Special Bill (Dec 4, 2003 update)
- Customs delays special AMS bill for NVOs - A letter to the value Customs
FAQ - Sea AMS Processing Related to The Special Bill
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has developed this document in response to technical questions that have been raised that are related to the Sea AMS Special Bill process.
Q : Master Vessel Operating Carrier (MVOC) transmits three bills on Dec. 5 to CBP. The three bills are covered by one Master bill of lading in the carrier's system. On December 6, they need to amend one of the three bills.
Answer: After December 6, the MVOC would delete the one bill and re-add with the new bill type (N or 30) including the transmission of the Master bill of lading (type M or 28).
Q : Can regular amendments be sent on a NVOC bill after the bill is closed?(ex. Vessel/voyage changes, discharge port changes)
Answer: Yes, all changes made to a bill of lading must be reflected in AMS.
Q : Will CBP allow changes of bill types (from Master to House and vice versa)?
Answer: Only MVOC's will be allowed to make changes to the Master bill of lading.
Q : Once the Master and Houses are on-file, should a change to a house bill mean that the Master will be resent?
Answer: A change to the house bill will not always require a change to the Master bill of lading as it would depend on the element being modified.
Q : An automated Non-Vessel Operating Common Carrier (NVOC) sends 1 bill on Dec. 1 to CBP that has a paperless master in-bond against his bill of lading. He has received a "1J" movement authorized and an entry is filed on Dec. 3. On December 6, the NVOC must amend his bill of lading. Since the NVOC can no longer request in-bonds against his house bill, must the NVOC ask the carrier to now send a Master bill with an in-bond?
Answer: If the MVOC has agreed to transmit the in-bond on behalf of the NVOC the following steps may be taken:
1. The NVOC will delete the previous bill and re-add without the in-bond (bill type N or 30).
2. The MVOC will send the Master bill of lading including a new in-bond (bill type M or 29).
3. Broker will perform a bill of lading update (LN) against the MVOC bill referencing the new in-bond.
Or, the NVOC could utilize the subsequent in-bond feature:
1. The NVOC will delete the previous bill and re-add without the in-bond (bill type N or 30).
2. The MVOC will send the master bill of lading (bill type M or 28).
3. The NVOC may initiate a subsequent in-bond with a different in-bond number.
4. The broker will perform a bill of lading update (LN) against the MVOC bill referencing the new in-bond.
2. CAMIR Updates
Q : Will CAMIR updates be available for the B01, B04, I01 and anything else that may apply to the Special Bill processing?
Answer: Yes, the CAMIR will be updated on the CBP web site to reflect the various record changes associated with the Special Bill processing.
3. Cutover to PRODUCTION
Q : When do you expect to move the new programming into PRODUCTION?
Answer: Typically a Normal database outage is from 2300 Saturday until 0300 Sunday (4 hours). However, the weekend of December 06, 2003, might not be a Normal outage. This is the weekend that several different programs will be moved to PROD.
So at this time the outage window has not been determined. It should be determined if an extended outage is needed that weekend as the PROD date nears.
4. FDA Indicator
Q : May I begin using the new FDA Indicator (I01/M1212) on December 6?
Answer: The FDA Indicator should be used beginning December 12. The indicator will be in position 6 in the CAMIR "I01" record and in position M1212 in the X12 format. The FDA indicator should be used to identify I.T. (Type 61) and T&E (Type 62) in-bond movements that represent cargo subject to the FDA Bioterrorism Act reporting. IE's (Type 63) do not require FDA reporting.
5. FROB
Q : The MVOC is reporting non-automated NVOC bills as FROB, should the Master bill of lading type be reported as a MVOC or MVOC FROB?
Answer: Yes, a "Do Not Load" placed on the NVOC bill will be sent to the MVOC provided the NVOC bill of lading contained the MVOC's SCAC.
6. Do Not Load/ Domestic Holds
Q : Will a "Do Not Load" (6H) placed on the NVOC bill of lading be sent to the MVOC?
Answer: When sending the NVOC bills as FROB, the Master bill of lading should also be reported as a MVOC FROB bill (type "O" / 31").
