Case 1
5 Risky Tricks Some Freight Forwarders Use for Air Freight to UAE – Avoid These Pitfalls
When you ship by air freight to UAE, you must listen carefully to these 5 risky tricks some freight forwarders use. Don’t let yourself be the next victim.
1. Under-declaring value: declaring goods worth 10,000 as only 3,000, or even declaring them as samples or gifts with zero value.
2. False product description: declaring high-tax products as low-tax ones, such as passing off branded goods as unbranded items.
3. Using fake company documents: declaring shipments under another company’s name to leave no trace, or even using fake company information for customs clearance.
4. Grey customs clearance: using connections or unofficial benefits with customs, which is common in some parts of the Middle East.
5. No invoices or proper tax records: not asking for invoices from domestic suppliers to save 6% to 13% VAT, and receiving overseas payments through personal accounts instead of company accounts.
In fact, many foreign trade and freight forwarding companies have used these methods to export safely for years.
Even after the launch of Golden Tax Phase IV, 80% of companies still use old practices.
Golden Tax Phase III took 3 years to be fully implemented.
It is expected that by early 2026, the "four-in-one" data system emphasized by Golden Tax Phase IV will be fully in place.
Grey operations such as buying customs declarations and double clearance with tax included cannot escape the big data monitoring of Golden Tax Phase IV.
Serious violations will lead to credit downgrades and affect your export business.
The best long-term solution is for companies to operate legally and work with reliable, honest freight forwarders to avoid future risks.
Many freight forwarders make quick profits by taking these shortcuts.
There are about 60,000 freight forwarders in Shenzhen, but 90% of them close down within 3 years.
Besides internal problems, one main reason is seeking quick profits through risky operations.
If you walk by the river often, you will eventually get your shoes wet.
There are thousands of freight forwarders offering air freight to UAE in Shenzhen, with loud advertisements all claiming to be the best.
So how do you find a truly reliable one?
Here’s a simple way: no matter how nice they talk, visit their company to check size and number of employees, or have a video tour if you can’t go in person.
Risky forwarders are usually small teams of only 7 or 8 people.
Large, legitimate forwarders dare not and do not need to do these things.
Take DL Logistics as an example.
We have nearly 100 employees and own the entire 8th floor of Block B, Rongde Times Square, Longgang District, Shenzhen.
We once helped Huawei ship electronic products worth 40 million.
We still handle Huawei’s exhibition shipments because of our reliable service and on-time delivery.
We have a 20,000-square-meter professional foreign trade warehouse in Yantian Port with standardized management, ranking among the top 5% in Shenzhen.
Foreign clients are always impressed by our strong hardware strength.
Use this standard to choose your forwarder.
Only companies like this are truly trustworthy.
Many clients shipping by air freight to UAE negotiated prices with us at first.
We simply invited them to visit our company.
After the visit, they felt completely assured.
DL Logistics is among the top 5 providers for air freight to Middle East.
We have bought 20 fixed board positions weekly from two major airlines.
We have priority clearance channels at UAE airports, with priority pickup from warehouses.
Our local logistics team is available 2 AM for calls.
Deliveries sent in the morning arrive at noon; those sent at noon arrive in the afternoon.
We truly live up to being one of the top 5.[learn more]
DL air freight to Middle East: everyone who uses it says it’s smooth and reliable.
Case 2
How Do Foreign Traders Find a Reliable Freight Forwarder for Air Freight to Dubai?
For foreign traders, finding a freight forwarder is no longer difficult. The real challenge is finding a reliable one. Cooperation with a freight forwarder usually starts with price, continues with professionalism, and ends with reliability. So how do you find a reliable freight forwarder?
1. Check the freight forwarder’s level
There are different levels of freight forwarders for air freight to Dubai on the market, generally divided into first-class, second-class, and third-class forwarders.
In most cases, first-class freight forwarders have better credibility and reasonable rates. That does not mean there are no reliable second or third-class forwarders, but first-class ones are generally better.
Both direct customers and second/third-class forwarders need to book space through first-class forwarders. So choosing a first-class forwarder is more convenient and efficient.
For example, DL Logistics is among the top five forwarders for air freight to Middle East. We are a direct carrier for air freight to Dubai, which is known as a first-class agent.
2. Learn about the forwarder’s service and reputation
To judge if a freight forwarder is reliable, always check reviews from its existing customers—that is its reputation.
See if they can respond and solve problems in time when cargo issues happen, and if their service attitude is friendly and responsible.
