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Departure cards have been discontinued this month, and the information used to account for all travellers departing New Zealand will now be collected electronically.
You still have to meet some requirements to avoid problems.
Key facts and stats:
› In 2017, 6.5 million cards were completed.
›… View moreDeparture cards have been discontinued this month, and the information used to account for all travellers departing New Zealand will now be collected electronically.
You still have to meet some requirements to avoid problems.
Key facts and stats:
› In 2017, 6.5 million cards were completed.
› This represents around 100,000 hours of traveller time (which is around 12 years).
› Departure cards were introduced in April 1921
› Based on departure statistics, it is estimated over 132 million cards have been filled out since they were introduced
The removal of departure cards aligns with international best practice, enabling a faster and smoother travelling process.
New Zealand has international obligations to report NZD 10,000 or more in cash or financial instruments being carried out of New Zealand.
These obligations were catered for on the departure card. However, this is not something that can be transferred to the electronic system.
Therefore, travellers carrying cash or currency to the value of NZD 10,000 or more must see a Customs Officer at departures to complete a Border Cash Report.
Why do the departure cards need to go?
The main purpose of the cards was statistical. Stats NZ has confirmed there are alternative sources of information and methods they can use to produce tourism and migration statistics, removing the need for travellers to complete these cards.
Few other countries have departure cards with the level of detail required by the New Zealand one. They were originally used to process and account for all travellers departing New Zealand, but this is now done electronically.
Continuing with this requirement is inconsistent with the border sector vision to provide world-class facilitation for travellers.
How will information on departure cards now be collected?
Electronic systems will capture who is leaving New Zealand accurately. Tourism and migration statistics relied on departure cards, which asked travellers how long they had been in New Zealand and how long they intended to be away.
Stats NZ has switched to a new system that measures the actual time that travellers are in New Zealand and how long they are away. This approach is similar to Australia’s.
The Government will continue to collect the information required for the most critical functions of the card (border processing and key statistics) by electronic and other means.
This includes information in passports; departure date; actual time spent in New Zealand and actual time away.
What about arrival cards?
Removing the arrival card is more difficult. Arrival cards collect important traveller declarations that are used by border staff to manage immigration, smuggling and biosecurity risks. Officials are in the early stages of exploring alternative means of capturing this information, but there are no set timeframes.
P.S. Do you know of other people that will find this article useful? Please share it on social media. Thank you!
Let’s discuss the volume of alcohol being illegally imported into the country and imported without compliant labelling. What are the telltale signs of illegitimate product?
Citing examples of imported shipping containers being declared as beer when they were predominantly filled with spirits. … View moreLet’s discuss the volume of alcohol being illegally imported into the country and imported without compliant labelling. What are the telltale signs of illegitimate product?
Citing examples of imported shipping containers being declared as beer when they were predominantly filled with spirits. That kind of smuggling is denying the country of about $40 million in excise duty annually.
NZ Customs and Spirits NZ are working on ways to stop it. How will you be affected?
“Spirits are particularly relevant in this context because of the level of excise — per litre of alcohol content the charge on spirits is $52, whereas beer and wine is $28/$29,” he told the Shipping Gazette™.
“There are two aspects to it. Firstly, it is that product is being brought into the country and skipping the taxes that everyone else has to pay. Secondly, and this is a global concern in the spirits industry, is that if you are bringing the product in and not going through the due process regarding verification and point of origin etc., then you can’t guarantee what fluid is in the bottle.”
Although praising New Zealand Customs Service for doing a “great job” in tackling alcohol smugglers, Mr Brewer nonetheless said there is “definitely some smuggling going on”.
“The first step is to get an understanding of how widespread it is. My members have anecdotal evidence that it is underway, but we don’t have any hard evidence.”
Mr Brewer said one of the pointers to there being a potential increase in alcohol smuggling is the notable volume of alcohol being legitimately parallel imported.
“From a global perspective, what tends to happen is that when the legitimate parallel product level goes up, the amount of your illegal product goes up.”
How to Resolve The Issue
To help inform the direction of its project, Mr Brewer said he had met with Customs to establish what information the agency required to facilitate best taking action against alcohol smugglers.
