Cost Of Shipping A Container To Bahamas

Have you ever purchased an item from a grocery store and you were given a list of your purchased items right after? That’s what you call a grocery receipt. The same applies to the Bill of Lading.

This document is written and given by a carrier acknowledging receipt of the purchased items, their current condition, and validating an agreement to transport the goods to a stated destination.

Prohibited Goods

• Meat, provisions, fruits and vegetables, and any articles intended for human food, which are unfit for human consumption.
• Indecent or obscene prints, paintings, photographs, books, cards, lithographic or other engravings, or any profane or obscene article.
• An underwater gun being any manufacture or device other than the device known as a Hawaiian Sling whereby a missile may be discharged underwater.
• Any article which bears a design in the imitation of any currency or banknote or coin in current use in The Bahamas or elsewhere.
• Copies of works in respect of which the owner has given notice to the Comptroller

Restricted goods are defined as follows:

• Goods imported for any business (within the meaning given to that by Section 2 of the Business License Act) unless the importer of the goods produces for inspection by the Comptroller, a current Business License issued under the provisions of The Business License Act.
• All goods, the importation of which is restricted under the provisions of any law for the time being in force in The Bahamas.
• Firecrackers and impact flash facilities save those, which in the opinion of the Comptroller, are not dangerous.
• Firearms, fireworks, unless special authorization by the Commissioner of Police.
• Trailers, being trailer caravans for use as living quarters, offices, workshops, or similar purposes unless specifically authorized by the Minister.
• Mechanical games and devices are set in operation wholly and partly by the insertion.

Please be aware that once your container enters to clear customs, it may take from 24 to 72 hours for details to be received and processed. It may take another 1-3 days for the point customs to clear the processed item, re-enter the delivery cycle, and be delivered to your exact destination.

When sending outside the Bahamas, you must check whether the customs officials can easily see your items. Intricately packed items may need to be opened especially if it crosses the list of restricted or even prohibited items.

Before deciding to schedule container delivery to your destination, you must consider several factors. You should know in advance the details about:

• Delivery fees
• Permitting requirements
• Ground conditions
• Clearance space.

The worst thing you can experience right before you ship your container is the logistical nightmare of receiving it if you don’t have the space for it. That’s why you should do your homework on specific site requirements!

A 20-foot storage container usually requires about 75 feet of straight clearance. A 40-foot storage container will need about 100 feet of straightforward clearance. For most containers, you need a minimum of 12 feet of width clearance and 20 feet of overhead clearance.

Before shipping a container to a country, you should first study the difference between taxes, tariffs, and duties. According to DCL Corp, “Customs duties are based on product characteristics, while tariffs are fees applied to specific products from particular countries to particular times. Lastly, tax rates are fixed and calculated on the total value of the product imported into the country. Each country has different fee obligations, with different speeds, rules, and forms. To ensure that you comply with both the primary and more specific product certification requirements, you must work with trusted international partners.

Due to the complexities involved in shipping a container internationally, sometimes damage can’t be avoided. This makes it so getting insurance coverage is a no-brainer. It will protect you from having to pay costly damage in the event of any kind of problem, even in cases of theft. To prevent paying for additional costs, ensure that you have your Bill of Lading with you to protect the cargo against inevitable losses. In the event of failure, a cargo insurance policy indemnifies the cargo interest. Most cargo insurance policies are underwritten on an “all-risk basis.” This means that the insured is covered for risk of loss or damage except for those risks that are expressly excluded in the policy, such as loss or damage due to willful destruction of the goods by the insured or the inherent vice of the goods.