Implementation of Module for Transshipment of Cargo from a Seaport to Another Seaport in ICES - Customs - PUBLIC NOTICE NO. 04/2014

OFFICE OF THE COMMISSIONER OF CUSTOMS CUSTOM HOUSE: PORT AREA: VISAKHAPATNAM 530035. S 6 (a)/1815/14- ITP Date: 13.02.2014 PUBLIC NOTICE NO. 04/2014 Subject: Implementation of Module for Transshipment of Cargo from a Seaport to Another Seaport in ICES - Regarding. Kind attention of Importers, Steamer Agents, Terminals, CHAs / Customs Broker, Trade and all other stakeholders is invited to the Public Notice No. 11/2006 dated 27.05.2006 issued regarding implementation of software module for Transshipment of Cargo from port to another port/ICD/CFS and Public Notice Nou 114/98 dated 24.11.1198 regarding computerized processing of Bills of Entry in Indian Customs (EDI) System [ICES]. 2. Currently, a Module exists for Transshipment of FCL cargo from Seaport to ICD/ CFSs in ICES. There will be no change in the procedure for transshipnent movement to {CDs and container movement to CFS. 3. A module for processing of Transshipment of FCL cargo from Seaport to another Seaport in ICES is now implemented in ICES. Transhipment movement may be through Road, Rail or Sea. The salient features and detailed procedure for transshipment of this module is given below: Gateway Port: The port in which the vessel arrived from other countries. Destination Port: The Port for which the containers are transhipped from other sea port (Gateway Port) Destination CFS: The CFS attached to destination port. 4. Features of the Module: The salient features of the module are as follows: 1. Declaration of Destination Port and CFS in IGM. 2. Filing of transshipment request at Service Center of the Gateway Port. 3. Approval of request by Customs Officer and generation of Transshipment Permit. 4. Option to transship cargo either to Destination Port or directly to a CFS associated with the Destination Port. 5. Elimination of local IGM at the Destination Port Site. 5) Steamer Agents / Shipping Lines: a) FRESH FILING OF IGM: For sea to sea transshipment movement, Steamer Agents/ Shipping Lines are requested to follow the changes introduced for filing of IGM/ Consol Manifest and their amendments at Gateway Port Site as follows: i) For transshipment of cargo, the field 'Port of Destination' was earlier restricted to ICD sites only. Now it is open to other Sea Sites also. For sea to sea transshipment, in Port of Destination column, the destination port code has to be furnished. [For Eg. For transshipment to a seaport XXX, Destination Port to be INXXX1] ii) Earlier, CFS movement was allowed only to CFS attached to the local (gateway) port. Now, it is possible to move cargo to a CFS attached to a remote port (destination) also. This will be covered under Sea-to-sea transshipment with extended movement up to a remote CFS. Hence, for cargo movement to CFS attached to remote port, stem will allow to specify CFS Code associated with the Destination Port as mentioned for that line. Thus, for a line, it is now possible to specify both 'Port of Destination' and 'Port of Discharge' parameters. [Port of Destination: INXXX1; port of Discharge: INXXXIXXXI which is CFS code] iii) It is to be noted that the movement to CFS attached to destination port is allowed in this Sea to Sea Transhipment module in ICES, only when transport is uni-modal i.e., transhipment is either through road or rail. When transhipment is multimodal (i.e., it involves two different transport modes i.e Gateway Seaport to destination Seaport through Sea and destination Seaport to destination CFS), this module will take care of transhipment only for Gateway Seaport to Destination Seaport only. Further transhipment from Destination Port to Destination CFS will continue to be through Non-EDI mode. iv) For transshipment to any Indian Site, the parameter 'Cargo Movementmust be given as 'T I'. The code TC' which is meant for Overseas Transshipment cannot be specified for domestic transshipment. For local discharge, 'LC' code to be specified. b) AMENDMENT OF IGM/CONSOL FILING: Above-mentioned changes will also apply for Amendment of Sea [GM, Filing of Consol Manifest and Amendment of Consol Manifest. Earlier, Sea IGM Amendment or Consol Filing was not allowed for any cargo line after approval of TP. For sea-to-ICD transshipment, these restrictions will still continue. However, for sea-to-sea transshipment, it is now possible to file amendment to IGM or submit Consol Manifest, subject to the following conditions: (i) If TP is already approved, modification of Transshipment related parameters like MLO Code are not allowed. (ii) If BE is submitted at the destination site, no change in the IGM at the Gateway Site is allowed with respect to the parameters like Cargo Movement, MLO Code, Destination Port, Destination CFS, Transporter Code, Mode of Transport, Bond No. (iii) If BE goes past OOC stage at the destination site, no change in the IGM at the Gateway Site is allowed with respect to any parameter. 6) TRANSHIPPER - BILL OF TRANSHIPMENT: As per Section 54 of Customs Act, 1962, Transhipper (who may be MLO/SA or Custodian, Transporter) has to file Bill of transshipment (T P) request for transshipment of cargo from current sea site (Gateway Port) to another sea site (Destination Port) or to a CFS attached to the destination site at Service Centre as given below. (i) IGM must have been filed at the Gateway site by the SA. Although not mandatory, it is suggested that Consol manifest may also be filed before the filing of the Transshipment request. (ii) The applicant (or its authorized agent) shall submit the request for transshipment in a paper form annexed with this Public Notice as Annexure-I with the following information: a. Agency Type of the Applicant (SL/SA/MLO/TR) (Mandatory) b. Agency Code of the Applicant (As registered with ICES) (Mandatory) c. Destination Port Site Code (Port of Destination as per IGM) (Mandatory) d Destination CFS Code (Port of Discharge as per IGM. This CFS Code) (Optional) e. IGM No. and Date (Mandatory) f. Nature of Cargo (Containerized/ Packaged/ Cont.