How to Use the Export Information Service
The help that the AEPC can give you depends on the information you give us. The more detail you give us about your products, the more we will be able to help you. Below you will see a brief summary of what the Export Information Service can do for you, and the information that we require to help you fully.
First steps
The services offered through the Arab Export Promotion Centre are subject to charges. For further details, please read about our fees.
If you, as an Arab exporter, have a product that you have never before exported to the UK, but that you believe is of high enough quality and priced competitively enough for the international market, you can contact the Centre for assistance, providing clear and detailed information on the goods in question. A specimen form, to help you structure your enquiry, is available for use here
What we will then do
We will then check that import of the goods you propose to export to the UK is not prohibited, and we will also find out whether those goods are subject to any quotas or restrictions regarding country of origin and whether an import licence will be required. We may then provide you with lists of possible prospective customers.
We will publish your requirements in the Chamber's new weekly e-Bulletin, as well as in the print edition of the bulletin Arab-British Business, and here on the Chamber?s website. Any company, which reads about your requirements and is interested will correspond with you direct.
At this stage, we will add your company's details to our Arab Exporters' Database, which will allow you to be emailed automatically with any news and updates that the Centre may send out. However, you should also be aware that this section of the website has a news section, which you can access by clicking Latest News.
The Centre may also be able to supply short UK market reports on the product in question. If you would like to enquire further about this service, and the charges that will be applicable, please contact the Centre for further information.
Then you make contact with the UK firm(s) and...
If you then make contact with one or more prospective customers in the UK and are considering doing business with them, the Centre may be able to provide background information on the chosen importer if you request it. Because we have to purchase this data, the Chamber will normally charge for this service. This report will provide you with an indication of the reliability and financial status of the company that you are considering doing business with.
This level of information will enable you to decide whether you wish to deal with the chosen company or whether you wish to select an alternative customer.
When you start exporting your products to the UK and the products appear on the UK market, the Arab Export Promotion Centre of the Arab-British Chamber of Commerce will have achieved its aim.
To speed up our response time, please provide the following information
- A clear, detailed description of the goods you wish to export to the UK
- A commodity code for each type of product (if the code is known). The following issues cannot be researched until the commodity code is known:
- The full rate of import duty
- Whether a preferential rate of import duty applied
- Whether excise duty applies
- Whether there are quotas or ceilings involved
- What rate of VAT applies
- Whether anti-dumping duties apply
- Whether Food Standards and/or Plant Health regulations apply