Q : A domestic hold (1H) is placed on a MVOC bill that has NVOC bills from six different automated parties against it. Will all six NVOC's receive the hold message?
Answer: The NVOC will not receive the domestic hold (1H) message unless the MVOC has included the NVOC as a SNP. CBP is capable of generating up to eight SNP's, per bill of lading.
7. In-bonds sent by MVOC
Q : If you send bill type 29, will the in-bond need to be sent at that time?
Answer: Yes, if bill type 29 is selected you must include the in-bond information with your transmission. If you do not have the in-bond information, then you should send as bill type 28 and amend when complete in-bond information is available.
8. MVOC’s Sending for Non Automated NVOC’s
Q : When the MVOC sends the house bill on behalf of a non-automated NVOC, whose SCAC code is input in AMS?
Answer: The MVOC when transmitting NVOC bills on behalf of a non-automated party will use their own SCAC.
Q : When the carrier sends AMS amendments for non AMS NVOC bills do they send amendments at both the MVOC and NVOC level? Will the MVOC receive notification twice?
Answer: Yes, amendments will be sent at both the MVOC and NVOC level if the data element change is common to both bills (i.e., container number, seal number, piece count). Confirmation of deletes and adds will be sent at both levels.
Q : When sending MVOC bill of lading details and NVOC bill of lading details what is the looping logic for the X12 transactions? Can a single message be sent with a LX loop for the MVOC bill of lading followed by the NVOC bill of lading?
Answer: Yes, a single message can be sent with a LX loop for the MVOC bill of lading followed by the NVOC bill of lading.
9. NOO/N1 Record
Q : Is the N00/N1 record for Secondary Notify Party (SNP) required for all bills?
Answer: No, you should first use the two fields in the B02/M1114 and M1115 to identify your SNP's. If you have more than two, you would input up to six more SCAC or FIRMS in the N00/N1record per bill of lading.
Q : In the CAMIR N00 record, the element "Code Qualifier" is a two-character field. However the value supplied is only one character. How should it be sent?
Answer: The number "2" should be shown in position 42 of the N00 record.
Q : Can 4 SCAC's be concatenated in the ID field in the N00 record (position 44-60)? Should this field only contain one SCAC?
Answer: No, 4 SCAC's cannot be concatenated in the ID field of the N00 record. This field should reflect only one SCAC.
Q : Should there be one N00/N1 record per SNP?
Answer: Yes, one N00/N1 record per SNP.
10. Permit to Transfer (PTT)
Q : Can the system handle multiple permits to transfer requests from different NVOC's against the same bill number?
Answer: Yes, the system can process multiple permits to transfer requests from different NVOC's against the same bill number.
Q : Since, there is no field for quantity in the permit to transfer record to handle less than container loads at this time, what procedure should be followed?
Answer: Less than container loads will be handled in a manual process via local CBP.
11. Port Authority Downloads
Q : Will NVOC bills continue to be included in downloads provided to AMS port authorities?
Answer: Yes, NVOC bills will continue to be included in AMS port authority downloads.
12. Regular Bill Type
Q : Will MVOC's and NVOC's continue to send the Regular bill type in the B01/M11 record?
Answer: Only the MVOC will continue to use the Regular bill type for their straight bills of lading. The NVOC will use either the NVOC bill types of (N, P, 30, 32).
13. Release Notifications
Q : NVOC sends a bill of lading on Dec. 3 with only the booking number in the B04/N9 as opposed to the MVOC bill of lading. On Dec. 6th an entry is filed by the broker referencing the NVOC's bill. Where this status notification would be routed, since the MAXL will not cross-reference the MVOC bill? Will the quantities be written to the NVOC bill and notification not sent?
Answer: The MVOC will not receive notification unless the NVO were to delete and re-add their bill inputting the MVOC as the SNP and the broker were to amend the entry showing the Master bill number.
Q : If the qualifier on the NVOC bill is the MVOC bill of lading. AMS transmits release status notifications to the MVOC, but will AMS write the entered/released quantities to the NVOC bill?
Answer: AMS will only send the release to the NVOC if the MVOC has included the NVO as a Secondary Notify Party (SNP).
