[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: 19CFR4.7]



[Page 13-16]

 

                        TITLE 19--CUSTOMS DUTIES

 

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

              HOMELAND SECURITY; DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

 

PART 4_VESSELS IN FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC TRADES--Table of Contents

 

Sec.  4.7  Inward foreign manifest; production on demand; contents and 

form; advance filing of cargo declaration.



    (a) The master of every vessel arriving in the United States and 

required to make entry shall have on board his vessel a manifest, as 

required by section 431, Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1431), and by 

this section. The manifest shall be legible and complete. If it is in a 

foreign language, an English translation shall be furnished with the 

original and with any required copies. The manifest shall consist of a 

Vessel Entrance or Clearance Statement, Customs Form 1300, and the 

following documents: (1) Cargo Declaration, Customs Form 1302, (2) 

Ship's Stores Declaration, Customs Form 1303, (3) Crew's Effects 

Declaration, Customs Form 1304, or, optionally, a copy of the Crew List, 

Customs and Immigration Form I-418, to which are attached crewmember's 

declarations on Customs Form 5129, (4) Crew List, Customs and 

Immigration Form I-418, and (5) Passenger List, Customs and Immigration 

Form I-418. Any document which is not required may be omitted from the 

manifest provided the word ``None'' is inserted in items 16, 18, and/or 

19 of the Vessel Entrance or Clearance Statement, as appropriate. If a 

vessel arrives in ballast and therefore the Cargo Declaration is 

omitted, the legend ``No merchandise on board'' shall be inserted in 

item 16 of the Vessel Entrance or Clearance Statment.

    (b)(1) With the exception of any Cargo Declaration that has been 

filed in advance as prescribed in paragraph (b)(2) of this section, the 

original and one copy of the manifest must be ready for production on 

demand. The master shall deliver the original and one copy of the 

manifest to the Customs officer who shall first demand it. If the vessel 

is to proceed from the port of arrival to other United States ports with 

residue foreign cargo or passengers, an additional copy of the manifest 

shall be available for certification as a traveling manifest (see Sec.  

4.85). The port director may require an additional copy or additional 

copies of the manifest, but a reasonable time shall be allowed for the 

preparation of any copy which may be required in addition to the 

original and one copy.

    (2) Subject to the effective date provided in paragraph (b)(5) of 

this section, and with the exception of any bulk or authorized break 

bulk cargo as prescribed in paragraph (b)(4) of this section, Customs 

and Border Protection (CBP) must receive from the incoming carrier, for 

any vessel covered under paragraph (a) of this section, the CBP-approved 

electronic equivalent of the vessel's Cargo Declaration (Customs Form 

1302), 24 hours before the cargo is laden aboard the vessel at the 

foreign port (see Sec.  4.30(n)(1)). The current approved system for 

presenting electronic cargo declaration information to CBP is the Vessel 

Automated Manifest System (AMS).

    (3)(i) Where a non-vessel operating common carrier (NVOCC), as 

defined in



[[Page 14]]



paragraph (b)(3)(ii) of this section, delivers cargo to the vessel 

carrier for lading aboard the vessel at the foreign port, the NVOCC, if 

licensed by or registered with the Federal Maritime Commission and in 

possession of an International Carrier Bond containing the provisions of 

Sec.  113.64 of this chapter, may electronically transmit the 

corresponding required cargo manifest information directly to Customs 

through the Vessel Automated Manifest System (AMS) that must be received 

24 or more hours before the related cargo is laden aboard the vessel at 

the foreign port (see Sec.  113.64(c) of this chapter); in the 

alternative, the NVOCC must fully disclose and present the required 

manifest information for the related cargo to the vessel carrier which, 

is required to present this information to Customs via the vessel AMS 

system.

    (ii) A non-vessel operating common carrier (NVOCC) means a common 

carrier that does not operate the vessels by which the ocean 

transportation is provided, and is a shipper in its relationship with an 

ocean common carrier. The term ``non-vessel operating common carrier'' 

does not include freight forwarders as defined in part 112 of this 

chapter.

    (iii) Where the party electronically presenting to CBP the cargo 

information required in Sec.  4.7a(c)(4) receives any of this 

information from another party, CBP will take into consideration how, in 

accordance with ordinary commercial practices, the presenting party 

acquired such information, and whether and how the presenting party is 

able to verify this information. Where the presenting party is not 

reasonably able to verify such information, CBP will permit the party to 

electronically present the information on the basis of what the party 

reasonably believes to be true.

    (4) Carriers of bulk cargo as specified in paragraph (b)(4)(i) of 

this section and carriers of break bulk cargo to the extent provided in 

paragraph (b)(4)(ii) of this section are exempt with respect to that 

cargo from the requirement set forth in paragraph (b)(2) of this section 

that a cargo declaration be filed with Customs 24 hours before such 

cargo is laden aboard the vessel at the foreign port. Any carriers of 

bulk or break bulk cargo that are exempted from the filing requirement 

of paragraph (b)(2) of this section must present their cargo 

declarations to Customs 24 hours prior to arrival in the U.S. if they 

are participants in the vessel AMS program, or upon arrival if they are 

non-automated carriers. These carriers must still report 24 hours in 

advance of loading any containerized or non-qualifying break bulk cargo 

they will be transporting.

