Export-import procedure

Exporting procedure

1, Receipt of enquiry and sending quotation

 The respective buyer of product an enquiry to d/t
exporters requesting them to send info regarding
Price, quality, grade,quantity,terms and conditions
For export of goods.
 The exporter then sends a reply to the enquiry in the
form of quotation known as Proforma invoice.

N.B:Proforma invoice contains info

about:price,quality, grade, size, weight etc.
2, Receipt of order or indent
 If the respective Importer finds export price and other
terms and condition's are acceptable it place the order
to be dispatched. This order, also known as
INDENT Contains; goods ordered, price marking,
delivery details, delivery instruction.
3, Assessing importer’s credit worthiness
 Securing a guarantee for payment
 Ensuring that there is no risk of default in payment.
 Letter of credit
4,Obtaing export license
 To get export license the exporter must have a bank
account in any bank authorized by the government.
5,Obtaing pre- shipment finance
The firm needs to obtain pre-shipment finance from its
bank to undertake production.
• Procure of raw materials and other components
• Processing and packing
• Deliver(transport to the port)
6,Production/procurement of goods
 Buy or produce finished goods according to the order
we have.
7,Pre-shipment inspection
 Ensuring that only good quality products are
exported from the country.
8,Excise clearance
 In most cases the government exempt or free the
exporter from paying excise duty or refunds it later to
encourage the exporter to be more competitive on the
global market.
9,Obtaing certificate of origin
The importer may need the certificate to avail tariff concession.
10,Reservation of shipping space
 An exporting company need to secure adequate space
in a ship to loading goods, for this the company should
have to have an agreement with the shippers.
11,Packing and forwarding
 Goods are packed and transported with necessary
details about the Name, address of the importer,
country origin, port of shipment, weight of goods etc.
 Receipts from the shipper or port.
12,Insurance of goods
 Goods are insured with an insurance company to
protect them against any loss or damage happens.
13,Custom clearance
 The exporter firm needs to obtain customs
clearance before loading goods on a ship. The firm
needs to submit the Shipping bill along with
export contract(order),letter of credit, commercial
invoice, certificate of origin, certificate of
inspection etc.
14,Appointment of forwarding agent
15,Obtaing mate’s receipt
The mate or the captain of the ship issue's mate
receipt to the port superintendent.
 The mate receipt contains
 Name of the ship
 Date of shipment
 Description of the package
 Conditions of the cargo on the time of receipt
on the board.
16,Payment of freight and issuance bill of lading
17,Preparation of invoice
18,Negoation of documents
19,Securing payment
Bill of exchange
Importing procedure
[Link] enquiry
The import procedure starts when importers conducts any query
about the Various countries and exporters available who can
supply the desired goods.
 After choosing an suitable exporter the importer sends trade
enquiry The respective buyer of product an enquiry to d/t
exporters requesting them to send info regarding
Price, quality, grade,quantity,terms and conditions
For export of goods.
 The exporter then sends a reply to the enquiry in the form
of quotation known as Proforma invoice.
[Link] trade license
In order to import goods import license is needed. To obtain this,
importer can approach regional / federal import export license
authority and can make Application in the required format. the
importer is need to obtain import export code number(IEC) which
is used in each and every documents related to import.
[Link] foreign exchange
the payment of import has to made in foreign currency to
obtain that importers must make an application to
exchange control department of Ethiopia and taking the
application and process to release Foreign currency
through banks.
4,Placing order or indent
After obtaining foreign exchange the importer place and
order with the exporter with the issue of indent which
contains details about the goods to be imported like
quantity, size, price etc.
5,Obtaining letter of credit
Letter of credit is issued by importers bank to exporter. it is
an guarantee made by importer’s bank to exporter to
make payment on behalf of import.
6,Arranging for finance
Importer must arrange for finance in advance to avoid high
penalties in future.
7,Receipt of shipment advice
After loading the goods in the ship the exporter
dispatches shipment advice which contains about
the ship, date of shipment, name of the captain.

8,Retirement of import documentation

After the shipment of goods, the exporter submit all the
documents to his banker including bill of loading,
copy of insurance policy, invoice number, letter if
credit etc. the goods are handed to the importer
only when he accepts the bill of exchange.
9,Arrival of goods
10,custom clearance
The importer presents the bill of entry to custom
officer who examines the bill of entry and assess
the custom duty to be paid. The bill is then passed
to appraiser officer who does the physical
examination of the goods. The bill of entry is
passed to the port manager who accept the
payment of custom duty. if the importer fails to
pay custom duty, the goods will be shifted to
bonded ware house.