TABLE OF CONTENTS I. ABBREVIATIONS 2 II. GENERAL QUESTIONS ON THE ENS 2 III. REQUIREMENTS FOR SENDING ENSs 8 IV. ENS CONTENTS 9 V. MOST COMMON ERRORS IN THE ENS 11 VI. CONSOLIDATED CONSIGNMENTS 13 VII. COMBINED TRANSPORT 14 VIII. SECURITY RISKS AND PROTECTION (ENS AND CONTROLS) 15 IX. FORMALITIES AFTER ARRIVAL 16 1
I. ABBREVIATIONS CCC: Community Customs Code. CCCIP: Community Customs Code Implementing Provisions. CTC: Customs territory of the Community. EU: European Union. MS: Member State. ENS: Entry Summary Declaration. AN: Notification of arrival (Arrival Notification) as referred to in Article 184(g) of the CCCIP. SDTS: Summary declaration for temporary storage. FROB: freight remaining on board. II. GENERAL QUESTIONS ON THE ENS 1. When is an ENS required? The EU legislation requires, as a general principle, that all goods brought into the customs territory of the Community, regardless of their final destination, shall be covered by an Entry Summary Declaration (ENS), which should be lodged at the customs office of first entry, i.e. the first intended port of call within the customs territory of the Community. This means that all cargo, whether or not consigned to the EU, must be declared, including freight remaining on board (FROB). 2. Are not there any exceptions to the requirement for the lodging of an ENS referred to in the question above? Yes, for the goods referred to in Article 181(c) of the CCCIP the ENS will not be required. 3. Has the European Union signed any mutual recognition agreement with third countries on the basis of which lodging an ENS is not required? Yes, the European Union has signed agreements with the following countries: - Norway - Switzerland - Andorra Those agreements imply that, for the shipments starting in the above-mentioned countries without a stop within this third territory, it is not necessary lo lodge an ENS. 4. What happens if a shipment has not been declared by means of an ENS when it is required to do so? In case goods not having been declared by means of an ENS, when it is required to do so, arrive to the CTC, the haulier shall lodge the ENS upon arrival (article 184(c) CCCIP), thus initiating at that time the deadline for carrying out the security checks and protection analysis (article 184(d) 2
CCCIP), which may cause delays in customs formalities, without prejudice of the penalties which may arise from the failure to lodge an ENS on time. 5. I am a shipping company loading and unloading goods in containers from Barcelona/Valencia to the Canary Islands and vice versa. My ships DO NOT call at any port outside the CTC. Shall I lodge an ENS? No, an ENS must only be lodged for goods introduced in the CTC from a third-country territory. 6. I am a shipping company loading and unloading goods in containers from Barcelona/Valencia to the Canary Islands and vice versa. My ships call at ports in Morocco before arriving at the Canary Islands, but the goods are not unloaded. Shall I lodge an ENS? Yes, an ENS must be lodged in the Canary Islands, within the deadline corresponding to the journey from Morocco for the whole of the goods on board the ship, including the goods loaded in Valencia and Barcelona. 7. If a ship is anchored in the Algeciras Bay and is vinctualled by a runabout ship making a return trip; the anchord ship is loaded with goods in Algeria and its following and final destination is the USA, without calling at a port in the CTC. Shall an ENS be lodged? If the ship does not call at any port and it is victualled outside the territorial waters, lodging an ENS is not required for the goods on board such ship. On the contrary, if the ship does call or it is indeed victualled within the territorial waters of the EC, an ENS MUST BE LODGED for the whole of the goods loaded in the ship. 8. If, during the long-distance journey of a container ship whose customs office of first entry in the Community is scheduled to be in France, but subsequently that ship must stop for technical reasons in Las Palmas, shall another ENS be lodged? In this case, the ENS should have been sent to France on time, 24 hours before the loading of the goods, since the customs office of first entry is there. However, as a stop for technical reasons is required, the port of Las Palmas becomes the customs office of first entry, and therefore, the trader must sent a diversion request to France. France shall then send ENS and the result of the risk analysis to Las Palmas. 9. If, in the above-mentioned case, the ship load consists of goods in bulk, and the need for a stop for technical reasons is known 5 hours prior to the arrival to Las Palmas, shall the procedure be the same as in question 8 above? In this case, the deadline for sending the ENS is 4 hours prior to the arrival of the transport means and, therefore, there are several possibilities: - If, when sending the ENS, it is already known that a stop for technical reasons is required, the ENS must be sent directly to Las Palmas. - If, on the contrary, the necessity for a stop for technical reasons is not yet known (because the ENS has been sent for example 6 hours prior to the arrival), the procedure to be followed is the one appearing in the question above. 10. Shall ships in ballast lodge an ENS? No, means of transport without cargo on board are exempted to lodging an ENS. 3