+Package) g. Bond Number (TP bond belonging to either MLO or Transporter) h. Mode of transport (Road/ Train/ Sea) i. Voyage No, IMO Code, Vessel Code, Owner Detail etc (if mode is sea) j. Transporter Code, Truck No, Seal No. (s) (if mode is Road) k. Train No. and Date (if mode is Train) l. List of line no. (mandatory) and sub-line no. (O if all sub-lines to be included) m. Line-wise invoice value (in case of non-containerized cargo) 7. The applicant must ensure the following before filing the request: a. The above information as mentioned in the TP Request must match with the IGM declaration. b. If the Mode of Transport is by Sea, then extended movement up to remote CFS is not permissible. c. The MLO/Applicant must have a valid TP bond registered at the gateway Port Site with sufficient Bond and BG balance. This bond number should be specified in the Transshipment Request and also in the IGM line detail. In case of transshipment by road, the specified bond can be in the name of the Carrier Agency (Transporter). In this case, additionally bond authority to the MLO must also be registered (one-time) with the system. d. The MLO must have a PLA account with requisite balance registered at the Gateway Port Site. e. BE should have not been filed at the current (Gateway Port) site against any of the lines specified in the request. 8. The TP request (Annexure I) duly filled to be submitted at the Service Center for entering into the system. The charges for entering the transhipment request and providing of the checklist, the Service centre would charge 22/- including service tax for the first 30 line numbers or 30 containers and for every additional 30 lines or 30 containers the service centre would charge 1 1/- including service tax. The system will generate the Job No. for the entry made after saving the entered data. After job no. generation, the checklist print will be taken and handed over to the applicant for verification of the entry. The applicant will verify the checklist and in case of any error, shall indicate the same on the checklist and resubmit the same to the operator at the service centre for modification. The service centre operator will modify the request and again generate the checklist. This process shall continue till the applicant approves the checklist by putting his signature on it and returns it to the operator at Service centre for submission of the job. 9. The TP request job number will then be submitted by the Service centre operator through the Submission Option provided in the system. After submission, the TP request will move to the ICES Primary System where it is validated and then integrated into the ICES. The response from ICES Primary travels back to the Service Center where the acknowledgement IS displayed for the information of the Applicant who filed the TP request 10. If the validation at the Primary end was successful (that is, TP request was accepted), a positive acknowledgement indicated by a message to that effect is displayed at the Service Center. If the validation at the Primary end was unsuccessful (that is, TP request was rejected), a negative acknowledgement (identified by Error Codes as per list given in Annexure Il) are display-ed at the Service Center. A request may have multiple errors. 11. Service Center module also provides facility for re-submission of a rejected request after necessary modification of the earlier job with modifications. This facility is provided by the menu option Replicate TP Job 12. If the request filed at the Service Center is successfully validated and accepted at the ICES Primary, then same gets integrated and listed as a submitted TP request in the queue of the Superintendent (Transshipment) at the Gateway Port Site after Inward Entry on the IGM is granted. Each submitted requested is identified by a combination of Job No. and Job date which is the same as generated in the Service Center. The Superintendent (Transshipment) can select and open any submitted TP request for necessary processing. The detailed information as entered at the Service Center can be seen in the system by the Superintendent (Transshipment). In case of movement by truck, the parameters truck no., seal no. etc as furnished at the Service Center can be updated if requested by the applicant. 13. The invoice value (if provided during request) can be increased by the Superintendent (Transshipment)(but cannot be reduced) if so desired. System calculates the Bond and BG value for the current request. For containerized cargo, the calculation is based on length of containers and bond rates notified thereof. For non-containerized cargo the calculation is based on the line-wise invoice value specified. 