“We’re going to do a lot of information gathering, to provide Customs with a greater level of intelligence on this matter.
“The first thing we are going to be doing is examining those pricing schedules that my members have access to — a forensic examination of those to see if there are lines of product that stick out as not being correctly priced.
“As 75% of the retail price on average for spirits is excise duty and GST, there is not a lot of wriggle room to discount. So, if things are going to market at a large discount then they are either loss leading or something else is going on.
“Labelling is also really important to us. Every bottle of spirits, beer, wine imported into New Zealand must be labelled correctly — the label has to be in English, declare how many standard drinks are in the bottle, has to have a lot of code, have the name and address of the importer.
“My members, who legitimately import product, spend quite a bit of money ensuring the labelling information is up to spec and complies with New Zealand law. It is all about these indications about what is a legitimate product and what isn’t.”
Mr Brewer said he believed that in many instances, purchasers might genuinely not be aware they were acquiring the illegitimate product.
“That is part of the project as well — to make people aware of what are the signs to look for regarding illegitimate product.
“We’re going to put together a Website and publicise this through the retail and trade magazines and to licence holders, outlining what are the requirements under the Food Act for labelling and so forth.”
He said the Website would also provide a facility for stakeholders to report on suspicious product and Spirits NZ would regularly collate and forward relevant information to authorities.
Comment from NZ Customs
Customs revenue and assurance group manager Richard Bargh told the Shipping Gazette™ that although his agency’s data did not suggest largescale smuggling of alcohol such as spirits was on the increase, nonetheless it was “taking this matter seriously”.
“Customs is conducting its assessments and working closely with industry partners including Spirits NZ to ascertain the magnitude of this issue,” he said.
“Following this groundwork, we will be in a better position to introduce or improve measures as needed.”
According to Customs statistics released under the Official Information Act, there has been a total of 145,335 millilitres of alcohol intercepted in 126 incidents at the border in the January-June 2018 year.
The most prevalent interceptions during that period involved the descriptions of “spirits” transported by “passenger” — which encompassed 97,425 millilitres intercepted over 87 incidents.
The total of alcohol intercepted during the full 2015, 2016 and 2017 years has respectively entailed 21,001,492 millilitres in 303 incidents, 23,721,829 millilitres in 284 incidents and 370,492 millilitres in 282 incidents.
Mr Bargh said criminals used “all sorts of tricks and concealments” to hide illicit goods.
“For commercial-scale fraud, it is more likely the consignments are misdeclared or use lower-value or fake invoices to evade duty and GST.
“For example, a Customs investigation that resulted in a three-and-a-half-year jail term for the businessman was using double invoices to show a lower value and declaring shipments as beer instead of soju.
“As most trade is legitimate, and to minimise holding up clearance of legal goods, Customs uses profiling and intelligence to identify risk shipments for further scrutiny.”
Mr Bargh encouraged industry and members of the public to “help play a role in targeting non-compliant shipments” by calling 0800 4 CUSTOMS in confidence.
Source: NZ Shipping Gazette
P.S. Do you know of other people that will find this article useful? Please share it on social media. Thank you!
Do you treat your pets at Christmas? Do you have a neighbour to keep an eye on your property while you're away? What do you find stressful at this time of the year? Take part in the Great New Zealand Christmas Survey!
It will only take a couple of minutes to complete - and you'll be … View moreDo you treat your pets at Christmas? Do you have a neighbour to keep an eye on your property while you're away? What do you find stressful at this time of the year? Take part in the Great New Zealand Christmas Survey!
It will only take a couple of minutes to complete - and you'll be in the draw to win one of two $100 Prezzy® cards!
Guy Fawkes has marred what was meant to be a happy ending for a mother and her brood of rescued duck…
2 Folding Concertina Doors
Large Storage area with 2 Shelves
2 Drawers with Brass Pulls
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x 40cm side Depth x 90cm full depth
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2 Shelving areas behind doors
6 Drawers with Brass Handles and pulls
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4 Drawers with sturdy Brass handle fittings
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