Signed, sealed

In various Lime Blasts I have tried to talk about honesty in our trade. A number of topics have been dealt with from ex Soviet exporters, unhelpful banks, importers who delayed payments, the International Hide and Skin contract and the re-baptising of hides that came from far away and became 'genuine' west European material. Some people have a rather liberal view on the basics of honesty in our trade and they apply their own interpretation of what can be proposed and what not. We had already taken a look at the fact that Russian hides crossed certain west European countries and changed their passport in the process. These hides are offered to the end buyers with genuine certificates signed by the proper issuing authorities with the right stamps and the right signatures. Therefore, the buyer receives legally genuine documents issued for hides or skins that have another origin than that stated on the certificates. This fraudulent declaration is possible because the veterinary authorities issue, based on the indication they receive from the shippers a (for them) genuine certificate which bears the correct stamps and signature. It is obviously extremely difficult to prove that the declaration is untrue if the delivered hides or skins have similar characteristics to those that would have come from the declared country of origin. The story changes of course when documents that are presented by a shipper bear a false stamp and a false signature, and, as a consequence, a false registration number. First of all let us establish that according to the IHS contract, the shipper is responsible for the documents that have to be presented for the import of goods into a country, unless the buyer doctors the documents. Whether a buyer falsifiesdocuments or not is easily proven as most documents are presented via the banking system and copies are on file with the buyers' and the shippers' bank. It is far more difficult to prove if a shipper adjusts the documents. The procedure is that an exporter of raw hides and skins applies to the veterinary authorities in his or her country to issue a health certificate. Countries or blocks of countries like the EU establish their requirements for the type of certificate and its text which they deem necessary in order to grant entry into their country. The health certificates must be signed and rubber-stamped by the designated authority, who assumes full responsibility for the health of the animals before slaughter and the type and time of conservation of the hide or skin described in the certificate. Some vets check the hides themselves, others declare that according to their information hides originate from healthy animals and that their conservation is according to the requirements of the importing country. Thus, the issued certificate must bear a registered number. The same procedure is followed for issuing a certificate of origin, which is normally provided by a country's chamber of commerce. In order to authenticate these documents further, the exporter who requests the release of these documents must sign for them as well. Recently, by chance, after he received a consignment of hides, a European importer discovered they did not correspond with the standard of the origin he had bought. The health certificate and the certificate of origin which were accompanying the goods did not correspond with the signature of the previously received documents, despite the fact that the name of the vet on the health certificate was the same. Digging deeper the buyer ascertained that indeed the stamps and signatures did not correspond with the genuine stamps and signatures and that the number on the certificate of origin was different to the type of coding used by the exporting country. He also ascertained that neither of these two certificates were recorded in the appropriate registers. It is a serious offence to submit a false health certificate, which for the protection of an importing country's livestock must be genuine, and stating the correct situation, especially at this time when we are confronted with BSE and foot and mouth disease. The authorities of the importing country usually accept certificates as they are presented as long as they bear the correct wording, assuming that the stamp and signatures are genuine, hence believing in the honesty of those who present the documents. I wonder who is negligent when false certificates are introduced into the system. Is it the authorities of the importing country who have not checked whether the rubber-stamps and signatures conform to those deposited by the exporting country, or the importer who presents these documents? The actual responsibility lies of course with whoever 'prepares' these documents, which might not necessarily be the exporter mentioned on the certificate. This may be just as false as the vets' stamp and signature. What will happen when the proverbial manure is distributed by an electrical device over a 360 degree radius after the papers have been found to be false? In the case of the above mentioned importer what will happen when officials of both countries have been alerted? The fact is that, probably, an importer will be carrying the can as he is in possession of goods introduced with false documents. It is most likely that the authorities will heavily fine the importer or impound and probably destroy the imported goods at best. At worst it can cause him serious legal problems. The importer has paid for the goods in order to get the documents, so who will reimburse him and replace the goods? What will be the status of a trading house that has been involved in the scam, or even the actual players? I find it absolutely disgusting that certain people are prepared to go to such lengths to make an extra buck by defrauding those who put their trust in buying, and paying good money for, material that is at best not what it has been sold as. Sam Setter Sam_Setter@yahoo.com