JOHN S. CONNOR, INC. HELPING YOU THROUGH THE CRITICAL MAZE OF 10+2 AND THE REQUIRED IMPORTER SECURITY FILING
On January 2, 2008, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that would require importers and carriers to electronically submit an Importer Security Filing (ISF) and Additional Carrier Requirements (commonly referred to as 10+2) before cargo is permitted entry into the United States by vessel. 10 + 2 will drastically change how Importers operate if for no other reason than it mandates new data elements which must be filed 24 hours prior to loading at the port of export. The Importer Security Filing (ISF) requires ten data elements while the carrier requirements are two additional data elements concerning cargo that will be imported into the United States.
The ten data elements required in the Importer Security Filing (ISF) include:
- Manufacturer's (or supplier's) name and address
- Seller's (or owner's) name and address
- Buyer's (or owner's) name and address
- Ship-to name and address
- Container stuffing location
- Consolidator (stuffer) name and address
- Importer of record number/foreign trade zone applicant identification number
- Consignee number(s)
- Country of origin
- Commodity Harmonized Tariff Schedule number
- A vessel stow plan that transmits information about the cargo's physical location on a vessel bound for the United States
- Container status messages, which report container movements and change in status(e.g., container empty or full).
As stated above, the drastic change for importers is this data must be reported 24 hours prior to loading. Importers naturally have raised reasonable questions such as what happens if I try my best but am unable to obtain the information, or it turns out to be wrong. You must obtain the information relying on due diligence and if you find out it was wrong and the shipment has not yet arrived, you must update your Importer Security Filing (ISF).
Importers will report these filings through AMS (manifest) or ABI (entry), the current platforms used by carriers and customs brokers. As both an AMS and ABI filer, John S. Connor is engaged in updating our software to accommodate these changes.
The other noteworthy topic was the portion of the NPRM which deals with penalties. If the vessel stow plan is not filed, the liquidated damages will be $50,000 for each vessel arrival. Liquidated damages for the failure to provide Container Status Messages is set at $5,000 per violation, $100,000 per vessel arrival. If you are the importer and fail to meet the ISF requirements, your fine will be the value of the imported merchandise.
CBP is placing the burden of responsibility on the importer or their authorized agent to file this information and to be in control of their supply chain. John S. Connor will be prepared to support our clients in complying with this new regulation and the filing of same.
Implementation of 10+2 is currently proposed for later this year. John S. Connor, Inc. will continue to stay on top of this critical maze of new data elements and keeping you updated accordingly.