U.S. CUSTOMS ALLOWS SPLIT SHIPMENTS UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS

U.S. CUSTOMS ALLOWS SPLIT SHIPMENTS UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS

   U.S. Customs will allow importers, under certain conditions, to submit a single import entry for shipments split by carriers for transport.

   The practice of splitting shipments is most common in the air transport industry. U.S. Customs understands that airlines routinely face limited space, weight and balance concerns, and other safety issues with cargo, which are largely out of the importers’ control.

   “Generally speaking, a split shipment consists of merchandise that is capable of being transported on a single conveyance, and that is delivered to and accepted by a carrier in the exporting country as one shipment under one bill of lading or waybill, and is thus intended by the importer to arrive as a single shipment,” the agency said. “However, the shipment is thereafter divided by the carrier into different parts which arrive in the United States at different times, often days apart.”

   Customs regulations ordinarily require that all merchandise arriving on one conveyance and consigned to one consignee be included on one entry.

   The agency was authorized to accommodate split shipments under the 2000 Tariff Suspension and Trade Act. Importers with split shipments may now provide Customs with either an entry or special permit for immediate delivery, or special permit prior to arrival of entire shipment.

   For more information, contact Robert Watt of Customs’ Office of Field Operations at (202) 927-0279.