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Many changes have occurred concerning international forwarders business activities. As the
borders concerning customs duties between the member states are disappearing, the aspect of
customs procedures with the business entities from other EU member countries, as well as
with non-member countries, is changing significantly.
As we have entered the EU, all local goods trade within the EU is no longer subject to
customs formalities duties, nor to customs control of those goods. For this reason, most of
forwarders had to choose other general and specific lines of work instead of import duties.
Data about the flow of goods within the EU are gathered by means of Intrastat System, and
therefore, international forwarders are focusing on providing Intrastat reporting services as
well.
International forwarding includes economic services of foreign trade, i. e. dispatches of goods
from the home country to foreign countries (export forwarding), arrivals of goods from
foreign countries to the home country (import forwarding), and transit of goods between
foreign countries across the home country (transit forwarding). These services are provided by
international forwarders, which also undertake other specific activities regarding dispatches,
arrivals or transit of goods (Zelenika, 1996, p. 52).
2. INTERNATIONAL FREIGHT BUSINESS ACTIVITIES AFTER THE ACCESSION
OF CROATIA TO THE EUROPEAN UNION AND THE GLOBALIZATION OF THE
MARKET
Today, when big globalization changes take place, there is a need for transformation of
classical forwarders into logistic forwarders, ready to perform numerous, more complex
activities and functions in order to survive in the competitive market (Bendekovic, Vuletic,
Gotovac, 2013, p. 1).
Namely, as Croatia has become a full member of the European Union, most of international
forwarders have lost their businesses. By entering of Croatia into a new territorial zone and
customs regime, borders are being erased, and consequently, there is no more need for most
services provided by forwarders. Nevertheless, this does not suggest that this type of activities
will stop, because they are being and will be performed in other places, connected with the
goods which are exported into, or imported from the EU countries (Basic, 2011).
From the day Croatia joined the European Union, there have occurred many changes
concerning international forwarders activities, relating to four areas (Bendekovic, 2014):
o new information system. Today, flows of information precede flows of goods, which
considerably decreases time losses in the transport process, increases delivery speed
and punctuality, enables reduction of necessary stock of goods in production and trade,
production is conducted according to orders, i. e. according to market demand, and the
finalization of the product is relocated from factories into logistics centres.
o structural changes of international forwarders. Structure of a company, concerning
ownership and size, is under constant influence of competition and market efficiency.
Large companies require advanced organization and management, where management
is separated from the ownership structure.
o adjustment to the European Union Customs System. After the borders between the
members of the EU have been erased and quantity of products limitations removed, a
single customs EU territory has been established. Customs control and other
limitations between the member states have been abolished, and each member state
generally applies the same customs rules to the EU non-members. Since the
abolishment of the customs control between the Members of the European Union,
many international forwarders have been facing decrease in the business volume
because there is no more need for import duties, except with the countries which are
not members of the EU. International forwarders have to channel their activities to
providing other general and specific services. One of those services is to keep records
of the flow of goods - INTRASTAT.
o creating strategic alliances between international forwarders and suppliers, as well
as between international forwarders and internal and foreign partners. Today, when
there is strong competition present in the trade in goods, low financial solvency (low
capital) and conditions of complementarity in the markets, one of the most favourable
models for development of Croatian companies is creating strategic alliances.
Strategic alliances are seen as means of providing opportunities for survival in the
international markets. Some of those opportunities are ownership integration or
strategic alliances. Strategic alliance represents an ideal solution in high-risk situations
of independent development. They are crucial for more rapid expansion, in situations
where there is relatively low availability of equity shares and where there are
complementarities between companies and great and rapid changes in the
environment. Croatian companies are still revealing the world of strategic alliances,
which will help in conquering markets and technologies.
3. INTRASTAT: THE SYSTEM FOR COLLECTING DANA ON THE TRADE IN
GOODS BETWEEN COUNTRIES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
On 1 July 2013, all customs formalities and controls on the flows of goods between the
Republic of Croatia and other Member States of the EU were abolished. As a result, Single
Administrative Document is no longer the source of information for producing statistics on
the trade in goods with the EU members. A new kind of research - Intrastat is introduced,
which is a system for a direct data collection from business entities that trade with the EU
member states (DbSchenker, 2013).
Intrastat is the system for the collection of statistical information on the flow of goods
between the EU members (Durdek, Ozimec, 2009, p. 24). Intrastat was introduced on 1
January 1993, thereby establishing a unique internal EU market and enabling free movement
of goods (Polancec, 2013). Until then, data was received by means of Single Administrative
Document (SAD), but since it was cancelled, there arose the need for yet another form of
statistical data collection (http://www.carina.hr/e_carina/Intrastat.aspx).