14. If satisfied, the AC (Transshipment) can proceed to approve the request by clicking on the appropriate option button. System internally carries out a number of validation checks. These include a. Check the consistency of the request with respect to IGM with respect to lines, containers, MLO Code, Bond No, Port of Destination, Destination CFS etc. b. Check if transshipment permit or BE on any of the lines have already been filed/ granted. c. Whether M LO has valid TP bond with requisite balance. d. If MLO does not have a TP bond, then whether the Transporter has the necessary bond with sufficient balance and also if the TP bond authority to the MLO is given or not. e. Whether the MLO has a running PLA account with enough balance to pay for the TP fee. 15. If all the validation checks are satisfied, system carries out following steps: a. Specified TP Bond is debited with the calculated bond and BG value. Bond records are updated in system. b TP fee is debited from the MLO's PLA a/c. c. Specified IGM line and container records are marked so that they become accessible by the destination Port Site for the purpose of BE processing. d. TP Permit is granted and a unique TP (SMTP) number is generated. e. The TP order can be printed from the system from the ACT menu. f. TP messages will be introduced in due course in order to send EDI version of the TP to various stakeholders. 16. The Transshipment Permit will allow the applicant to carry the cargo up to the specified Destination Port. If Destination CFS Code is also specified, and the mode of transport is Train/ Road, then this TP will allow the transshipment directly to the specified CFS without touching the Destination Port to which the CFS is attached, if possible. 17. As soon as the Sea to Sea TP request is approved the details of the container with TP Number would be available in GAT role of the Preventive Officer at Gateway Port. By selecting the container, the Preventive officer at Gateway Port shall enter the seal number if new seal is affixed and the truck number in the system to generate the gate pass number. 18. TP messages will be introduced in due course in order to send EDI version of the TP to various stakeholders. Likewise, the re-credit of the TP Bond debited for the movement will also be introduced in due course. Customs Brokers/1MPORTER - B/E FILING: 19. As the Sea to sea transshipment module is being implemented, the existing Service Center BE module has been modified slightly in order to let the BE get associated with remote IGM filed at the Gateway Port Site. The Service Center Data Entry screen will ask for additional parameters in the IGM section. The changes in this section will affect ALL BE filing (across types of sites) and is not confined only to Sea-to- Sea transshipment cases alone. 20. In the BE IGM section, system will ask whether it is a case of Transshipment. If 'No', then system will proceed with the normal flow of BE filing. There is no change in the subsequent part of the form. If 'Yes', then there are 2 possibilities as of now - (a) Sea-to-ICD and (b) Sea-to-Sea. System will internally determine the type of transshipment (based on whether the current site is a Sea Site or ICD Site.) 21. (a) If the current site is a Sea Site, it is a case of Sea-to-Sea Transshipment and system will capture the following parameters: a. Gateway Port Site b. IGM No. and IGM Date (This is same as the Gateway IGM No. and Gateway IGM Date) c. Inward Date in Gateway IGM. (b) If the current site is an ICD Site, it is a case of Sea-to-ICD Transshipment and system will capture the following parameters: a. Gateway Port Site. b. IGM No. and IGM Date (Local IGM No. and Local IGM Date would be entered). c. Gateway IGM No and Gateway IGM Date need to be provided. d. Inward Date in Gateway IGM. 22. Rest of the form will remain same as before. Accordingly, the Declaration form for filing of Bills of Entries through Service Centre in ICES also modified (Si. No 9 and Sl. No 10) and the latest Appendix A tor filing the documents through Service centre is annexed to this Public Notice vide Annexure Il. The Importers/ Customs Brokers are requested to submit the documents through service centre with the new format of Appendix A 23. Likewise, the existing EDI Message Format for filing of Bills of Entries will remain the same except for minor changes in the instructions which are explained in Annexure Ill. Similarly, there will be minor changes in the RES Package (EDI) package for BE Document preparation also to incorporate the above requirement in BE [GM Section. Some of the parameter options in BE IGM section will differ for different cases. 1. For Sea-to-Sea Transshipment cases, the parameter 'Gateway Port Code must be provided. For the fields IIGM No., IGM Date and Inward Date', the Gateway IGM parameters are to be given. The fields 'Gateway IGM No. and Date' are to be left blank. 2. For Sea-to-ICD Transshipment cases, the parameters Gateway Port Code, Gateway IGM No. and Gateway Inward Date' are to be given. These are in addition to the local IGM parameters 'IGM No. and IGM Date' which are also to be provided. 3. For non-transshipment cases there is no change. 24. Accordingly, the modified message format in BE IGM section for filing of BE is annexed with this Public Notice vide Annexure 111, Importers/ Customs Brokers, those who are all using their own software for filing of Bills of Entries in ICES are requested to modify the software as per the message format provided in the Annexure Ill for filing of Bills of Entries without any problem. Those who are all using NIC software may download the latest patch available in www.ices.nic.in and install the same for filing of Bills of Entries. 25. It is further informed that this is a new implementation where certain minor changes have been made in the BE filing protocol/ form and RES and ICEGATE packages. Members of the trade are advised to be patient if there are any initial delays in the filing process and advised to download the latest NIC RES package available in www.ices.nic.in. It is also requested to make the required changes in own private RES software accordingly. 26. If any problem is noticed on the above procedure, the same may be addressed to Asst Commissioner (EDI), Custom House, Visakhapatnam, Ph: 0891 2560408 or email ID [email protected] for necessary action. (C. RAJENDIRAN) Commissioner of Customs