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CALL: 1-800-284-7822
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For local contact information, choose a location from the menus below. |
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Aug 7,2008
Container Seal Requirement Takes Effect Oct. 15.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has announced that all loaded containers, including foreign cargo remaining on board, arriving by vessel at a port of entry in the U.S. on or after Oct. 15 are required to be sealed with a seal meeting the International Organization for Standardization Publicly Available Specification 17712 (ISO/PAS 17712) standard. This standard is being imposed pursuant to the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007. The law specifically indicated that if no interim final rule establishing minimum standards and procedures for securing containers in transit to the U.S. were issued by April 1, 2008 then the ISO standard would automatically go into effect on October 15. Since no such rule was published by CBP then this provision automatically goes into effect.
Generally, ISO/PAS 17712 requires container freight seals to meet or exceed certain standards for strength and durability so as to prevent accidental breakage, early deterioration (due to weather conditions, chemical action, etc.) or undetectable tampering under normal usage. It also requires each seal to be clearly and legibly marked with a unique identification number. However, CBP recognizes that there are types of containers that cannot be readily secured by use of a seal meeting the ISO/PAS 17712 standard, including tanks, non-standard containers (e.g., open top containers) or containers that simply cannot accommodate such a seal (e.g., custom-built containers). These types of containers are not subject to the statutory requirement. Although the majority of U.S. bound containers already use seals meeting these standards, all of the subject containers must now comply.
CBP will consider loaded containers subject to the sealing requirements to be in violation of the 9/11 Act if they arrive by vessel at a port of entry in the U.S. on or after Oct. 15 with either no seal or a seal that does not meet the ISO/PAS 17712 standard. In such cases CBP may assess a civil penalty against the party responsible for the violation for the attempted introduction of merchandise into the U.S. contrary to law. However, CBP states that it will phase in penalty assessments for such violations. It is interesting to note that there is no clarification of the phrase “party responsible for the violation” in the notice. It could mean the party originally sealing the container (the most logical but the least available for CBP penalty actions), the carrier that allowed the container to be loaded without the seal (which would be a much easier target for CBP) or possibly even the U.S. importer. Hopefully, this concept will be clarified during this phase-in period. In the meantime, importers should be certain to include provisions for the affixing of compliant seals in all overseas purchase orders, just as a precaution. The full text of the notice can be found in today’s Federal Register at: http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/E8-18174.htm
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