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Korea’s first success case on fake origin verification
The Korea’s signing FTA with various countries has brought as much conflicts as its benefits. The damages are especially severe when disputing party is relatively smaller than big companies. For example, the Korea Customs Service can charge additional tax on the imported goods already sold but a small sized importer cannot shift the tax amount to the supplier even after finding the fault of the exporter; and the importer has to bite the bullet. If you are one of them, here is good news: HNR Customs Services has drawn the Korea’s first success case of compensation for damages caused by fake origin verification. “In the Korea-EU FTA, companies get reduced tariff if the Customs-approved exporter submits the inventory containing the authorized exporter number and the certificate of origin while the importer also submits the document containing the valid authorized exporter number and the certificate of origin to the Customs. But the liability clauses relating to the certificate of origin hasn’t been readily included and as a result the importer usually shouldered the burden. The case we won also had the similar issue” explains CEO Shin. Here are the details of the case: N is a Danish company and M is the importer of automobile filters from N. M received the inventory containing the authorized exporter number and the certificate of origin from N and submitted it to the Customs and benefited 170 million won tax reduction between the years 2013 and 2016. The Korea Customs then asked the Danish counterpart to check the validity of the N’s inventory in September 2017 and the result was received in December the same year stating that N did not have any authorized exporter number and the number turned out to be others. As a result, the Seoul Customs charged M the 170 million won tax benefit and M claimed the damages against N in February 2018 through HNR Customs Services. Shin said “We worked together with the American lawyer Kim Jun-suk to submit to the court the compensation for damages caused by fake origin of verification against N last April. The result was that N must compensate all the loss of M and the case was closed as of June 20. It was the Korea’s first success case relating to compensation for damages caused by fake origin verification.”The victory of the case will have a significant impact on similar cases and it is but good news to many small and medium sized Korean importers.
Professional advice, customized services
The services of HNR Customs Services cover customs, foreign exchange and logistics. Four branch offices are currently being managed by the Seoul headquarters and they all boast a strong presence in import/export, refund, investigation and screening, FTA, administrative litigation and trade law. And behind of this strong presence lies the ‘client-centered customized customs services’ that provides all-in-one care from clearance to post management. A risk manager is positioned in each stage of customs processes and promptly responses whenever an issue occurs. Not only this; the responsible manager also provides regular training to the client in order to minimize any unnecessary conflicts beforehand. “Many experts predict that free trade will accelerate its speed globally and subsequently the risk management services will boom. And we are well aware of this and firmly determined to lead the Korea’s customs services industry based on our great achievement in winning the case over fake origin verification for the first time in Korea.”
Engagement in books and lectures
CEO Shin obtained a customs agent license in 1997. He made a contribution to systematizing the customs work and established customs and foreign exchange process when worked for a big shot law firm. He also worked for HMP Law and All Zone (law firms) and built an extensive knowledge on tax and concealing money overseas. Since 2002, he has published a number of books on customs alongside actively engaging in lectures. “Korea is an export-driven economy. Naturally, licensed customs agents are highly demanded. My publishing books and giving lectures are part of this effort to foster talented industry specialists.”
Introducing automated customs system
Years of his experience in the field and extensive knowledge have recently been resulted in introducing a patented automated customs system. Shin is busy finishing off the software part at the moment so that it can be applied to the real world by no later than the end of the year. In addition, Shin has developed an automated refund form that works automatically when uploading the necessary documents and obtained a patent. “HNR Customs Services values highly of small and medium sized companies. I and the specialists of HNR Customs Services will exert our utmost effort in building a better and more effective trade environment.”
지윤석 기자 jsong_ps13@naver.com