11. Shall fishing vessels lodge an ENS with regard to the cargo caught in international waters? In the case of fishing vessels, the origin rules apply for the determination of the place where the cargo was loaded: flag country. Consequently, Community vessels do no t need to lodge an ENS, whereas non-community vessels are indeed required to lodge an ENS. 12. How are port of first entry and following port defined? The port of first entry is the first Community port where the ship is intended to arrive from a port outside the Community. The following ports refer to any Community port where the ship is intended to call a stop after stopping in the first Community port, without any intermediate call in a port outside the European Community. Should the ship call a stop in any port outside the European Community between calling stops in two different Community ports, it is considered that the ship exited the Community. Therefore, when it arrives to another Community port, that port is considered port of first entry and not a following port, and therefore a new ENS, for the whole of the cargo onboard, must be lodged before the arrival within the deadline. 13. A first Community port call where no goods are unloaded (where a ship only stops to load containers, for example), is it considered a port of first entry, or the port of first entry for such a ship will be the first port where goods are unloaded? The ENS shall be sent to the customs office of the first point of entry where the means of transport entering the Community port calls, irrespectively of whether goods are going to be unloaded or not. All the goods loaded aboard the means of transport should be included in a ENS, which shall be lodged in the customs office of the first Community port of entry in the deadline corresponding to its journey. 14. What is the foreign port of load in those cases where the goods are transhipped before going aboard the mean of transport to make its shipment to the CTC? Requirement for filling in the ENSs are applicable to the mean of transport introducing the goods into the CTC, i.e., the one calling there during its journey through the EU. Goods transported between, for example, a port in Indonesia and a port in Hong Kong to be loaded into a ship whose main journey is aimed at the EU, will not have to be declared in EU customs before they are loaded in Indonesia. The ENS must be lodged before the goods are loaded in the main ship which will bring them into the EU. 15. What happens when the ship arrives at the port of first entry? Before or upon arrival to the port of first entry, the operator of the active means of transport shall send the notification of arrival (AN) allowing the customs office the identification of all the ENSs previously lodged for the goods transported. Also, they will have to lodge a summary declaration for temporary storage (SDTS) for the whole of the goods to be unloaded, both in the first port of entry and in the following port(s). In Spain (and in other MS) such summary declaration shall include the AN (for more information, please see section formalities after arrival ). 16. Shall an ENS be lodged in the following ports? 4
No. The ENS must only be lodged in the port of first entry. Nevertheless, if it is verified that the goods presented to customs are not covered by an ENS (which should have been lodged in the port of first entry), an ENS must be lodged at that time and at that customs office (article 184 (c) CCCIP). 17. If the ENS is only lodged at the point of first entry, how do the following customs offices receive the information therein and the result of the risk analysis? The customs office of first entry, once it has received and registered the ENS, will carry out the security risks and protection controls. In case any risks are detected, it will send the results from those controls and the data contained in the ENS (heading and tariff items having risks) to the following customs offices. This way, when the goods are presented in the following customs offices referring to previous ENS, those customs offices will know what controls are to be carried out on the basis of the risks discovered. 18. What happens if the means of transport calls first at a different Community port (actual point of entry) from the customs office of first entry declared? The ENS must always be lodged in the first Community port call. Once the ENS has been lodged, it is possible for the mean of transport to sail off course to a different port for exceptional reasons (strikes, bad weather ) The automatic transmission of the risk information to all the remaining following port calls declared allows for a ship to sail off course to any subsequent port call (or to a port call not previously declared as subsequent port call in the same Member State) with no need to notify the following customs offices (as they have the information already). However, if the actual first port of entry is in a Member State not included among the declared