be in any circumstances regarded or relied upon as legal advice. It is strongly recommended that anyone considering further action based on the information contained in this publication should seek the advice of a qualified professional.


August 2018


Summer news to celebrate


Lots to talk about this month. August is often referred to as the silly season when the national press runs ridiculous stories due to the paucity of serious news; however it is all good news at BIFA. Firstly, congratulations to Louis Perrin of Hemisphere Freight who has won the


TT Club/FIATA European Region, Young International Freight Forwarder of the Year Award (YIFFA). Louis won our YFF award in January and now takes on the other three regional finalists at the FIATA World Congress this September in New Delhi. Next, the Customs Declaration System (CDS) seminars we have been running to


packed houses across the UK. CDS is due to replace CHIEF from later this year in a phased handover. In June and July we ran seminars across England, with Scotland and


Northern Ireland following this month. Due to the limited availability of HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), we were unable to visit every BIFA region, but it is our intention to get around to all areas as often as possible as more details of the changes emerge. The only blight was the number of ‘no shows’ at the Central London event. Due to the cost of venues and catering in Central London, we will have to make a charge for any future London seminars. Particularly disappointing was the number of BIFA Members securing multiple places and only sending one delegate. A simple message would have enabled someone on the waiting list to attend. I find that the UK is still held in high regard when I meet with other forwarder associations. Members will be


aware that we belong to the EU forwarders’ association CLECAT. Normally, CLECAT meetings are held in Brussels but this year the June Board meeting was held in Sofia as the Bulgarian forwarders’ association (NSBS) celebrated its 25th anniversary. I was made particularly welcome as a representative of BIFA, as the customs training material used by NSBS was provided by BIFA about 20 years ago following a grant from the British Council. The only downside was the clash between a welcome dinner and an England World Cup match! We are currently exploring our future relationship with CLECAT. There are several associate members of


CLECAT such as Norway and Switzerland. When the UK finally leaves the EU, we will not be able to be a full member of CLECAT and our status will change to that of an associate, similar to the other non-EU countries. I recently met my EU counterparts in Brussels and the support we receive from them is heartening as we will still need to cooperate whatever the outcome of Brexit, not least in road legislation for our Members running European trucking services. Ports are a hot topic at the moment. We have good news with the government winning the vote on the


expansion of Heathrow and bad news with a catastrophic system failure at Felixstowe. We arranged a meeting between forwarder representatives and Felixstowe Port executives recently and you may have seen our press release concerning compensation claims. Many BIFA Members question how the port can say only shipping lines are customers of the port when it is the port that raises invoices to forwarders. Of course, due to competition law we are unable to advise on contracts between our Members and their suppliers. Please contact me if you want to discuss this matter. Back in 2004 I remember spending a lot of that year, and well into 2005, discussing the EU Insurance


Mediation Directive with BIFA Members. It was a classic ‘gold plating’ exercise with the UK government enforcing an EU Directive to the detriment of many UK businesses including the logistics sector. The need to register with the Financial Services Authority (FSA), now the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), made the provision of marine insurance so onerous that many BIFA Members ceased this activity. More recently the Legal and Insurance Policy Group has been assessing a new ‘Insurance Distribution Directive’. It is our view that the exemptions that BIFA obtained in 2007 and 2009 remain in place, although the providers of insurance policies must satisfy themselves that their customer does not provide other insurance services that could take them into scope of the directive. So busy times here at Feltham and great news for our YIFFA winner Louis Perrin.


Robert Keen Director General


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