3. Focus on specialized route advantages
It is very important to ask about the forwarder’s main business. Every freight forwarder has its own strengths and core routes.
They will have a clear understanding of the whole process and local policies and rules, which makes them more reliable.
Take DL Logistics as an example: we have bought and fixed 20 board positions per week with 2 major airlines.
There are about 60,000 freight forwarders in Shenzhen. 90% are small forwarders who take orders first and then look for board positions on the market. Even better ones only get 2 to 3 board positions per week. Our capacity is 10 times that.
Buying fixed board positions means we have to pay even if we have no cargo. This requires real financial strength.
With scale effect comes a strong advantage. With 20 weekly board positions for our air freight to Dubai专线, we can also offer very competitive prices—the larger the shipment volume, the lower the price.
Airlines attach great importance to us. Even during peak seasons and warehouse congestion, we get priority on the earliest flights. We never miss the transit time promised to customers. This is something most forwarders cannot achieve.
4. Check the company’s strength
If possible, visit the freight forwarder’s office in person. You can check its scale, staffing, actual operation ability, and facilities to avoid being cheated by overstated promotions.
5. After-sales service
After-sales service is also very important besides core business.
A reliable freight forwarder controls the whole process from start to finish.
If any problem happens during transportation, a responsible forwarder will support you with good after-sales service. When your cargo is delayed or has issues, they will inform you immediately and provide solutions.[learn more]
Case 3
What’s the Real Difference Between Freight Forwarders for Air Freight to Dubai?
A customer said, "All you freight forwarders are the same for air freight to Dubai. Don’t you all use airlines like EK, CZ, TK? Cut the fancy stuff—I’ll just choose the one with the lowest price." Is the customer right? Are there really no differences between freight forwarders?
When it comes to air freight to Dubai this year, there’s only one word to describe it: fierce. Fierce competition on price, fierce competition on timeliness. There are only a few products on the market, and they all feel the same. So many freight forwarders focus all their competition on price. But apart from price, freight forwarders can actually create differences.
1. Differences in warehouse operation capabilities—this is where most problems happen. Because warehouse work is done by people, it especially tests the manager’s ability. Mistakes like wrong goods sorting, wrong labeling, wrong documentation, missing or incorrect loading, and lazy employees—different people doing these tasks will all affect timeliness. So the warehouse is a place that requires strong management and also puts managers to the test.
2. The ability of the documentation team. Things like data verification, accuracy and timeliness of supplementary materials will all affect the overall quality of air freight to Dubai.
3. The professionalism of the customs team. The professionalism of the customs declaration and clearance team directly affects the inspection rate, and also affects the customer experience.
4. The professionalism of the overseas team. The overseas team is actually similar to our domestic warehouse. It also involves problems like wrong sorting and loading of goods, inability to book a truck, wrong or failed container pickup at the terminal, and appointment for delivery. More importantly, it’s about overall coordination ability. All these things are done by people, and people are different. So there will still be gaps between overseas teams.
I have the right to speak on this. As one of the top five freight forwarders for air freight to middle east, our cooperating overseas clearance and delivery team has been localized and scaled. The team has hundreds of employees, including 17 full-time customs clearance staff and several senior consultants who once worked at the local customs. We have more than 50 trucks, and someone is available to answer calls even at 2 a.m. After picking up the goods from the customs supervised warehouse and transferring them to the overseas warehouse, the overseas warehouse decides whose goods to deliver first—ordinary freight forwarders have no priority. When encountering such tricky problems, under the same conditions, we have priority in delivery, which can save customers an average of 2 days in timeliness.
5. Core resources at key nodes, such as airline resources, shipping company resources, fleet resources, last-mile delivery account resources, and Amazon appointment account resources. These directly affect the delivery timeliness of your air freight to Dubai. All these resources may not feel important in the off-season because of insufficient goods. But in the peak season or in emergencies, their importance stands out.
6. Capital resources. Freight forwarders actually need to advance a lot of money. On one hand, customers want monthly settlements; on the other hand, we need to prepay for documentation, pay sea freight first before shipping, and pay customs duties first before clearance. During this period, we also need to reserve some funds for risk resistance. So being a freight forwarder has now become a capital-intensive industry. We can afford to buy a 1,800-square-meter Grade A office building in full, so we do have some spare money.
So don’t say all freight forwarders are the same for air freight to Dubai. After all, every freight forwarder is unique.[learn more]
|
