Notify Party with Bill of Lading

  1. Notify party with Bill of Lading (BL) : is issued before leaving foreign port by shipper/ NVOCC /OFF/OTI.
  2. Notify party with arrival notice (an): is issued 5 days before cargo is us by BL agent in us=aka freight forwarder ( NVOCC /OFF/OTI).

Notify party must be list at your Bill of Lading with our info (can be list with multiple notify party):

Notify party must be done, before Bill of Lading is issued. This will help you/us to receive arrival notice from your freight forwarder, 5 days before your shipment is in us and to clear your shipment with U.S. Customs . But, your freight forwarder / NVOCC / carrier / vessel - company is not obligated to notify. Only, consignee/importer is responsible to retrieve arrival notice.

 

Examples of clauses for all Bill of Lading from carrier / vessel / freight forwarder / shipping-company: (only consignee/importer is responsible) the carrier, his agents and servants shall not in any circumstances whatsoever be under any liability for failure to notify the consignee of the arrival of the goods, any custom of the port to the contrary notwithstanding. Any mention in this bill of lading of parties to be notified of the arrival of the goods is solely for information of the carrier. Failure to give such notification shall not subject the carrier to any liability nor relieve the merchant of any obligation hereunder.

 

All shipment are bound to incoterms (pre-arranged to us port/ CFS , before leaving foreign port). To understand why/who importer must pay, before/ after/ during shipping, you must review incoterms/ICC/UNCITRAL and contact issuer of BL / arrival notice. Customs broker is messenger between U.S. Customs and you, only.

Page 1. Bill-of-Lading with Notify Party.
Page 2. Arrival Notice with Notify Party
  1. All importer are bound to incoterms (pre-arranged, 72 hours/3 days before leaving foreign port. Fyi: to calculate weight distribution of vessel, carrier manifest and etc.
  1. Such as: loading onto vessel (foreign forwarder/ issuer of Bill of Lading ), unloading from vessel (us forwarder/ issuer arrival notice of LCL / full) and warehouse / port)
  2. By you accepting an Bill of Lading from your vendors (supplier/factory/shipper/shipping-company), you are bound to incoterms (international commercial terms)
  3. To understand why/what/who importer must pay, before/after/during shipping, importer/buyer must know incoterms (international commercial terms).
  4. Incoterms published by international chamber of commerce (ICC) and recognized by united nations commission on international trade law as global common terms.
  5. If you don't know your own incoterms, contact issuer of Bill of Lading (aka: Bill of Sale ) manufacturers contract agreement (your supplier/factory/shipper/shipping-co)
  6. If you don't know your own incoterms, contact issuer of Bill of Lading (aka: Bill of Sale ) manufacturers contract agreement (your supplier/factory/shipper/shipping-co)
  1. Why can't supplier / factory / shipper / shipping-company arrange us domestic trucking, ISF filing and customs entry.
  1. Most of foreign supplier / shipper (issuer of Bill of Lading ) vary limited contact with domestic trucker and customs broker
  2. Your supplier in business of MFG and your shipping-company in business of shipping, they are not in business of knowing U.S. Customs rule and regulations, we are.

 

Note:

  1. To arrange sea shipping, arranger must be your supplier or licenses by FMC.Gov ( NVOCC / off / oti) = issuer of Bill of Lading / LCL arrival notice / full arrival notice.
  2. To arrange air shipping, arranger must be your supplier or licenses by international air transport association ( IATA ) = issuer of Bill of Lading / air-way-bill ( AWB )
  3. To arrange domestic trucking, arranger must be licenses by FMCSA.Gov (mc# / dot#) / must have "filer-code" from U.S. Customs = issuer of pick-up- Bill of Lading .
  4. To file ISF and customs entry (customs agent / customs broker), filer must have "filer-code" from U.S. Customs = issuer of customs release documents.
  1. To track your shipment (click here) and type in your MBL number.
  1. Example / compare arrival notice (air shipment) (sea LCL shipment) (sea full container shipment) = fees (unloading from vessel and moving to warehouse).

 

Note: if you pay your vendor (supplier/factory), for shipping cost (CIF), you are paying foreign labor to arrange your shipping, normally cost is 10-20% cheaper.

Customs and Border Protection to begin enforcing import security filing on July 9, 2013: Customs and border protection ( CBP ) announced that they will begin full enforcement of importer security filing ( ISF ) regulations on July 9, 2013 and will start issuing liquidated damages against ISF importers and carriers for ISF non-compliance.

Late or inaccurate ISF transmissions: CBP will assess liquidated damages in accordance with the relevant mitigation guidelines which were published in the CBP bulletin on July 17, 2009. There can be multiple errors on an ISF transmission and in accordance with the guidelines, CBP may assess / fines a claim for liquidated damages as follows:

  • $5,000 per late ISF
  • $5,000 per inaccurate ISF , and
  • $5,000 for the first inaccurate ISF update.

Additional statutory penalties may be assessed for serious or repetitive violations.

Failure to file an ISF: Because liquidated damages cannot be assessed for the failure to file an ISF if no bond is in place, CBP will withhold the release or transfer of the cargo until CBP receives the required ISF information and has had the opportunity to review the documentation and conduct any necessary examination. CBP also reserves the right to not permit unlading of merchandise for which no ISF has been filed, and, if such cargo is unladen without permission, it may be subject to seizure.

Statute of limitations: Pursuant to 28 u. S. C. § 2415, the statute of limitations for ISF liquidated damages is six years from the date of the breach of the bond. CBP will not limit its authority to enforce the ISF requirements.

Mitigation guidelines: First violation: if an ISF importer incurs a liquidated damages claim for filing a late or inaccurate ISF or an inaccurate ISF update, the liquidated damages claim may be cancelled upon payment of an amount between $1,000 and $2,000, depending on the presence of mitigating or aggravating factors, if CBP determines that law enforcement goals were not compromised by the violation.

Subsequent violations: if an ISF importer incurs a subsequent liquidated damages claim for filing a late or inaccurate ISF or an inaccurate ISF update, the liquidated damages claim may be cancelled upon payment of an amount not less than $2,500 if CBP determines that law enforcement goals were not compromised by the violation.

No relief will be granted if CBP determines that law enforcement goals were compromised by the violation.

Additional mitigation for C-TPAT participants: an ISF importer which is a certified tier 2 or tier 3 C-TPAT member may receive additional mitigation of up to 50% of the normal mitigation amount, depending upon tier of C-TPAT participation.