Packing terms

Packaging clauses: details that cannot be ignored In international trade, how to carry out commodity packaging requires packaging clauses to be bound. As an important part of the contract, the packaging clause should be clear and specific at the time of conclusion. In actual performance, the goods must be packaged strictly in accordance with the terms of the package, and attention must be paid to the details.

The terms of the package mainly include packaging materials, packaging methods, packaging specifications, text descriptions of packaging, and the burden of packaging costs. In practice, no point can be ignored. In particular, the textual descriptions of packaging materials, packaging methods and packaging often cause disputes, claims or even cancellation of contracts in international trade because of these three items. In fact, as long as the packaging is strictly in accordance with the contract and international practice, these can be avoided. The following is a detailed analysis of several issues that should be paid attention to when fulfilling the packaging clauses from several aspects and combining several cases.

Packaging Materials

Packaging material refers to the raw materials used for the packaging of goods. It includes both the manufacture of transport packages and the production of sales package materials. According to the material, packaging can be divided into paper packaging, metal packaging, wood packaging, glass packaging and ceramic packaging. Different goods and different transportation conditions require different packaging. When selecting packaging materials, in addition to meeting the usual requirements for goods, special considerations for packaging materials in importing countries should also be taken into consideration. For example, the United States stipulates that, in order to prevent the spread of plant diseases and insect pests, the use of straw as a packaging material is prohibited. If it is found by customs, it must be destroyed on the spot and all the expenses incurred therefrom must be paid. These aspects should be fully taken into account when the terms are entered into, and should be packaged using the materials specified in the contract.

A case is as follows: China exports a batch of goods to Canada, and the contract stipulates that it should be packed in plastic bags. Since there was no plastic bag when stocking, we switched to paper bag packaging. After arrival, in order to meet the needs of the market, Canadian importers had to hire people to replace packaging. Later, Canada added a claim to us and we only have to compensate for the loss of Canada.

This case is due to our unauthorized change of packaging materials, resulting in packaging materials can not meet the needs of the importing country's market, causing damage to the importer. This will inevitably be met with claims. In practice, do not think that merely changing the packaging without changing the quality of the goods is not against the contract.

In addition, if the contract does not require packaging, we can not add packaging. For example, we have exported bulk goods that do not require packaging. In actual delivery, the goods are packed in sacks with the same net weight and no additional charge. However, my exporter still suffers a claim. Because the importer could have used straws when unloading the goods, because we changed to sacks instead, it increased the cost of unloading and was therefore claimed by the other party.

Packing

The packaging method includes the packaging of one record unit of the goods, and also the specification of a large package of several unit packages. Such as the size of the sack, and if the boxed goods, a box should be loaded with several or multiple goods. The method of packaging should also meet the requirements for the transportation and sale of goods.

Case: A company sells 1.5 metric tons of apricots. The contract stipulates that they should be packed in cartons, each containing 15 kilograms (with 15 small boxes and 1 kilogram per small box). At the time of delivery, because there was no such packaged goods, the company changed to a small package delivery (15 kilograms per box, 30 boxes inside, 0.5 kilogram per box). As a result, foreign companies filed claims for non-compliance with the specifications of the goods, and our company had no reason to compensate.

In this case, the number of goods did not change and they were all 1.5 metric tons; the weight of each box was unchanged, and it was 15 kilos. However, the number of boxes per box and the weight of each box changed. In other words, the packaging of the record unit has changed, which may also have an impact on the importer's sales. Of course, this is a violation of the contract, so it will be subject to claims. The terms of the packaging are also part of the contract. Changing the packaging method of course violates the contract and will inevitably be subject to claims.

Packed text description

Usually, shipping instructions and sales packages have text descriptions. Text descriptions include the contents of the shipping signs and other texts and the languages ​​used. The shipping mark will be used on the outer packaging as long as the agreed mark is used.

For sales packaging, the text description is more demanding. The content must conform to the provisions, and the language can not be used wrong. For example, in the textual content, the Japanese government stipulates that where medicines are sold to Japan, they must specify the ingredients, methods of administration, and functions. Otherwise, the customs authorities have the right to withhold and cannot import. In terms of language requirements, many countries also have special regulations. For example, the Canadian government stipulates that the description of imported goods must be in English and French; the packing list and commercial invoices for the products shipped to France must be in French.

In the above case in which we traded with Canada, Canadian importers also required the use of English and French stickers for each shipment. And we only used English stickers. This also forced the Canadian side to renew its tip. Of course, we also received a claim.

Another case is as follows: A domestic company has signed an order with a foreign customer. The customer requires that the package number “828” cannot be displayed on all packages. Because the customs of the importing country imposed a high anti-dumping tariff on several products such as “828”, the customer There is this requirement. The company printed "828" on the color card packaging production. When the customer received a photo of the company's shipment, he found that the color card still had the word “828” and proposed to remove “828”. Since our goods had been completely completed, the replacement of the color card would result in an economic of RMB 50,000. Loss, while delivery time will be postponed by 20 days. The company told the customer that the goods had been completely produced. If it was reworked, it would result in 50,000 yuan and hoped that the customer would accept the "828" color card. At the end, the customer promised to be willing to accept our goods, but the customer needed to pay $2,000 for dredging the customs and my company had to agree to accept it.

In this case, due to my company’s negligence, the words “forbidden” were appearing on the packaging of the goods, which caused extra losses to foreign companies and it was fortunate that the other party could accept the goods.

From the above description of packaging materials, packaging methods and packaging, and the analysis of these cases, we can easily find that packaging problems often go wrong details. In fact, as long as we can be cautious when carrying out packaging, and strictly comply with the requirements of the contract, these mistakes can be avoided.

Reprinted from: Packaging Standard