The importance of statistical data on the trade in goods with foreign countries lies in the fact
that this data is an important source for compiling the balance of payments and gross
domestic product (GDP). It is also used when deciding on national or European monetary and
economic policy, as well as for conducting macroeconomic analyses (The Republic of Croatia
Government, Croatian National Bank - CNB, EU, UN, International Monetary Fund - IMF,
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development - OECD, WTO); this data is
also an indicator of a countrys economic success and development (Polancec, 2013). The
statistics on the trade in goods with the countries that are not EU members is still collected by
means of SAD. This portion of statistical data is called Extrastat, which, together with
Inrtastat, represents the overall statistics on the trade of goods with foreign countries (Nova
ICT, 2013, p. 6).
Regarding the non-member states, customs procedures are in line with the European customs
regulations, and the point of customs clearance can be located in any of the EU member state.
Business entities from Croatia can go through import or export customs clearance in any of
the member states, but business entities from other member states can do the same in Croatia.
It is commonly understood that Croatian business entities go through customs clearance in
Croatia, as, in that way, a share of customs revenues collected stays in the country. The
Republic of Croatia Customs Office can do customs clearance for the recipients from other
member states as well. In this way, more customs clearances would be carried out, and
therefore, more revenues collected for the national budget of Croatia (Buljan, 2013, p. 51).
By carrying out customs clearance of goods for the business entities from other member
states, an opportunity opens up for customs brokers, which have actually lost the possibility of
representation in the customs procedures in the trade between the EU member states, except
for the submission of the Intrastat Form for business entities in Croatia. Thus, international
forwarding agents have the opportunity to compensate for a portion of market lost due to the
accession of Croatia to the EU (Buljan, 2013, p. 51).
3.1 Difference between the Single Administrative Document and the Intrastat Form
Single Administrative Document (SAD) is a customs document used for carrying out customs
formalities regarding the exchange of goods with other, non-member countries, while the
Intrastat Form is a statistical report by which the exchange of goods between the EU member
states is monitored (DbSchneker, 2013).
Until the Republic of Croatias accession to the European Union (EU), concepts used in
foreign trade dealings were known to all of us as import and export, but, since 1 July 2013,
two groups of concepts have been used. The first group concerns trading with the EU
members, with the concepts of arrivals i.e. buying of goods from suppliers from the EU, and
dispatches i.e. selling of goods to the buyer from the EU. The other group refers to the trade
with non-member countries, where concepts of import and export are used (Buljan, 2013, p.
1-2).
Table 1: Comparison and differences between the SAD and the Intrastat Form
(Polancec, 2013)
Single Administrative Document
INTRASTAT FORM
IMPORT/EXPORT
ARRIVALS/DISPATCHES
All dispatches/transactions records + All dispatches/transactions records +
submitting of customs declarations for each submitting monthly, cumulatively
All entities trading with foreign countries
Only those entities which exceed the
exemption threshold value
Greater amount of data, greater accuracy Reduction of workload placed on the
and control
reporting units
Filing of a paper document can be done Submitting only electronically to The
electronically
Customs Administration G2B Service
Every export/import
Obligatory, even when no trade
Carrying out customs clearance
Statistical report
The major differences between the SAD and the Intrastat Form are as follows (Croatian
Bureau of Statistics, 2013):
o The SAD is filled out and submitted for every transaction, while the Intrastat Form is
submitted monthly;
o The SAD is filled out by every business entity that exchanges goods with foreign
countries, while the Intrastat Form only by those which exceed the exemption
threshold value;
o The SAD contains greater amount of data required in relation to the Intrastat Form,
which means reduction of load for the data providers (DbSchenker, 2013).
In Table 1, the SAD and the Intrastat Forms have been contrasted and the differences have
been listed. Besides the major differences already mentioned, they differ in the way of
submitting as well. Regarding the SAD, it is done in paper and electronically for carrying out
customs formalities, while the Intrastat Form is submitted only electronically, and is
obligatory, even when no trade is done, with the purpose of statistical reporting.
3.2 Institutional responsibility for Intrastat in the Republic of Croatia
In line with The Agreement of International Cooperation, Croatian Bureau of Statistics is the
holder i.e. the institution responsible for the Intrastat research, methodology, statistical
processing and dissemination of data, while the Customs Administration collects and controls
data for the research (Polancec, 2013).