port calls, the ship trader will have to notify the diversion to the first port declared by means of a diversion request. The declared customs office of first entry will prevent the actual customs office of entry of the diversion, sending any information on risks which is available to them. 19. Does the ENS substitute the lodging of the current summary declaration (SDTS)? If that is not the case, what is the relationship between the ENS and the summary declaration? The ENS does not substitute the traditional declaration that must be lodged in each customs office where goods are unloaded. The deadlines for lodging both declarations are not the same and, also, the ENS is only aimed at ensuring security and protection whereas the SDTS shall also include some data as provided for the transport law in each Member State, as it also has other purposes. With regard to the relationship between the two, the SDTS must also include a reference to the previous ENS. 20. Who must lodge the ENS? Community legislation provides for that the ENS is lodged by the person bringing the goods into, or taking the responsibility for the transport of the goods into, the customs territory of the Community. That means that, in general, is the operator of the active means of transport the one in charge of lodging the ENS. However, in case there are Vessel Sharing Agreements (hereinafter, VSA), the obligation to complete the ENS will be on each of the hauliers who have signed and issued a bill of lading or 5
an air waybill to transport the goods into the Community in the ship or aircraft referred to in the agreement. Therefore, each party issuing a bill of lading for the shipment will be considered as the haulier, and then, will be the one in charge of sending the ENS corresponding to the goods for which the transport documents has been issued. On the other hand, in the case of combined transport (hereinafter, CT) i.e. a lorry transported on a ferry boat), when the means of transport entering the Customs Territory of the Community (the ferry boat) only carries another means of transport that, after entering the CTC, will move by itself as an active means of transport (the truck), the obligation to lodge an ENS is of the operator of that other active means of transport (the haulier). In these last two cases, the operator of the active means of transport must always send the Arrival Notification (AN). 21. Can other people lodge the ENS instead of the haulier? Yes, but that does not exempt the haulier from its responsibility concerning the lodging of the ENS. That is, you can arrange with a third party to lodge the ENS instead of yourself, but you must ensure that the ENS is indeed lodged within the deadline. Therefore, the ENS may be submitted by someone other than the haulier only with the knowledge and authorisation of the haulier. Nevertheless, once filed, the third party having lodged it will be held responsible for the accuracy and truthfulness of the reported data. 22. In order to send an ENS, is it necessary to have a digitally-attested qualified certificate? Shall both the declarant and the haulier have such a certificate? There are different roles to an ENS, which have the following requirements for identification purposes: a) Data submitter (message sender): is the person submitting the declaration. It needs to have a digitally-attested qualified certificate but an EORI is not required. It is necessary first to prove that they have been given the necessary authority/representation powers by the data submitter. b) Haulier: The EORI is mandatory for them, but they do not require having a Tax Identification Number or a digitally-attested qualified certificate. Those data should only be declared if they are different from the declarant s. c) Declarant or person lodging the ENS: having an EORI is mandatory for them, but they do not require a Tax Identification Number a digitally-attested qualified certificate. The declarant is the person taking responsibility for the accuracy and truthfulness of the data reported in the ENS. In case it is different from the haulier, and as a result, it acts on its behalf, it must be previously authorised to act as such, although it is not necessary to prove that representation powers prior to the lodging of the declarations (it is assumed to be authorised unless there is evidence on the contrary). 23. How are ENSs numbered? Is an MRN assigned for each bill of lading or for each declaration? Each ENS is numbered by means of a MRN and each of the tariff items in that ENS is numbered with a tariff MRN (5 digits). That is, the MRN is assigned to an ENS, not to a bill of lading. For example, an ENS containing 3 tariff items is numbered with the MRN 10 ES 00101 700000666, and each of the 5 tariff items is numbered with its own tariff MRN: 10 ES 00101 700000666 00001 6
