Welcome to our LEO e-News!

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Importer Security Filing and Additional Carrier Requirements (ISF “10+2”), which apply to import cargo arriving to the United States by ocean vessel, went into effect on January 26, 2009.  These requirements were enacted in order to help improve the safety and security control of imported cargo shipments.  Importers are required to submit 10 data elements 24 hours prior to loading and supplement the container stuffing location and consolidation information 24 hours prior to vessels’ arrival at US port.

Importers have been allowed to enjoy a 12-month flexible enforcement period which will end on January 26, 2010.  After that, CBP will strictly enforce the rules and any failure to comply, such as inaccurate, incomplete or untimely filing and amendment of shipment information after the required deadline could result in:

• monetary penalties of US$5,000 per violation
• increased inspections upon shipment arrival
• delay of cargo shipment and possible seizure as CBP may withhold the release or transfer of the cargo shipment
• blacklisting of non-compliant ISF Importers who are defined as the goods’ owner, purchaser, consignee, or agent such as a licensed customs broker

At Leo, we have the necessary procedures in place to facilitate our shipment documentation and declaration handling.  Any incomplete, insufficient and amendment of shipment information may result in the delay of bulk deliveries and the aforementioned side-effects.  We would like to take this opportunity to remind you for any of your shipments being imported into the U.S., we need you to submit all of the shipment information details to us prior to the following mentioned date of each individual shipment scheduled.   

To avoid delays of your cargo shipment it is recommended to carry out any bulk inspections 48 hours prior to the ex-factory date or finalize all advance requirements 10 days prior to the ex-factory date.  Different vessels and ocean freight forwarders may have different closing cut-off date requirements so please reserve sufficient processing lead-time and feel free to check with our sales and shipping representatives, if needed.

In China a similar security control measure, Decree No. 172 of General Administration of Customs (Measures for Manifest Administration for Inbound and Outbound Means of Transportation of The People’s Republic of China), went into effect on January 1, 2009 to protect and improve imports and exports cargo control while reducing the risk of terrorism.  So far the smooth implementation has been a result of you and your forwarders’ cooperation in fulfilling the requirement of providing all the necessary shipment information details 48 hours prior to the shipment closing cut-off date for our customs declaration handling.  Unlike the ISF “10+2”, which effects U.S. bound ocean shipments, Decree No. 172 applies to any means of transportation into and out of China.  All shipments manufactured by Leo are bound by this rule so please take this additional processing lead-time requirement into account during your print purchase planning and scheduling.  We always appreciate your timely provision of the required shipment information details which helps us comply with the subject rules accordingly.

We shall continue to keep a close eye and provide any additional updates to help keep you informed.  For more information about the ISF and the Decree No. 172 of General Administration of Customs, please visit the websites at
www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/trade/cargo_security/carriers/security_filing/ and
http://english.customs.gov.cn/publish/portal191/tab3972/module21538/info162113.htm.
Please feel free to check with our sales representatives for more details, if needed.