Your shipping department, right at the port Customs clearance and port health agents in Felixstowe
We clear chilled, frozen and ambient food through UK customs and port health, then deliver it to your door. One experienced team, a short drive from the Felixstowe dock gates, from pre-alert to delivery.
Prefer to talk? Call 01394 672244
- 1844 The year W. Saunders was established
- AEO Authorised Economic Operator, approved by HMRC
- BIFA (opens in a new tab) Member of the British International Freight Association
- 1935 Part of the Kiril Mischeff food group, UK importers since 1935
For chilled and frozen food
Every hour at the border comes off your shelf life
Chilled and frozen food can’t wait in a queue. A missing certificate, a late pre-notification or the wrong commodity code holds the container, and the costs start straight away.
Port storage and demurrage
The terminal and the shipping line both charge for every day a container sits uncleared.
Per day
Reefer power and monitoring
A refrigerated container needs power and checks while it waits, and the clock keeps running on shelf life.
Per day
Refused entry
Food with the wrong paperwork can be refused at the Border Control Post, then sent back or destroyed.
The whole load
Most holds start with paperwork, so that’s where we start: documents checked before your goods sail, IPAFFS and customs entries lodged before they land. See how a clearance runs
Five questions, one checklist
What will your next import need at the border?
Pick your goods and route. The checklist shows every check your consignment faces, who deals with each one and the papers to have ready.
Your border checklist
Frozen fish and seafood from outside the EU by sea into Felixstowe.
- 7 checks on this route
- 6 handled or arranged by us
Have these ready
Your answers go with your enquiry, so you won’t need to repeat them.
Through the border, and on to your door
Customs and port health specialists, with the freight, haulage and storage to go with them. Use us for one job or the whole journey.
Clearance
Customs clearance
Classification, valuation and customs declarations for your imports, made by an HMRC Authorised Economic Operator.
Ask about customsPort health
IPAFFS pre-notification, CHED documents, health certificate checks and Border Control Post inspections for meat and fish.
Ask about port healthDuty deferment
Pay customs duty through our own substantial deferment account, instead of when the goods land.
Ask about defermentImport licences
Advice on whether your goods need an import licence, and help with the application.
Ask about licences
Freight
Sea freight
Door to door for frozen, chilled and ambient cargo, by the method and price that suit you and your customer.
Ask about sea freightAir freight
Air freight for urgent cargo, including temperature-controlled samples.
Ask about air freightRoad haulage
Next-day delivery across the UK, and road freight throughout Europe.
Ask about haulageStorage
Short or long term, ambient, chilled or frozen. Through our contacts we match your goods to the right store.
Ask about storage
Like having your own shipping department
We offer the stability of a large freight forwarder with the personal contact of a smaller firm. Some of our major clients use us as an extension of their office, much like their own shipping department.
Personal contact
You deal with a small Felixstowe team who keep you informed at every stage.
One sample or a full fleet
We look after multinational companies and the smallest shippers with the same care.
Part of a food group
We belong to the Kiril Mischeff group (opens in a new tab), UK food importers since 1935, so we know what rides on every container.
“My team here aspire to offer a personal and superlative service, with the emphasis on communication and feedback in all aspects of our business.”
8 Victoria Street, IP11 7ER
Based in Felixstowe, working at every UK sea and air port
Our office on Victoria Street is a short drive from the Port of Felixstowe, Britain’s busiest container port. Direct links to the port community systems mean the same team looks after your goods wherever they land.
Felixstowe
Our home port, minutes from the office
Sea
Tilbury and the London ports
On the Thames
Sea
Southampton
On the south coast
Sea
Liverpool
In the north west
Sea
UK airports
Including temperature-controlled samples
Air
We’re linked to Destin8 and CNS, the systems UK ports use to release cargo. Customs entries go to HMRC’s Customs Declaration Service.
An example week
One container, from pre-alert to cold store
Frozen hake fillets from Walvis Bay, Namibia, arriving by sea at Felixstowe. You tell us what’s coming; we do the rest and tell you at every stage.
Pre-alert and documents
You send the invoice, packing list, bill of lading and health certificate as the goods ship. We check them while there’s still time to put things right.
You hear: documents checked, any gaps flagged.
IPAFFS pre-notification
We raise the CHED-P at least one working day before the vessel arrives.
You hear: notified, with your CHED reference.
Customs entry on CDS
We classify the goods, lodge the declaration and work out duty and import VAT, payable through a deferment account.
You hear: declared, with the duty and VAT.
Port health checks
Documentary checks, plus identity and physical checks if selected, at Felixstowe’s Border Control Post.
You hear: cleared, or exactly what’s needed.
Released and delivered
Released through Destin8, collected by refrigerated haulage and delivered next day across the UK.
You hear: on its way, then delivered.
An illustration of a typical import from outside the EU. Times depend on the vessel, the goods and the checks selected.
A long history, a short drive from the docks
W. Saunders has moved cargo since 1844 and grown on its reputation, from full logistics control for multinational companies to a single sample for a first-time importer. Today we work from our own purpose-built office on Victoria Street, Felixstowe, as part of the Kiril Mischeff food group.
- Member of the International Meat Trade Association
1844
W. Saunders established.
1933
Incorporated as W. Saunders (Haulage) Ltd.
1983
Renamed W. Saunders (Shipping & Forwarding) Ltd.
2003
John Bowler joins the business and becomes a director.
2012
Authorised Economic Operator status from HMRC, and membership of the International Meat Trade Association.
2024
Hine Freight Services, a fellow customs and forwarding firm, joins W. Saunders.
What importers ask us
Something specific to your goods or route? Call the Felixstowe team on 01394 672244.
Do you only clear goods at Felixstowe?
No. We’re based in Felixstowe, but direct links to the UK port community systems mean we work at every UK sea and air port, including Tilbury, Southampton and Liverpool.
Can you pre-notify my consignment on IPAFFS?
Yes. As your agent we raise the IPAFFS notification and the CHED for your consignment, and quote it on the customs entry. Products of animal origin must be pre-notified at least one working day before they arrive, so send us the details as soon as the goods ship.
What documents do I need to import frozen fish or meat?
Usually a commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading or air waybill, and the export health certificate from the country of origin. Producers outside the EU must be approved to export to Great Britain. Send copies early and we check everything before the goods arrive.
Are EU food imports still checked at the border?
Yes, for now. Since 2024 most meat, fish and dairy from the EU have needed a health certificate, IPAFFS pre-notification and risk-based checks at a Border Control Post. The UK and EU are negotiating an SPS agreement, targeted for 2027, that is expected to remove most of these checks. We’ll tell you when anything changes.
Can I use your duty deferment account?
Ask us about it. We run our own substantial duty deferment account, so customs duty can be paid monthly instead of when the goods land. Import VAT can usually go on your VAT return with postponed VAT accounting.
What does your AEO status mean for my goods?
Authorised Economic Operator status means HMRC has audited our customs procedures and approved them. Ours covers customs simplifications. It can mean fewer checks, and priority treatment if goods are selected for examination.
We’re a small importer. Will you take us on?
Yes. We look after multinational companies and the smallest shippers with the same care, whether it’s a single chilled sample by air or containers every week.
How do I track my consignment?
Use with the reference on your documents and your container number, or call us on 01394 672244.
What’s coming in next?
Send the basics and the Felixstowe team will reply with a quote and the checks your goods need.
- Call 01394 672244
- Email info@
wsaunders.co.uk - Office 8 Victoria Street, Felixstowe, Suffolk IP11 7ER
After you send it
- We look at your goods, origin and route.
- We call or email with your quote.
- You send the pre-alert when the goods ship.