[Code of Federal Regulations]

[Title 19, Volume 1]

[Revised as of April 1, 2005]

From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access

[CITE: 19CFR123.91]



[Page 673-674]

 

                        TITLE 19--CUSTOMS DUTIES

 

   CHAPTER I--BUREAU OF CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION, DEPARTMENT OF 

              HOMELAND SECURITY; DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

 

PART 123_CUSTOMS RELATIONS WITH CANADA AND MEXICO--Table of Contents

 

    Subpart J_Advance Information for Cargo Arriving by Rail or Truck

 

Sec.  123.91  Electronic information for rail cargo required in advance 

of arrival.



    Source: CBP Dec. 03-32, 68 FR 68173, Dec. 5, 2003, unless otherwise 

noted.





    (a) General requirement. Pursuant to section 343(a), Trade Act of 

2002, as amended (19 U.S.C. 2071 note), and subject to paragraph (e) of 

this section, for any train requiring a train sheet under Sec.  123.6, 

that will have commercial cargo aboard, Customs and Border Protection 

(CBP) must electronically receive from the rail carrier certain 

information concerning the incoming cargo, as enumerated in paragraph 

(d) of this section, no later than 2 hours prior to the cargo reaching 

the first port of arrival in the United States. Specifically, to effect 

the advance electronic transmission of the required rail cargo 

information to CBP, the rail carrier must use a CBP-approved electronic 

data interchange system.

    (1) Through cargo in transit to a foreign country. Cargo arriving by 

train for transportation in transit across the United States from one 

foreign country to another; and cargo arriving by train for 

transportation through the United States from point to point in the same 

foreign country are subject to the advance electronic information filing 

requirement for incoming cargo under paragraph (a) of this section.

    (2) Cargo under bond. Cargo that is to be unladed from the arriving 

train and entered, in bond, for exportation, or for transportation and 

exportation, in another vehicle or conveyance is also subject to the 

advance electronic information filing requirement under paragraph (a) of 

this section.

    (b) Exception; cargo in transit from point to point in the United 

States. Domestic cargo transported by train to one port from another in 

the United States by way of Canada or Mexico is not subject to the 

advance electronic information filing requirement for incoming cargo 

under paragraph (a) of this section.

    (c) Incoming rail carrier--(1) Receipt of data; acceptance of cargo. 

As a pre-requisite to accepting the cargo, the carrier must receive, 

from the foreign shipper and owner of the cargo or from a freight 

forwarder, as applicable, any necessary cargo shipment information, as 

listed in paragraph (d) of this section, for electronic transmission to 

CBP.

    (2) Accuracy of information received by rail carrier. Where the rail 

carrier electronically presenting the cargo information required in 

paragraph (d) of this section receives any of this information from 

another party, CBP will take into consideration how, in accordance with 

ordinary commercial practices, the rail carrier acquired such 

information, and whether and how the carrier is able to verify this 

information. Where the rail carrier is not reasonably able to verify 

such information, CBP will permit the carrier to electronically present 

the information on the basis of what the carrier reasonably believes to 

be true.

    (d) Cargo information required. The rail carrier must electronically 

transmit to CBP the following information for all required incoming 

cargo that will arrive in the United States by train:

    (1) The rail carrier identification SCAC code (the unique Standard 

Carrier Alpha Code assigned for each carrier by the National Motor 

Freight Traffic Association; see Sec.  4.7a(c)(2)(iii) of this chapter);

    (2) The carrier-assigned conveyance name, equipment number and trip 

number;

    (3) The scheduled date and time of arrival of the train at the first 

port of entry in the United States;

    (4) The numbers and quantities of the cargo laden aboard the train 

as contained in the carrier's bill of lading, either master or house, as 

applicable (this means the quantity of the lowest external packaging 

unit; containers



[[Page 674]]



and pallets do not constitute acceptable information; for example, a 

container holding 10 pallets with 200 cartons should be described as 200 

cartons);

    (5) A precise cargo description (or the Harmonized Tariff Schedule 

(HTS) number(s) to the 6-digit level under which the cargo is classified 

if that information is received from the shipper) and weight of the 

cargo; or, for a sealed container, the shipper's declared description 

and weight of the cargo (generic descriptions, specifically those such 

as ``FAK'' (``freight of all kinds''), ``general cargo,'' and ``STC'' 

(``said to contain'') are not acceptable);

    (6) The shipper's complete name and address, or identification 

number, from the bill(s) of lading (for each house bill in a 

consolidated shipment, the identity of the foreign vendor, supplier, 

manufacturer, or other similar party is acceptable (and the address of 

the foreign vendor, etc., must be a foreign address); by contrast, the 

identity of the carrier, freight forwarder, consolidator, or broker, is 

not acceptable; the identification number will be a unique number to be 

assigned by CBP upon the implementation of the Automated Commercial 

Environment);

    (7) The complete name and address of the consignee, or 

identification number, from the bill(s) of lading (The consignee is the 

party to whom the cargo will be delivered in the United States. However, 

in the case of cargo shipped ``to order of [a named party],'' the 

carrier must identify this named ``to order'' party as the consignee; 

and, if there is any other commercial party listed in the bill of lading 

for delivery or contact purposes, the carrier must also report this 

other commercial party's identity and contact information (address) in 

the ``Notify Party'' field of the advance electronic data transmission 

to CBP, to the extent that the CBP-approved electronic data interchange 

system is capable of receiving this data. The identification number will 

be a unique number assigned by CBP upon implementation of the Automated 

Commercial Environment);

    (8) The place where the rail carrier takes possession of the cargo 

shipment;

    (9) Internationally recognized hazardous material code when such 

materials are being shipped by rail;

    (10) Container numbers (for containerized shipments) or the rail car 

numbers; and

    (11) The seal numbers for all seals affixed to containers and/or 

rail cars to the extent that CBP's data system can accept this 

information (for example, if a container has more than two seals, and 

only two seal numbers can be accepted through the system per container, 

the carrier's electronic presentation of two of these seal numbers for 

the container would be considered as constituting full compliance with 

this data element).

    (e) Date for compliance with this section. Rail carriers must 

commence the advance electronic transmission to CBP of the required 

cargo information, 90 days from the date that CBP publishes notice in 

the Federal Register informing affected carriers that the approved 

electronic data interchange system is in place and operational at the 

port of entry where the train will first arrive in the United States.