Croatian Bureau of Statistics is in charge with the preparation and execution of statistical
activities, fulfilment of international obligations regarding official statistics from the work
scope set in The Statistical Activities Programme of the Republic of Croatia, and for the
Intrastat research.
In 2008, the Customs Administration and Croatian Bureau of Statistics signed The Agreement
of International Cooperation on the introduction of the Intrastat research into Croatian
statistical system (Croatian Bureau of Statistics, 2014, p. 11). Both institutions have
developed a long standing cooperation in carrying out the existent statistical research
Extrastat, which represents a solid basis for a successful introduction of new research
(DbSchenker, 2013, p. 1)
3.2.1. Intrastat reporting obligation
Reporting units have the obligation to report data. Those are companies which pay VAT,
exchange goods with other EU member states, and those which have exceeded the exemption
threshold value set for the current business year (Bozina, 2013, p. 155). The obligation of
Intrastat reporting is established yearly, based on the information on the arrivals from other
EU members and dispatches of goods into other member states, on which a business entity
was reporting through the Intrastat forms, as well as on the deliveries and revenues declared
on the VAT forms for the prior fiscal period (twelve months). Croatian Bureau of Statistics
and the Customs Administration inform a business entity if the obligation started or ended,
and the reporting unit is then obligated to submit the Application Form for Intrastat within ten
days since the receipt of the information. If a reporting unit does not have any transactions in
a given month, it is still obligated to send an empty Intrastat Form (Croatian Bureau of
Statistics, 2014, p- 10).
A reporting unit is obligated to report data if its value of trade in goods in the prior fiscal
period exceeds the exemption threshold for dispatches or arrivals, or for the both trade flows.
It also has the same obligation if the cumulative value of the trade in goods from the VAT.
Form exceeds threshold value for either of the flows. A business entity is then obligated to
report data to Intrastat since the month in which the value of the trade in goods exceeds the
threshold value (Croatian Bureau of Statistics, 2015, p. 8). The provider can provide the data
on its own, or it can transfer this obligation onto another party i.e. customs agent (Croatian
Bureau of Statistics, 2014, p. 10).
3.2.2. The exemption threshold
The exemption threshold is the value set for every statistical year, for arrivals and dispatches
separately. It is the basis for defining business entities with the obligation of reporting data to
Intrastat. The providers of statistical information are those business entities whose value of
trade in goods exceeds the exemption threshold (Nova ICT, 2013, p. 6). The data on arrivals
from other EU members and dispatches to other EU members, on which the provider reported
on the Intrastat forms, as well as the deliveries and revenues reported in the VAT forms for the
prior fiscal period, is the basis for setting the exemption threshold (DbSchenker, 2013, p. 3).
The provider of information is obligated to report statistics to Intrastat for the flow of trade in
goods whose value of the annual trade in goods with the EU members in the prior fiscal
period exceeds the set exemption threshold value for that specific flow, or for both trade
flows, arrivals and dispatches. The obligation can also arise during the year, when the
cumulative value of the trade in goods of a business entity obtained from the VAT Form
exceeds the exemption threshold value. For arrivals, the exemption threshold value for the
year 2015 is 1.800 000 Croatian kuna, for dispatches 1.000 000 Croatian kuna (Croatian
Bureau of Statistics, 2014, p. 5).
3.2.3. Reporting periods and deadlines for submitting the Intrastat forms
Reports to Intrastat are submitted on a monthly basis. The reporting period is a calendar
month in which arrivals and dispatches take place i. e. it is a month in which goods physically
enter or leave statistical territory of a member state which reports to Intrastat. The Intarstat
report for the month in which arrivals or dispatches took place must be submitted in the next
month at the latest. It is submitted, regardless as to whether or not the payment has been
made. The submission deadline is on the15 th of the month for the last month, and if the 15 th is
a non-business day, the deadline becomes the next business day (Croatian Bureau of Statistics,
2015, pp. 5-8).
The scope and responsibility of Intrastat reporting
Intrastat reporting encompasses all data on dispatches of goods from Croatia to other EU
members, as well as data on the arrivals from other EU member states. This includes supply,
sale, or return of goods i.e. goods sent to be improved or the return of goods that was being
improved, except in the case of repair or maintenance of goods. Intrastat report is not
submitted for the trade in services, as it is not the object of statistical exchange of goods with
foreign countries. The relevance of the Intrastat research is in monitoring of physical
movement of goods, not in monitoring the course of payment. If the payment is made before
the goods are physically delivered, the data on that goods will be submitted for the Intrastat
research in the month of the actual dispatch or arrival of the goods, not in the month the
payment is made (Croatian Bureau of Statistics, 2015, p. 2).
