UK based freight forwarder Mercator recently handled a consignment of shipping LCL from India to UK. The LCL (less than container load) shipment consisted of three pallets of homewares being sold business to business.
The UK importer purchased the goods on an FOB (free on board) Incoterm which makes the exporter in India responsible for export customs and delivery of the goods to the agreed port. Our agent in India liaised with the exporter to ensure that the goods arrived within the cut off time for the shared container loading.
Once loaded into the container and then on to the vessel, the responsibility transferred to the UK importer, which Mercator was able to handle on their behalf. Our team arranged the sea freight shipping LCL from India to UK, UK customs clearance, payment to HMRC of import VAT and duty, and delivery of the pallets to the importer’s door.
India is a member of the DCTS (Developing Countries Trading Scheme) and as such, some goods imported from India qualify for reduced or zero rates of duty. You can check whether the commodity you are importing can benefit from this trade deal on the UK trade tariff. Once you have selected the commodity, enter India into the country filter, any preferences will show below. In order to be able to claim preference when importing from India, the commercial invoice from your supplier in India will need to have the correct wording confirming that the goods are of Indian origin. Our team is well versed in the requirements and will be able to help you when you ship your goods with Mercator.
When deciding whether to arrange shipping LCL from India or air freight, two of the main deciding factors will be time and cost. Sea freight from India to the UK is currently 35-40 days (with the diversions around the Cape of Good Hope), whereas a direct air freight service arrives in the UK within one day (adding a few days either side for clearances and pickup/delivery). Shipping LCL from India (or any country) is generally slower than shipping a full container due to the extra time for loading and unloading at origin and destination respectively. The extra time can be 7-10 days. This is an important point to consider when arranging an LCL shipment.
If you have goods for shipping LCL from India, air freight or a full container load, get in touch with our team who will be able to provide you with a quote for our service. We are founding members of a freight forwarding network, equipping us with excellent contacts in India and across the globe. As such, our team can arrange shipping covering all incoterms, from EXW (ex works) through to DDP (delivered, duty paid). To contact the team, email sales@mercatorcargo.co.uk, call our office on (+44) 02392 756 575, or complete the form below and we will get back to you.
