VES-1-RR:BSTC:CCI H020262 CK
Mr. Temple Martin
Manager, ISS Global AMS Service Center
Inchcape Shipping Services
2323 NW Suffolk Street
Suite 200
Portland, OR 97210
RE: Bulk Shipments; Manifest Quantities; Entry Quantities; 19 CFR 4.7a
Dear Mr. Martin:
This is in response to your correspondence dated November 19, 2007, in which you seek a ruling as to how bulk shipment quantities should be reported. Our response follows.
FACTS:
Inchcape Shipping Service (“ISS”) is the agent of Handytankers K/S, owners of the Singaporean-flagged tanker MAERSK BERING. The tanker is under charter to Chevron. ISS files the vessel manifest with Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) for the MAERSK BERING via the Automated Manifest System (“AMS”).
ISS has been manifesting bulk oil shipments of a tank or portion of a tank as a quantity of one (1) in bulk in AMS. Recently, ISS manifested the cargo quantity as 1 in bulk for its client in Southern California and the customs broker filed the entry documents reporting the quantity of the same bulk product in barrels. A local vessel agent for the MAERSK BERING contacted the CBP office at the Port of Long Beach, which advised that the vessel could enter the port and discharge, but no cargo was to leave the terminal until the customs broker had amended their entry to match the AMS filing with respect to the quantity reported.
You state that the vessel owners decided not to allow the vessel to go into the port because the terminal could not guarantee that the cargo would not leave their facility until after the amended entry had been filed.
You further state that the charterers have objected to your manifesting bulk shipments as a quantity of 1 in AMS stating that their broker has advised them that he has always entered cargo as barrels and had demanded that the AMS provider change the AMS filing quantity to barrels. The charterers believe that they are required to report quantity measurements on the entry documents in the same terms as the bill of lading. It is your understanding that the AMS filing should reflect a quantity of 1 for bulk shipments and the appropriate gross weight based on the product rather than reflect barrels as a measurement.
ISSUE:
What quantity measurement should be used when reporting bulk shipments in the Automated Manifest System, and are the entry documents for the merchandise required to use the same units of measurement.
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
The regulatory requirements for reporting manifest quantities through the Vessel Automated Manifest System ( Sea AMS) in order to comply with the advance cargo declaration transmitting requirements are found in section 4.7a(c)(4)(v) of the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) regulations (19 CFR 4.7a(c)(4)(v)). That section provides in pertinent part, that the electronic transmission must state the following:
The numbers and quantities from the carrier's ocean bills of lading, either master or house, as applicable (this means that the carrier must transmit the quantity of the lowest external packaging unit; containers and pallets are not acceptable manifested quantities; for example, a container containing 10 pallets with 200 cartons should be manifested as 200 cartons);
19 CFR 4.7a(c)(4)(v)
For liquid bulk shipments the lowest possible external unit is one (1) tank or a portion of a tank.
Section 4.7a(c)(1) of the CBP regulations (19 CFR 4.7a(c)(1)) requires that the gross weight or appropriate unit of measure according to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States of the cargo must also be supplied on the advance cargo declaration (CBPF 1302 or CBP-approved electronic equivalent, i.e., Sea AMS), and it states in pertinent part:
The cargo described in column Nos. 6 and 7, and either column No. 8 or 9, shall refer to the respective bills of lading. Either column No. 8 or column No. 9 shall be used, as appropriate. The gross weight in column No. 8 shall be expressed in either pounds or kilograms. The measurement in column No. 9 shall be expressed according to the unit of measure specified in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) (19 U.S.C. 1202).
19 CFR 4.7a(c)(1)
Additionally, for operational purposes in order to address the needs of the tanker ships and break bulk carriers, the weight units in Sea AMS previously only available in pounds and kilograms have been expanded to include the following:
T=Long Ton
S=Short Ton
E=Metric Ton
M=Measurement Ton
The carrier must transmit a separate bill of lading for each consignee and for each location where the ship will discharge the bulk product. Thus, based on the CBP regulations cited above, the carrier for each bill of lading for a liquid bulk shipment of a single tank or a portion of a single tank should report in Sea AMS a quantity of one (1) and express the gross weight in one of the appropriate measurement units listed above.
As for customs brokers, they too are required to place the manifest quantity in the appropriate field on the CBP entry document. On the CBPF 3461 (Entry/Immediate Delivery Document) this is box number 23. On the CBPF 7501 (Entry Summary Document) this is box number 30B for manifest quantity and 30A for gross weight. The net quantity for purposes of the HTSUS is also required in box 31 on the CBPF 7501. Thus, the manifest quantity is also required on the entry documents. The manifest quantity for the entry documents is the same calculation as for Sea AMS; a quantity of (1) suffices for a single tank or portion of a single tank, and for the CBPF 7501 the appropriate gross weight measurement units.
It is incumbent upon the customs broker, or any person making entry using the above-referenced forms, that the manifest quantity and gross weight reported on the entry documents match those numbers reported by the carrier via Sea AMS. Failure to report matching manifest quantities and gross weight, where appropriate, on the entry documents, as those submitted previously by the carrier in Sea AMS can result in CBP not granting release of the merchandise covered in the entry.
HOLDING:
When reporting bulk shipments via Sea AMS, the quantity measurement should be the lowest external packaging unit. For shipments of one tank or a portion of one tank, CBP will accept a quantity of one (1) in bulk with the gross weight of the shipment in one of the appropriate measurement units listed above. The entry documents for the same merchandise should reflect the same manifest quantities and gross weight, if required, as those reported via Sea AMS.
Sincerely,
Glen E. Vereb
Chief
Cargo Security, Carriers & Immigration Branch