A contractor imported a truck mounted concrete pump. We declared it under the heading for the pumping machinery, which was how the manufacturer described and invoiced it. The consignment was challenged on the basis that the unit was a vehicle.
The difference between the two headings was a figure large enough to matter on the project, and both readings were arguable from the outside.
What decided it was documentation rather than argument. We obtained the manufacturer's technical description, the type approval, the parts breakdown showing the proportion of the value in the pumping assembly, and the customs rulings of two other jurisdictions on the same model. All of it was submitted as one bundle with a two page written case.
The consignment was released at the lower rate eight working days after the query. The importer's view, which we share, is that the bundle won it and the argument was irrelevant.
We have used the same bundle twice since for the same model.