10 ES 00101 700000666 00002 10 ES 00101 700000666 00003 In subsequent procedures (SDTS), whether the operator wants to refer to the ENS as a whole they will refer to the MRN for the ENS (10 ES 00101 700000666), and should they want to refer to an specific tariff item, for example the second one, they will refer to the tariff MRN of such tariff item (10 ES 00101 700000666 00002). 24. Is it compulsory to lodge an ENS for each bill of lading or air waybill? There is no obligation to declare the ENS to a certain level, so the operator can choose how to declare it, subject to its compliance of the following limitations: Should there be several hauliers for a single means of transport, each haulier is required to lodge an ENS for the goods for which they have issued the corresponding BL, so there must be at least as many ENSs as hauliers (please refer to question: Who must lodge the ENS? in this section). In general, the deadline for the submission of the ENS is set according to the moment of arrival of the means of transport to the CTC. However, for long-distance container traffic carried by sea, the deadline is 24 hours before loading, so if a single means of transport loads goods at different ports before reaching the CTC, it will have to lodge an ENS per port, at least. In case there are several hauliers, an ENS for each port and for each haulier smust be lodged. Annex 30(a) to the CCCIP collects those data which must be included in the ENS for each type of transport, and for each piece of data, it must be reported whether that piece of data must be declared at the transport level (Z), heading level (Y) or tariff item level (X). (Z) data are for the means of transport level, so that they must be the same for all the ENSs for the same only means of transport. As for the rest, it can only be included in the same ENS those goods for which all the (Y) data do match. When the goods arrive to the CTC and they are presented to customs, they must be included in the summary declaration for temporary storage (SDTS). Each tariff item of the SDTS should include a reference to the previous ENS (section 186.2 of the CCCIP). Only a SINGLE reference (as type of document) is authorised: MRN for the full ENS, or tariff MRN of a tariff of the ENS. That is, each tariff item of the SDTS can refer to: - A complete ENS (MRN): when ALL the goods declared in the ENS are included in that SDTS tariff item) or - A TARIFF ITEM of the ENS (tariff MRN): when that tariff item of the SDTS includes only the goods declared in a single tariff item of the ENS, so that the other goods on the same ENS will be declared in other separate tariff items of the SDTS. Consequently, it is not possible that a tariff item of the SDTS refers to 2 or more tariff items of the previous ENS. A reference to the whole ENS is only admitted when it refers to a single tariff item (please refer to question 17 on ENS numbering and references). 25. In order to send ENS, is it necessary being an AEO? No, there is no requirement for the declarant (or other) to compulsory be an AEO. 7
The only requirement for the declarant and the haulier is that they must be identified by an Economic Operator Registration Number (EORI) allocated by any MS. 26. In order to send the reduced data, is it sufficient that the declarant is an AEO? In order to be able to send the ENS with the reduced data, as provided for in Box 2.5 of the Annex 30(a) of the CCCIP, it is necessary that both the declarant and all the recipients are AEOs. III. REQUIREMENTS FOR SENDING ENSs 1. I am a company established in France, with a TIN number and a digitally-attested qualified certificate, can I send ENS to the Spanish customs offices? No. In order to send ENS to the Spanish customs offices, you must be identified by means of a recognised electronic signature, that is, an electronic signature which allows the identification of the signatory and detect any subsequent change of the signed data, which is linked to the signatory in a single way and to the data it refers to, which has been created by such means that the signatory can maintaien under its sole control and which is based on a qualified certificate generated by a secure signature creation device. For additional information (in Spanish), please refer to: https://www.agenciatributaria.gob.es/aeat.sede/inicio/_otros_/firma_electronica/firma_electroni ca.shtml 2. Do I need to be authorised/ to hold a prior certification from customs to send ENSs? No, any operator can send ENS provided the platform they are using (illegible fragment (Translator s note)) has undergone compliance testings. 3. Can I lodge the ENS in another Member State in case the customs office of first entry is located in Spain pursuant to the provisions of Article 36(a)(2) of the CCC? Can I lodge the ENS in Spain when the customs office of first entry is in another MS? Neither option is possible. The customs authorities of each MS have decided whether or not they enable this possibility known as lodging customs office. None of those options have been developed in Spain, and therefore: - the ENS for the goods carried on means of transport for which the customs office of first entry is in Spain must be directly sent to the Spanish customs office, and - no ENSs whose customs office of first entry is located in another MS can be lodged in Spain. 4. In the case of maritime transport, will the ENS be sent to the port authorities as it is currently send the SDTS? No, the ENS is directly sent to the customs office, but the SDTS is still sent through the port authorities. 5. Is the person sending the (IE315) ENS message held responsible for its content? There are different roles to an ENS, which have the following requirements for identification purposes: a) Data submitter (message sender): is the person submitting the declaration. It needs to have a digitally-attested qualified certificate but an EORI is not required. 8
