BONNER WARNS INDUSTRY TO BE READY FOR 24-HOUR RULE ENFORCEMENT
U.S. Customs Commissioner Robert C. Bonner has issued a strong warning to the shipping industry: comply with the agency’s new advance manifest regulation by Feb. 2 or face penalties.
Effective Dec. 2, Customs requires both vessel operators and non-vessel-operating common carriers to file their cargo manifests to the agency 24 hours prior to loading on ships overseas. However, Customs gave the shipping industry a 60-day grace period to comply with the regulation before it would begin issuing penalties.
“On Feb. 2, the grace period is over,” said Bonner at an evening press briefing in Washington Jan. 9. “We are going to begin enforcing the regulation.”
Customs’ actions for non-compliance with the 24-hour rule include denying permits for vessel operators to unload containers and even the issuance of penalties against vessel operators, NVOs and shippers.
Many vessel operators, and especially the NVOs in recent months, have made investments in their systems to provide manifest information to Customs through its Automated Manifest System. The agency has already seen a high level of compliance by the industry since the 24-hour rule took effect.
However, Bonner said there are still enough non-compliant shippers in certain ports of the world to raise the agency’s concern. “We need full compliance — that’s the long and short of it,” he said.
Since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the U.S. security officials have been concerned that terrorists may carry out future attacks against the country by transporting weapons of mass destruction inside ocean containers.
Bonner said the implementation of the 24-hour rule was to improve national security. “Compliance with that rule in my judgment protects the American people from terrorists that may use oceangoing cargo containers,” he said.
“There is an urgency to make this happen without any further or significant delay,” Bonner added.
Customs will take into consideration those “good faith” efforts made by vessel operators and NVOs when non-compliance issues emerge.
The agency expects most non-compliance issues to result from the timeliness of the filed manifest information and adequate cargo descriptions. “The days of F.A.K. (freight all kinds) are over,” Bonner said.
Customs officials told the shipping industry at the agency’s third annual Trade Symposium in Washington late November that it must either provide a more detailed cargo text description or use the first six digits of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule numbers.
Customs expects vessel operators and NVOs to inform their customers — the shippers — about the 24-hour rule to help them comply.
“I don’t think a carrier will carry a container around the world if it can’t unload it,” Bonner said. “Carriers can take (non-compliant containers) to wherever they want, but they won’t unload them in the United States.”
While there have been no formal requests made to Customs by the shipping industry to extend the 24-hour rule grace-period, Bonner acknowledged that some operators would like more time to comply. “We can’t roll this back any further,” he said.