U.S. Customs 24-Hour Rule

(A). The 14 Data Requirements

For reference purposes, please note the following information is required to be submitted to U.S. Customs 24hrs prior to loading the vessel bound to the United States. It includes cargo discharging the United States as well as any Foreign Remain On Board (FROB) cargo laden on vessels calling U.S. Ports.

1. The last foreign port before the vessel departs for the United States;

2. The carrier SCAC code (the unique Standard Carrier Alpha Code assigned for each carrier);

3. The carrier-assigned voyage number;

4. The date the vessel is scheduled to arrive at the first U.S. port in Customs territory;

5. The numbers and quantities from the carrier’s ocean bills of lading, either master or house, as applicable (this means that the carrier must transmit the quantity of the lowest external packaging unit; containers and pallets are not acceptable manifested quantities; for example, a container containing 10 pallets with 200 cartons should be manifested as 200 cartons);

6. The first foreign port where the carrier takes possession of the cargo destined to the United States;

7. A precise description (of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) numbers to the 6-digit level under which the cargo is classified if that information is received from the shipper) and weight of the cargo or, for a sealed container, the shipper’s declared description and weight of the cargo. Generic descriptions, specifically those such as “FAK” (“freight of all kinds”), “general cargo”, and “STC” (“said to contain”) are not acceptable;

8. The shipper’s complete name and address, or identification number, from all bills of lading. (The identification number will be a unique number assigned by U.S. Customs upon the implementation of the Automated Commercial Environment);

9. The complete name and address of the consignee or the owner or owner’s representative, or identification number, from all bills of lading. (The identification number will be a unique number assigned by U.S. Customs upon implementation of the Automated Commercial Environment);

10. The vessel name, country of documentation, and official vessel number. (The vessel number is the International Maritime Organization number assigned to the vessel);

11. The foreign port where the cargo is laden on board;

12. Internationally recognized hazardous material code when such materials are being shipped;

13. Container numbers (for containerized shipments); and

14. The seal numbers for all seals affixed to containers.

(B). Cargo Description

In order to prevent cargo HOLD by U.S. Customs arisen by improper cargo description, we would like to remind you the following points:

(1) To ensure the actual commodity name shown on the top of goods description.

U.S. Customs is requesting to show the actual and precise commodity name in the top of goods description column. So, please take care to show any other information or wordings only after the actual and precise commodity name.

The following is the example for not-acceptable case. The actual commodity comes in the 4th line after PO#/ITEM#/LC#.

PO# 1234567

ITEM# 00958

LC# 985038459

116 PIECES OF RATTAN FURNITURE

For the above example, the following way would be the proper way of describing.

116 PIECES OF RATTAN FURNITURE

PO# 1234567

ITEM# 00958

LC# 985038459

If you show any other wording than the actual commodity name on the top, it may cause the doubt of U.S. Customs and it may possibly be the subject to the hold by U.S. Customs. We therefore appreciate your extra care about this point.

(2) Acceptable expression of your goods

U.S. Customs provided the following guideline for "Not Acceptable" / "Acceptable" description of goods through FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) as below. Please ensure to match your way of description as per this guideline.

Not Acceptable	Acceptable
Apparel Wearing Apparel Ladies' Apparel Men's Apparel	Clothing Shoes Footwear Jewelry (may include watches)
Appliances	Kitchen Appliances Industrial Appliances Heat Pump
Autoparts Parts	New Autoparts Used Autoparts
Caps	Baseball Caps Blasting Caps Bottle Caps Hub Caps
Chemicals, hazardous Chemicals, non-hazardous	Actual Chemical Name (not brand name) Or U.N. HAZMAT Code Identifier #
Electronic Goods Electronics	Computers Consumer Electronics, Telephones Electronic Toys (can include Gameboys, Game Cubes, Dancing Elmo Doll etc.) Personal/Household Electronics (i.e. PDA's, VCR's, TV's)
Equipment	Industrial Equipment, Oil Well Equipment Automotive Equipment, Poultry Equipment etc.
Flooring	Wood Flooring, Plastic Flooring, Carpet, Ceramic Tile, Marble Flooring
Foodstuffs	Oranges Fish Packaged Rice, Packaged Grain, Bulk Grain
Iron	Iron Pipes, Steel Pipes
Steel	Iron Building Material, Steel Building Material
Leather Articles	Saddles Leather Handbags Leather Jackets, Shoes
Machinery	Metal Working Machinery Cigarette Making Machinery
Machines	Sewing Machines Printing Machines
Pipes	Plastic Pipes PVC Pipes Steel Pipes Copper Pipes
Plastic Goods	Plastic Kitchenware, Plastic Houseware, Industrial Plastics Toys, New/Used Auto Parts
Polyurethane	Polyurethane Threads Polyurethane Medical Gloves
	Personal Effects Household Goods
Not Acceptable	Acceptable
Rubber Articles	Rubber Hoses Tires Toys Rubber Conveyor Belts
Rods	Welding Rods Rebar Aluminum Rods Reactor Rods
Scrap	Plastic Scrap Aluminum Scrap Iron Scrap
STC (Said to Contain) General Cargo FAK ( Freight of All Kinds) "No Description"
Tiles	Ceramic Tiles Marble Tiles
Tools	Hand Tools Power Tools Industrial Tools
Wires	Electric Wires Auto Harness Coiled Wire (Industrial)

Further information on this topic may be found at

U.S. Customs www.cbp.gov

World Shipping Council www.worldshipping.org

NYK www.hk.nykline.com

Thank you very much for your kind attention and co-operation to the above matter.

Yours sincerely,

NYK Line (H.K.) Ltd