1. The pattern
An exporter ships a licensed product monthly to the same consignee.
Each shipment needs its own licence.
2. The administrative load
Applications, technical documents, end-user statements.
3. What the loading revealed
Repeated documents
The same technical specification submitted each time.
The end-user statement
Reissued each time, and its date had to be recent.
The quantity ceiling
Each licence carries a quantity, and shipments must stay within it.
4. The risk
A shipment that exceeds the licence quantity.
5. The scenario
An exporter shipped a partial consignment and then a full consignment against the same licence, without checking the remaining balance.
6. The lesson
Licences have balances and they are finite.
7. What to build
A licence register: number, goods, quantity, value, consignee, expiry, balance used.
8. Closing view
The register is a page in a spreadsheet.
Without it, the balance is a guess.
*This article is based on China’s export licensing administration.*