Manifesting and Cargo Control

Our solution for manifesting and cargo control provides your trading community (including Air Carriers, Ocean Carriers and Shippers) with a common customs ability to file cargo reporting associated with the arrival of each commercial conveyance.  This includes reporting for in-transit shipments, trans-shipments, inland movements, and Free Zone reporting if/as required.  We also provide the configuration for electronic reporting of cargo manifest information associated with the departure of each commercial conveyance for export purposes as desired. 

We format Cargo Transactions in the WCO Data Model “CUSCAR" format to ensure compliance with the latest standards. Once filed per your Customs regulations, we configure the technology to link to the appropriate importer declaration(s) when filed by an importer of broker.  If no declaration is on file, the application flags those shipments as “in bond” (i.e. in a sufferance area, bonded warehouse, or customs controlled) area until duties and taxes have been paid, or exported after a predetermined period of time usually identified in your customs legislation. 

When payment of duties and taxes has been made, (and pending no admissibility concerns) the goods can be released.  Our solution can be configured with (or without) the declaration processing system to trigger a delivery authority to release the shipment from the bonded terminal or warehouse.  In some countries, the goods can also be allowed to move in land and “in-bond” on a bonded carrier to a bonded or sufferance warehouse at an inland location.  As such, our cargo control solution provides a capability to re-manifest the goods and indicate a status change notification in the system for an in bond movement from the port to an inland clearance location.    When the shipment is re-manifested and approved by a Customs officer in the system, a notification of movement approval is created and sent to the originator of the request. Simultaneously a movement tracking update indication can be triggered in the system.

Our facility for information exchange can be done through a variety of options available includingsubmission of XML or CSV message data.  Our current online web portal within our ESW platform can be extended for transmission of arrival/departure messages via a web portal as desired and confirmed during the design phase of the project.  Electronic filing of manifest and cargo data in CUSCAR format is also made available to ESW users who are authenticated in the system.  The filing can be validated and stored with a status message provided to the sender acknowledging receipt or rejection based on edit rules.  Manifest and cargo reporting in this domain can be handled effectively for imports, exports, inland movements, free zone management and in-transit / trans-shipment movements, for both air and sea transport. 

Bond Management

Our cargo control and manifesting solution also provides a capability for managing the in-bond movement of goods. Within the application is a function for Traders and warehouse operators to request and apply for a bond online to store dutiable goods.  This provides an ability to apply/request, approve, and manage a 1) one-time bond application, or 2) longer term applications for traders and or warehouse operators to store or move bonded goods over a specific period of time, specific commodities, and can impose limits on the amount of goods that can be stored or moved which is often based on a larger monetary bond posted for the full amount of duties and taxes that can be stored at any given moment in time.

The system can automate an online electronic submission of bond request information and approval for the bond, and respond to the requestor with an acknowledgment message.  The type of bond can be identified as warehouse, perishable goods, free zone, etc.  A bond number can be generated, activated and can also be cancelled.  The application can automate the validation of the application and store it.  The online bond application can then be presented to a “reviewer” (e.g. customs officer, superintendent, or other administrator defined by Customs).  The reviewer can approve the application or reject it for more information and edit the file including the bond balance. 

A bond can be cancelled and a reason for the cancellation can be appended to the file.  Prohibited and or controlled goods can be identified by the 3CE Tariff and Regulatory Trade Data Management platform with notes to recommend, deny, or prevent specific commodities from being held in bond in certain circumstances (high risk goods, hazardous materials, endangered species, plants or flora, etc.) Basic management reports can be created to generate reports on inventory including goods still under bond including the amount of duties, taxes, and other fees outstanding.

Bonded commercial entities such as air, land, and ocean carriers are normally required to apply online for a bond application as well.  The process will follow the same functionality provided for warehouses, and free zones and be required specifically when a commercial entity desired to move goods outside of the free zone temporarily. 

As in a bonded warehouse scenario, the ownership of goods can also change while situated in a free zone. Our application will allow for a change of ownership and other desired elements by Customs.  As one example, a cargo report can be filed with a consignee reported as “Goods to Order Shipper” or Goods to be sold on the high seas”.  Foodstuffs or perishables are sometimes shipped towards the region where a shipper expects to sell the goods on route and an auction takes place after the goods are shipped.  When a buyer emerges, the cargo report should be updated with the new consignee and delivery address and trans-shipped accordingly.  As data will change during the supply chain timeline, our solution will provide functionality for the data to be changed and updated in a timely manner.

Bonded Warehousing

In most instances, goods generally remain in bond until an applicable declaration is filed for accounting and regulatory purposes to release the goods into the economy of the sovereign territory.  Within our bond application process we provide an automated online application and approval process from warehouse operators (including ship chandlers, ship stores, and duty free shops). 

The registration and licensing of a bonded warehouse can be set up to manage electronic reporting of goods being entered or removed from a commercial bonded or sufferance warehouse, logging of audits and examinations performed by customs, and permitting changes to the reporting to allow for changes in ownership, destruction of bonded goods, repacking or other activities.  Any changes of status within this information notifies an administrator (assigned by Customs).

We also provide an ability for a customs inspection report for warehouse audits or inspections.  Our application provides a reporting capability for all duty free goods entering any warehouse (bonded, sufferance, duty free, customs warehouse, etc.) and can collapse these items into an inventory report as needed for audit purposes. the system also provides the capability to change the status of the goods which might include some or all of the following:

• Declaration filed by an importer who pays the applicable duty and taxes owed on the goods for customs release.
• Goods become damaged
• Electronic packaging is added or removed from the goods (e.g. cigarettes/tobacco).
• Change in ownership
• Goods are re-exported
• Goods are auctioned or sold (with a reconciliation to the manifest).

Want to learn more?  Contact us.