[meteorite-list] International Shipping/Customs Questions

From: Matthew Martin <mmartin_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Tue, 05 Oct 2010 00:55:47 -0500
Message-ID: <20101005005547.qm6e35c5vwos0swc_at_webmail.meteoritetreasures.com>

Hello Brian & List,

Thank you to all of you who chimed in to answer my questions. I
received many responses and appreciate you all taking the time to
personally respond to my inquiry...hopefully I didn't miss anyone and
you all received a response from me. I appreciate your willingness to
share your experiences and insights into the challenges of shipping
meteorites around the world.

The general consensus is to label meteorites as either a Mineral or
Geological specimen for study. Brian provides the code used by
customs below for this classification and would leave little room for
error on a customs agent's behalf (unless s/he felt nosey).

Marcin brought a good point into light which some have already
adopted, including myself. A few weeks ago I began changing the
return address name on my packages from Meteorite Treasures to MT to
make it more difficult for nosey individuals to figure out what's
inside.

Thanks to all who chimed in! You exemplify what the Metlist stands for!

Matt




Quoting BRIAN SCHROEDER <brian at aajewel.com>:

> Hello Matt and List
> I have been working part time as an International Shipping Agent for
> about 17 years as well as clearing Customs personally with Goods.
> The Classification I use is : NATURAL MINERAL SPECIMEN HC #
> 7103.10.00.00
> Adding the technical name does not hurt either, and helps Customs
> Agents to see that the Specimen is not a Corundum, Beryl or Granet.
> The HC Stands for Harmonized Code or International Harmonized Tariff
> Coding System.
> The HC # is the Classification for "Precious and Semi-Precious stones
> (other than diamonds), whether or not worked or graded, but not strung,
> mounted or set.", basically anything that is a Rock..
> So the following would be suitable for any International Package.
>
> NATURAL MINERAL SPECIMEN HC # 7103.10.00.00 " carbonaceous Ch. CV3
> " or " any name here "
>
> All Customs I know of use this International Harmonized Tariff Coding
> System , regardless if they can read the Language of the Shipper. These
> numbers are an International Language.
> Most countries have a 0.0% Tax base for Mineral Specimens as well as
> them being Duty Free.
> Providing the HC takes away the need for any Customs inspector to go
> through the effort to Classify a rock, correctly or not, and can save
> you and customers precious dollars.
> Honestly declaring the Correct value of any item, especially when
> Insured Shipping is used does not hurt..
> Not mentioning that the package contains a Meteorite is also a smart move..
> I have never heard of a Country that Mineral Specimens are prohibited
> from entering , only shipping the Specimens out of some countries is
> illegal. ( eg. Myanmar )
>
> Happy Shipping
> Brian S.
> IMCA # 7381
> http://stores.ebay.ca/AAJEWELCOM
>
>
> Hi Everyone,
>
> As I have been sending more specimens to international destinations, I
> have some questions (snip)
>
> 1. What is the proper declaration description of a meteorite for
> customs forms?
>
> I've seen a variety, such as "geological specimen", "geological
> sample", "mineral specimen", etc.,(snip)
>
> 2. Are there any countries that anyone is aware of that prohibit the
> receipt (import) of meteorites from individuals who live there?
>
> Thanks in advance.
> Matt Martin
> Meteorite Treasures
>
>
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Received on Tue 05 Oct 2010 01:55:47 AM PDT