Q : Please confirm that after the cutover; CBP will release the bill against the MVOC bill instead of the NVOC bill?
Answer: Prior to December 6, pre-existing logic will be used to route release notification to the party that created the bill of lading. However after December 6, releases will be filed and generated against the MVOC bill of lading.
Q : If the MVOC never submits a Master bill in the above scenario, how will the bill be closed? Is the MVOC expected to submit the Master bill for those manifest submissions under the old logic or will CBP build the Master bill and House bill relationship within AMS.
Answer: If an amendment is made to a NVOC bill of lading after December 6, the MVOC should send the Master bill of lading.
Q : Will the NVOC continue to receive status notifications from CBP even though their bill is in a "closed" status?
Answer: Yes, the NVOC could receive hold notifications (i.e., 6H, 6I, 2H, 2I, 3 H, 3I) from CBP. Also, if the NVOC is using the PTT or subsequent in-bond feature they will continue to receive status notifications (i.e., 1J, 1C). Lastly, if the MVOC has nominated them as a SNP they would also receive copies of status notifications.
14. R02/350 Record
Q : If qualifiers of "BN", "OB" or "SNP" are utilized what should the reference number field contain?
Answer:
BN = Booking Number
OB = MVOC bill of lading number
SNP = FIRMS or SCAC
Q : What happens with B/Ls transmitted before the implementation date of December 6, 2003, will those B/Ls return from AMS in the new format of R02 or the old format based on the transmission date?
Answer: After December 6, the R02 will be returned in the new format.
15. Secondary Notify Party (SNP)
Q : On a NVOC bill of lading, does the order of the Second Notify Party matter?
Answer: It is strongly suggested that the first SNP shown is that of the MVOC.
16. Subsequent In-bond
Q : How will a user delete a subsequent in-bond?
Answer: The amendment feature will be available to delete a subsequent in-bond.
Amending the subsequent in-bond request requires the transmission of the following records:
CAMIR
ANSI
M01
M10
P01
P4
J01
LX
A01
w/ action code “E” M13
w/action code “E”
B03
M21
I01
M12
NOTE: Code "E" represents cancellation of the subsequent in-bond.
Q : Must the first in-bond be arrived, before the second can be initiated? Would this same logic apply to the 3rd or 4th leg initiated against the bill?
Answer: Yes, the first in-bond must be arrived before the second in-bond can be initiated. The same logic applies for the 3rd or 4th leg of the movement.
17. Testing
Q : Will I have an opportunity to test my new programming with CBP prior to December 6?
Answer: Testing will begin on November 17, 2003, with two selected representatives of the trade. Following successful testing by both parties, a message will be prepared to the Client Representatives that they will be asked to disseminate to their AMS participants advising interested parties that the testing region (PRDCERT) is available. Note: Records may need to be established and JCL modified if applicable.
18. "1Y" Message
Q : Does the "1Y" message have any bearing on the 24 hour clock?
Answer: No, the 24 hour clock begins for either the NVOC or MVOC when CBP has successfully processed their input and the manifest acceptance message has been created (W01/355).
Q : What if we mis-key a MVOC MBL number and the number mis-keyed is an actual MBL number gets linked, and we get a "1Y" for the incorrect MBL? How should we handle updates to correct the error? How will this effect the "1Y" that we received? If we update the reference identifier and the MVOC bill has not been submitted yet, will the "1Y" be removed?
Answer: If you get a "1Y" for an incorrect bill of lading, you should delete the bill and re-add again with the valid MVOC bill number. Remember the "1Y" is an advisory to the NVO. CBP will not issue another "1Y" for your new transmission.
Q : After the MVOC bill is matched to the NVOC bill, is there any specific action required on part of the NVOC when it is received and/or if it is not received?
Answer: Once there is match between the Reference Identifier transmitted by the NVOC and MVOC bill of lading then a "1Y" advisory message will be sent to the NVOC as notification that the Master bill has been sent by the carrier. In the event that a "1Y" is not received, the NVOC needs to follow-up with the carrier to find out why the bill has not been reported to CBP.
