Minimum Documentary Requirements Policy - Table of Amendments - July 2010

Definitions

Chop Stamp - A seal or stamp used in lieu of a signature to prove identity on documents or contracts.

Company or Individual Stamp - A seal or stamp accepted in the normal course of business to prove identity of a company or individual on documents.

Company Seal or Stamp - A seal or stamp used to indicate a document has been issued or endorsed by a company./entity.

Definition deleted and incorporated into Company or Individual Stamp

Overarching requirements applicable to all documents

All prescribed information required to be on a document must be present and complete. A list of prescribed information for each class of document is provided at section 12 of this policy.

The following general requirements must be met for all documentation when presented to AQIS as part of the import process.

In English

All prescribed information required to be on a document must be in English. The only exception to this rule is that company letterheads need not be translated into English but must be in English characters.

All prescribed information required to be on a document must be in English. Exceptions to this rule include:

• Company letterheads need not be translated into English but must be in English characters.
• Commercial, Transport and Government Certifications that are required to comply with the International Standard Formats (see pg 7)

Signature

Acceptable substitutes for a standard signature are an electronic signature, stamped signature or block/chop/signature stamp.

Acceptable substitutes for a standard signature are an electronic signature or stamped signature accepted in the normal course of business to prove identity of a company or individual on documents

Date of issue

All documents must identify the date of issue.

All documents must identify the date of issue. Packing Declarations may contain vessel/voyage number which can be used in lieu of a date of issue.

Linked to the imported consignment by a unique identifiable link

Where a document does not contain one of the above forms of consignment identification, linkage to the consignment can be established through documentation used in the normal course of business. Linking details should include a combination of the following: internal reference numbers such as order numbers, marks and numbers, goods description, number of packages, importer/exporter details and the production dates of the documentation.

Where a non-commodity document does not contain one of the above forms of consignment identification, a numerical link to another document that does contain one of the above forms of consignment identification must be present.

Acceptable numerical links include but are not limited to:

1. order numbers,
2. reference numbers and
3. any other internal reference numbers used by overseas companies.
4. Vessel/voyage references

Number of packages, weights, and dates are not acceptable numerical links.

Transport Documentation
- Bill of lading
- Airway bill

“Prescribed Information for…”

“Advisory Information for……”

Addition

1. Consignor/Shipper/Export details (including name and address)
2. Load Port and Discharge Port

Commercial Invoice

“Prescribed Information for…”

“Advisory Information for……”

Note: Commercial invoices do not require a signature unless additional declarations have been made on them.

Requirement Deleted

Veterinary/ Government Certification

“Prescribed Information for…”

“Information for……”
Addition of website (www.oie.int)

Phytosanitary Certificate

“Prescribed Information for…”

“Information for……”
Addition of website (www.ippc.int)

AQIS Issued Documentation

Amendment to list of requirements

Removed specific documentation information requirements. The validity requirement has been maintained

Prescribed Information for Annual Packing Declarations

Addition

1. Identify the cargo type as either FCL or LCL

Addition of Validity Requirements

Validity Requirements: Annual Packing Declarations are valid for 12 months from the date of issue (not the date of endorsement) and must be valid at the time the import declaration is assessed by the AQIS officer or assessed and lodged by the Broker

Prescribed Information for Consignment Specific Packing Declarations

Addition

1. Identify the cargo type as either FCL or LCL