Hazelnuts, shelled

What has to exist before it sails

These have to be obtained while the goods are still with you. A certificate of origin cannot be got after the vessel has left, and finding that out at the destination is the expensive way to learn it.

• Commercial invoiceUnited States · United KingdomSeller · Must state HTS code, country of origin, incoterm, and a defensible transaction value.
• Packing listUnited States · United KingdomSeller · Carton count, net and gross weight, marks and numbers.
• Bill of lading / air waybillUnited StatesCarrier · Consignee details must match the entry exactly or the release is delayed.
• Customs bondUnited StatesSurety, via broker · Single-entry or continuous. Continuous is cheaper above roughly four entries a year.
• ISF 10+2 filingUnited StatesImporter or broker · Ten data elements from the importer, two from the carrier.
• FDA Prior Notice confirmationUnited StatesFiler, via FDA · Minimum 8 hours before arrival by vessel, 4 hours by air.
• Food facility registration numberUnited StatesFDA, held by the producer · Foreign facilities must renew every two years and name a US agent.
• Aflatoxin test certificateUnited StatesAccredited laboratory · Lot-specific, sampled to a recognised plan. Test the lot you are shipping, not a prior one.
• Bill of lading / CMRUnited KingdomCarrier · CMR for road movements via the Balkans, which is common on this lane.
• GB EORI numberUnited KingdomHMRC, held by the importer · Must exist before the first declaration. Issued in a few days, not instantly.
• Entry Summary Declaration (ENS)United KingdomCarrier or appointed filer · Filed to the S&S GB service before the goods arrive.
• EUR.1 movement certificateUnited KingdomExporter, endorsed by Turkish customs · Required to claim any preference that is available for the specific commodity.
• VAT registration or postponed VAT accounting electionUnited KingdomImporter · Postponed VAT accounting moves the charge onto the VAT return instead of the border.
• IPAFFS pre-notificationUnited KingdomUK importer · Filed at least one working day before arrival under the Border Target Operating Model.
• Aflatoxin analysis certificateUnited KingdomAccredited laboratory · Lot-specific, accompanied by the official sampling record.

What actually holds a consignment

• ISF is due 24 hours before the container is loaded — not on arrivalUnited StatesFiled at the origin port, before the vessel loads. It is the single most common penalty on first-time US importers, because everyone assumes customs paperwork happens at the destination.Liquidated damages of USD 5,000 per late filing, plus holds on subsequent shipments.
• The US importer carries the FSVP duty, and most first-timers do not know they have itUnited StatesForeign Supplier Verification is a legal obligation on the US importer of record — supplier approval, hazard analysis, documented verification activities. It is checked on entry and audited afterwards.Refusal of entry, and FSVP inspection findings that follow the importer across all future shipments.
• Turkish nuts and dried fruit are on FDA’s watch list for aflatoxinUnited StatesFDA action level is 20 ppb total aflatoxins. Turkish hazelnuts, figs and pistachios have a long detention history, and repeat findings put a producer on an import alert.Detention Without Physical Examination: every future shipment held at the importer’s cost until cleared by private lab analysis.
• Turkish nuts and dried fruit carry mandatory increased checks on entry to the UKUnited KingdomHazelnuts, figs and pistachios from Türkiye sit on the high-risk list for aflatoxin, which means a fixed proportion of consignments are physically sampled at the border — not a random risk, a scheduled one.Consignments held at port health for sampling at the importer’s cost, and destroyed if they fail.
• Valuation must be defensible, not convenientUnited StatesCBP values on transaction value. Related-party pricing, free samples, tooling and assists all have to be declared and are a standard audit target.Retroactive duty demand plus penalties, often years later.
• Facility registration lapses silentlyUnited StatesBiennial renewal falls in the last quarter of even-numbered years. A lapsed registration at the producer stops a shipment that was otherwise perfect.Entry refused on arrival. Nothing can be fixed while the container sits.
• No GB EORI, no importUnited KingdomThe importer of record needs a GB EORI before anything can be declared. First-time importers routinely discover this with the goods already on the water.Goods held at the port until the number is issued, accruing storage.
• ENS is filed before arrival, and the deadline depends on the modeUnited KingdomDeep-sea containers require the declaration 24 hours before loading; short-sea and road movements have much tighter windows. Responsibility sits with the carrier but the liability lands on the importer.Penalties and a hold on arrival while the declaration is corrected.
• Agricultural goods do not get the blanket 0% that industrial goods doUnited KingdomThe UK–Türkiye FTA liberalises industrial products broadly, but agricultural and processed agricultural goods have concessions that are partial and in some cases quota-limited. The rate depends on the specific commodity code.A landed-cost model assuming 0% because "there is an FTA" understates the duty.
• Import VAT is charged on value plus freight plus duty, not on the goods aloneUnited KingdomAt 20% it is usually the largest single line at the border. A VAT-registered importer reclaims it, but it still leaves the bank account first unless postponed VAT accounting is in place.A cash-flow hit of roughly a fifth of the landed value on every shipment until it is reclaimed.
• IPAFFS pre-notification is the importer’s job, not the exporter’sUnited KingdomThe UK importer files it. Turkish exporters frequently assume their logistics company has handled it, and nobody has.Goods refused entry at the border for a missing form that takes minutes to file.