A desk at the port, a desk at the airport, a shed in between
Eleven people, most of whom have done this job somewhere else first.
Eleven years of other people's cargo
Bodufaru Logistics started in 2014 with two clearing agents and a borrowed pickup. We now run our own shed off Industrial Village and we keep somebody at the port and somebody at the airport every working day.
What we sell is not transport. Anybody can book a container. What our customers pay for is the part where a consignment arrives, the paperwork matches, the duty was already estimated correctly, and the cargo goes out of the gate on the second day instead of the ninth. That work happens weeks before the ship arrives, in the reading of an invoice.
We are small on purpose. Every file has a named person on it and that person answers the phone. If you have rung twice about the same shipment, something has gone wrong with how we work, not with your shipment.
The people on your file
Ali Nasheed
Nine years clearing for other people before starting this in 2014. Still prices the project cargo himself and still reads the difficult invo...
Fathimath Zeena
Files the declarations and answers the queries. If your duty estimate came in writing, she wrote it.
Hussain Riyaz
Runs the warehouse and the atoll loads. Knows the sailing day for most routes without looking it up.
Aminath Sajida
Sends the invoices and holds the duty deposits. Ask her about a monthly account if you ship more than twice a month.
Duty, documents and the things that hold a consignment
Will you tell me the duty before the cargo arrives?
Yes, in writing, at booking. We classify every line on the invoice and give you the figure.
It is an estimate and we say so. Our estimates have run within about five per cent on complete invoices; a vague invoice is where estimates go wrong, and we will ask you to get it rewritten rather than guess.
What usually holds a consignment up?
Three things, in this order. A description too vague to classify, a value that does not match the payment records, and a missing permit for something the importer did not know needed one.
All three are found by reading the papers a fortnight early. That is why we ask for the invoice at booking rather than on arrival.
Do you pay the duty for me?
We can, against a deposit or a monthly account, and we pass it on at cost with the receipt attached.
We never add a margin to duty. Our fee is our fee and it is on the same invoice where you can see it.
Come and see the shed
Industrial Village, Male. Sunday to Thursday, 8am to 6pm.