U.S. Customs 24-Hour Advance Vessel Manifest Rule

What is this rule?

The U.S. Customs Service has published the 24-Hour Advance Vessel Manifest Rule, which requires:

Carriers and NVOCCs to submit a cargo declaration to the U.S. Customs 24 hours before cargo is loaded onto vessels with a port of call in the United States.

The purpose of the rule is to enable U.S. Customs to analyse container content information before a container is loaded and thereby decide on its load/do not load status in advance. In case of non-compliance with the rule, the most important consequence is denial of loading or unloading and a consequent disruption of cargo flows and supply chains. Furthermore the U.S. Customs may impose fines or other penalties on the Carriers and others responsible for the submission of cargo declarations to U.S. Customs.

The rule became effective 2 December 2002 and fully enforced as of 2 February 2003.

For more information on the 24-Hour Advance Vessel Manifest Rule:

U.S. Customs: 24-Hour Advance Vessel Manifest Rule
World Shipping Council

The Scope of the Rule

The 24-Hour Advance Vessel Manifest Rule applies to:

All vessels which will call at a U.S. port.
All cargo destined for the U.S. or carried via U.S. ports to a non-U.S. destination.

The rule applies whether the load port is a CSI (Container Security Initiative) port or not.

The rule does not apply to:

Feeder or transshipment vessels without a port call in the U.S. However, the 24-hour advance manifest rule does apply when the cargo is transshipped onto a vessel with a port of call in the U.S
Bulk shipments, as defined in the regulations.

Information required by U.S. Customs

To fulfil our responsibilities when submitting cargo declarations to the U.S. Customs, the following are required from our customers (shippers/agents):

1. A precise description of the cargo or the 6-digit Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) number under which the cargo is classified and weight of the cargo, OR:

2. For a sealed container, the shipper's declared description and weight of the cargo.

3. Generic descriptions such as `FAK´ (freight of all kinds), `STC´ (said to contain), `general cargo´, `toys´, `chemicals´ and similar are not acceptable.

4. Quantity of cargo expressed by the lowest external packaging unit. Containers and pallets are not acceptable units; e.g. a container containing 10 pallets with 200 cartons should be described as 200 cartons.

5. Shipper's complete name and address or ACE identification number (unique number assigned by U.S. Customs upon the implementation of the Automated Commercial Environment) from all bills of lading.

6. Complete name and address of the consignee, owner or owner's representative or ACE identification number, from all bills of lading.

7. Internationally recognized hazardous material code where applicable.

8. Container numbers and seal numbers for all seals affixed to containers.

For valid and invalid cargo descriptions see U.S. Customs:

Frequently Asked Questions on the 24-Hour Rule

How Maersk Logistics comply with this rule

With our dedicated electronic systems and as an Automated Manifest System (AMS) participant, we submit the required cargo declarations to the U.S. Customs in a correct, quick and secure fashion.

In order to create the cargo declarations, we are required to receive information from our customers in advance of the local reporting deadline.

Dedicated staff across the world have been trained to handle customer enquiries about the 24-Hour rule.

We continue to work with government agencies to urge an integrated, coherent, long-term approach to legislation and regulations that improve security. We fully support safeguarding commerce and the infrastructure, which we believe is best accomplished through consistent and coordinated approaches from various government agencies.

Shipper's Responsibilities

Maersk Logistics is ready to advise you on the 24-Hour Advance Vessel Manifest Rule and its implications in order to secure the timely arrival of your cargo. At the same time, we strongly recommend that you become acquainted with the rule, explore these webpages and follow the overall guidelines listed below when shipping cargo to the United States:

Ensure the correct and timely submission of the required information.
Be as specific as possible with cargo descriptions on all documentation.
Ensure that correct seal numbers are reported, i.e the last attached container seal number(s) prior to loading of the container.

For more information:

U.S. Customs: 24-Hour Advance Vessel Manifest Rule
U.S. Customs: Frequently Asked Questions on the 24-Hour Rule
World Shipping Council
Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS)

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