For the Intrastat System, the data is filed on the following:
o commercial transactions of goods, which include the transfer of property designated
for use, expenditure, investments or resale;
o the scope. The statistics on the trade in goods with the foreign countries encompasses
only the flows related to the movement of goods. The services, like repairs, sale of
goods over the internet, temporary flow of goods for the period of up to two years,
advertising materials and commercial sample are not included. When goods arrive for
improvement, their value is indicated in the Intrastat Form. After the improvement, the
value of goods on the Intrastat Form is the total value which comprises the value of
the received goods, the improvement costs and the material used in the process of
improvement. Contrary to the data submitted in the Intrastat Form, only the value of
the improvement costs, not the receipt of goods for improvement, is submitted to the
tax administration.
o the calculation of value for Intrastat and the basis of tax assessment. In the Intrastat
reporting, the value of goods comprises only the costs of insurance and transport to the
Croatian border, while in the case of the basis of tax assessment, the excise duties are
included into the value of the received goods. The acquirer of goods for which excise
duties have to be paid in the EU is obliged to pay them.
o the currency rate. In the Intrastat reporting, the values in the foreign currencies are
converted to kuna based on the mean currency rate listed in the foreign exchange list
of the CNB for the specific month i. e. for the month for which the report is filed. In
the VAT forms for tax data reporting, the values in the foreign currencies are converted
to kuna based on the mean currency rate of the CNB for the day when the obligation
for filing the VAT is imposed (Croatian Bureau of Statistics, 2014, p. 32).
5. CONCLUSION
It is difficult to choose from many definitions of international forwarding. They all have in
common the fact that they define forwarding as a company which organises the dispatches,
arrivals or transit of goods in the international trade for its client, and it also performs other
general or specific activities connected with the dispatches, arrivals or transit of goods. From
the day of the accession to the European Union, Croatia has become a part of a single customs
area of the EU; it has entered a new territorial entity and a customs regime, where all borders
are abolished and customs formalities between the EU member states cancelled. The domestic
goods trade in the EU does not undergo the obligation of customs formalities, nor customs
control over that goods; therefore, there is no more need for most services international
forwarders provide. However, this situation does not mean these services are no longer active,
for they are still being performed. International forwarders which have lost all, or a part of
their business they have been conducting, most of all services related to customs
representation, have been advised to transform into logistics operators and provide other
general and specific services. The EU Membership has also brought the obligation of
introduction of the Intrastat System i. e. statistical research on the trade in goods between the
EU members, which replaced the customs declarations. The collection of statistical
information in Intrastat is the main source for macro and micro economic analysis (balance of
payments, national invoices), as well as an indicator of economic performance and support in
carrying out trade, economic and monetary policy. Every business entity in the Republic of
Croatia, if a VAT-rate payer, and whose value of trade in goods with the EU members exceeds
the exemption threshold (for arrivals or dispatches, or both flows of goods), is obliged to
report for Intrastat. Business entities are obligated to file the Form on a monthly basis.
However, there is a possibility that a business entity transfers its obligation onto an authorized
customs agent. Thereby, an opportunity opens up for the authorized customs forwarders to
provide another kind of services and, in that way, compensate for a portion of the market
space they have lost due to Croatian accession to the EU.
Besides the participation in the Intrastat reporting, the European Union offers to international
forwarders the possibility of clearance of goods for the recipients i. e. business entities from
other EU members, which opens up a possibility to collect customs duties, a portion of which
stays in Croatia. An opportunity surely opens up for authorized customs agents, which, for the
most part, are concerned about their position after the accession to the EU. The very position
of Croatia i.e. the fact that we are the external border of the EU raises those opportunities.
In the end, it can be concluded, although the accession to the European Union has brought
many changes in the international forwarders businesses, which have mostly downsized their
activities, this does not mean that this type of business has come to an end. In the present
conditions of fierce competition, only those who are flexible and quick to adapt to the market
changes survive. Specifically, this means that international forwarders refocus and start
providing other general and specific activities, to seize the opportunity given by the EU
membership in order to compensate for a portion of the lost market. So, it is we who
determine to which extent we are able to seize the opportunities the European Union
membership gives us.
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