What To Know Before You Import Cyclosporine API Into Australia?

Could you import Cyclosporine API to Australia? What do you need to know before you import?

Cyclosporine is a pharmaceutical immunosuppressant, along with tacrolimus, used for transplant patients.

Many scientists and scholars are also exploring its other therapeutic potential.

As one of China’s leading suppliers of Cyclosporine API, we have extensive experience shipping it to customers worldwide.

But if you ask us which is the most unforgettable, the one below is the one.

Ok, now let’s begin.

It happened about one year ago, dated Feb. 2023, and we received a message on our website saying:

Hi, could a free sample of Cyclosporin A API be sent to the Florey Institute at 30 Royal Parade, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia? Would there be a freight cost?
Thank you.

After several emails back and forth, it turns out the professor needed a larger quantity than we could afford to provide as a free sample.

Then our customer decided to take one kilogram immediately after we presented our offer, as he might need about one kilogram for his research project next semester.

The next day, we received the PO from the university and started repacking to get the goods ready for shipping within 2 days. Along with the documents (COA/Import permit), we shipped the goods out on the third day after the PO. Our efficiency was pretty impressive, correct?

So far so good, right?

Now came the tricky part.

Australian Customs held the cyclosporine package for about three days because it lacked the required import permit.

We remembered that we tucked two copies of the relevant import permit in the package, one inside and only one outside.

How could this happen? Where exactly did it go wrong?

Why is a university not even allowed to import and clear the chemicals from Australian Customs?

After reading through the import permit provided by our customer, we finally found out why.

Below is a screenshot of part of the import permit.

We hope you can also see where the problem is.

The import permit shows that Closporine falls into category 27: Purified Laboratory material, laboratory reagents, and venoms, and it belongs to 27.7 Laboratory materials derived from a fermentation process.

The permit states a maximum holding quantity of 20g.

We didn’t read it through till we received the notification from FedEx that the University could not clear our package; it had to be returned to us or destroyed to avoid any return fees.

It puts us in an awkward position. We cannot control the import permit; importers must handle it.

This problem is not from us but from the importer’s unfamiliarity with the import laws and regulations.

We know it is not our responsibility, but we must do our part to minimize our customers’ losses.

How Did We Do It?

We know returning goods from Australia to China will be a long process, and we need to handle this returned shipment in an import-compliant manner so they can release the goods to us.

As it is known to all, Chinese Customs are very strict with goods inspections, especially shipments of imported goods.

So we calculated all the costs of returning the goods: 1. shipping from Australia to China; 2. import and VAT duties. VAT is about 13% of the CNF Value, and Import Duty is about 10%.

Then, we have to discuss the costs with our customers and determine whether they are willing to bear them so that we can proceed with the goods return process.

After deliberating on the costs of destroying the goods and returning them to us, our customer quickly agreed to pay for the return of 1kg of cyclosporine.

You may think we deducted the cost from the total value and refunded the rest to our customer right after receiving the returned goods.

No, we didn’t just do that.

We chose to split the costs of returning the goods with our customers so they could suffer less loss than expected. We believe that,t as exporters of cyclosporine API, we also bear the consequences of knowing their impermissible status.

Of course, our customer was more than happy to accept our proposal.

The Lessons We Learned From It

Universities can import almost any chemical for scientific research, and the government pays zero import duties to promote this research.

That doesn’t mean there won’t be any customs problems for universities when importing chemicals.

No matter what background the importers have, check your import permit before arranging the import.

We must check the import quantities and the clauses allowed on their import permit, clause by clause, so there won’t be any unnecessary customs issues.

From that incident on, we want to give all our professors and college students a heads-up. Please double-check their import regulations before they place the PO with us for the API purchase, especially for cyclosporine. We can also show them this story.

To avoid having to explain why they need to do so to each of our customers, we decided to share this cyclosporine API story so that all our potential customers can avoid such problems with Customs.

Please comment on or share our story on your social networks if you find it helpful.

If you have had an unpleasant experience, please leave a comment and share your story so that other chemical importers can learn from it and avoid possible problems.

Disclaimer:

This content is for informational purposes only and is intended for business-to-business communication within the pharmaceutical industry. It is not intended as medical advice. The manufacture, import, and use of API must comply with all applicable laws and regulations in the relevant country or region.

This blog post is informational only and does not constitute medical advice.

Always consult a healthcare professional before starting any new medication or treatment.