    (i) A carrier is exempt from the filing requirement of paragraph 

(b)(2) of this section with respect to the bulk cargo it is 

transporting. Bulk cargo is defined for purposes of this section as 

homogeneous cargo that is stowed loose in the hold and is not enclosed 

in any container such as a box, bale, bag, cask, or the like. Such cargo 

is also described as bulk freight. Specifically, bulk cargo is composed 

of either:

    (A) Free flowing articles such as oil, grain, coal, ore, and the 

like, which can be pumped or run through a chute or handled by dumping; 

or

    (B) Articles that require mechanical handling such as bricks, pig 

iron, lumber, steel beams, and the like.

    (ii) A carrier of break bulk cargo may apply for an exemption from 

the filing requirement of paragraph (b)(2) of this section with respect 

to the break bulk cargo it will be transporting. For purposes of this 

section, break bulk cargo is cargo that is not containerized, but which 

is otherwise packaged or bundled.

    (A) To apply for an exemption, the carrier must submit a written 

request for exemption to the U.S. Customs Service, National Targeting 

Center, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20229. Until an 

application for an exemption is granted, the carrier must comply with 

the 24 hour advance manifest requirement set out in paragraph (b)(2) of 

this section. The written request for exemption must clearly set forth 

information such that Customs may assess whether any security concerns 

exist, such as: The carrier's IRS number; the source, identity and means 

of the packaging or bundling of the commodities being shipped; the ports 

of call, both foreign and domestic; the number of vessels the carrier



[[Page 15]]



uses to transport break bulk cargo, along with the names of these 

vessels and their International Maritime Organization numbers; and the 

list of the carrier's importers and shippers, identifying any who are 

members of C-TPAT (The Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism).

    (B) Customs will evaluate each application for an exemption on a 

case by case basis. If Customs, by written response, provides an 

exemption to a break bulk carrier, the exemption is only applicable 

under the circumstances clearly set forth in the application for 

exemption. If circumstances set forth in the approved application 

change, it will be necessary to submit a new application.

    (C) Customs may rescind an exemption granted to a carrier at any 

time.

    (5) Within 90 days of December 5, 2003, all ocean carriers, and 

NVOCCs electing to participate, must be automated on the Vessel AMS 

system at all ports of entry in the United States.

    (c) No Passenger List or Crew List shall be required in the case of 

a vessel arriving from Canada, otherwise than by sea, at a port on the 

Great Lakes or their connecting or tributary waters.

    (d)(1) The master or owner of--

    (i) A vessel documented under the laws of the United States with a 

registry, coastwise license, or Great Lakes license endorsement, or a 

vessel not so documented but intended to be employed in the foreign, 

coastwise, or Great Lakes trade, or

    (ii) A documented vessel with a fishery license endorsement which 

has a permit to touch and trade (see Sec.  4.15) or a vessel with a 

fishery license endorsement lacking a permit to touch and trade but 

intended to engage in trade--



at the port of first arrival from a foreign country shall declare on 

Customs Form 226 any equipment, repair parts, or materials purchased for 

the vessel, or any expense for repairs incurred, outside the United 

States, within the purview of section 466, Tariff Act of 1930, as 

amended (19 U.S.C. 1466). If no equipment, repair parts, or materials 

have been purchased, or repairs made, a declaration to that effect shall 

be made on Customs Form 226.

    (2) If the vessel is at least 500 gross tons, the declaration shall 

include a statement that no work in the nature of a rebuilding or 

alteration which might give rise to a reasonable belief that the vessel 

may have been rebuilt within the meaning of the second proviso to 

section 27, Merchant Marine Act, 1920, as amended (46 U.S.C. 883), has 

been effected which has not been either previously reported or 

separately reported simultaneously with the filing of such declaration. 

The port director shall notify the U.S. Coast Guard vessel documentation 

officer at the home port of the vessel of any work in the nature of a 

rebuilding or alteration, including the construction of any major 

component of the hull or superstructure of the vessel, which comes to 

his attention unless the port director is satisfied that the owner of 

the vessel has filed an application for rebuilt determination as 

required by 46 CFR 67.27-3.

    (3) The declaration shall be ready for production on demand for 

inspection and shall be presented as part of the original manifest when 

formal entry of the vessel is made.

    (e) Failure to provide manifest information; penalties/liquidated 

damages. Any master who fails to provide manifest information as 

required by this section, or who presents or transmits electronically 

any document required by this section that is forged, altered or false, 

or who fails to present or transmit the information required by this 

section in a timely manner, may be liable for civil penalties as 

provided under 19 U.S.C. 1436, in addition to penalties applicable under 

other provisions of law. In addition, if any non-vessel operating common 

carrier (NVOCC) as defined in paragraph (b)(3)(ii) of this section 

elects to transmit cargo manifest information to Customs electronically 

and fails to do so in the manner and in the time period required by 

paragraph (b)(3)(i) of this section, or electronically transmits any 

false, forged or altered document, paper, manifest or data to Customs, 

such NVOCC may be liable for the payment of liquidated damages as 

provided in Sec.  113.64(c) of this chapter, in addition to any other



[[Page 16]]



penalties applicable under other provisions of law.



[T.D. 71-169, 36 FR 12602, July 2, 1971, as amended by T.D. 74-284, 39 

FR 39718, Nov. 11, 1974; T.D. 77-255, 42 FR 56319, Oct. 25, 1977; T.D. 

80-237, 45 FR 64565, Sept. 30, 1980; T.D. 83-214, 48 FR 46511, Oct. 13, 

1983; T.D. 92-74, 57 FR 35751, Aug. 11, 1992; T.D. 00-22, 65 FR 16515, 

Mar. 29, 2000; T.D. 02-62, 67 FR 66331, Oct. 31, 2002; 68 FR 1801, Jan. 

14, 2003; CBP Dec. 03-32, 68 FR 68168, Dec. 5, 2003]