It is presumed to be authorised by the declarant to send its ENS. In principle, the data submitter is not to be held liable for the content of the ENS they are sending. However, if after the shipment, it is found out that they were not properly authorised, they become declarant, and thus, being therefore liable for the accuracy and truthfulness of the data reported. b) Declarant or person lodging the ENS: person taking responsibility for the accuracy and truthfulness of the data reported in the ENS. They can be the same as the data submitter (see indent (a)), the haulier (in charge of lodging the ENS) or a third party. In case it is different from the haulier, and as a result, it acts on its behalf, it must be previously authorised to act as such, although it is not necessary to prove that representation powers prior to the lodging of the declarations (it is assumed to be authorised unless there is evidence on the contrary). c) Haulier: in the person in charge of lodging the ENS (for whom having an EORI is compulsory). If submitted by itself, it will be considered the declarant, and it will not be necessary for him to state its EORI as haulier. If he enters into an agreement with a third party for the lodging of the ENS on belhalf of the haulier (as declarant ), it is still held liable for its submission within the deadline but, once it has been submitted, it is the third party the one liable for the accuracy and truthfulness of the data reported. In this case, the EORI of the haulier is compulsory. The above-mentioned authorisations/agreements do not need to be given proof of in the customs office, unless required as such, and their content may extend to any point as agreed by the parties. IV. CONTENTS OF THE ENS 1. What data should be included in the ENS? Annex 30(a) of the CCCIP refers to the data to be included in the ENS for each type of transport, and for each piece of data, it must be reported whether that piece of data must be declared at the transport level (Z), heading level (Y) or tariff item level (X). (Z) data are for the means of transport level, so that they must be the same for all the ENSs for the same only means of transport. As for the rest, it can only be included in the same ENS those goods for which all the (Y) data do match. The compulsory data must be declared exactly as they appear in the transport document. 2. Declaring the HS code of the goods, is it compulsory? No, the 4-digit HS code is an alternative to the detailed accurate description of the goods. That is, only one of the two must be declared. Nevertheless, use of the codification is recommended whenever possible. 3. Can I declare different goods in a single ENS tariff item? In principle, the goods for which ALL the data on a tariff-heading basis match can be included in a single ENS. 9
Among others, the Annexo 30(a) of the CCCIP requires the 4-digit NC code or an accurate detailed description of the goods, as desired by the operator. As they are alternatives, those goods whose classification according to the 4-digit NC code is the same, can be grouped under the same tariff item (providing the remaining data do coincide). 4. Can I declare several consolidated shipments in a single tariff item of the ENS? Yes, providing all the data for that tariff item (including the 4-digit classification of the goods) are the same for all the shipments, even if we opt for the description of the goods instead than for the 4-digit NC code. For those purposes, and in connection with the detailed accurate description of the goods, it is important to note that the description CONSOLIDATED is not acceptable, and therefore, a description of each of the goods is required. In case there are several types of goods, but their HS code is the same for all of them, they can be declared under the same tariff item (for instance, oranges and apples). Otherwise, it is not possible to group them and they will have to be declared under different tariff items. For more information on acceptable descriptions, please see document TAXUD/1402/2007 (in Spanish) at: http://www.agenciatributaria.es/aeat/aduanas/contenidos_privados/procedimientos_aduaneros /Proyecto_ECS/TAXUD-1402-2007-FINAL-ES.pdf 5. Is it possible to send the ENS in English? The ENS is sent by means of a xml (IE315) message whose fields are mostly structured. Should you opt for sending the ENS in English, it should be advisable to use the 4-digit NC code instead of a detailed accurate description of the goods. However, descriptions in English are also acceptable, even if the customs office may later require a translation if necessary. 6. Must empty containers be declared? With regard to empty containers, two situations are distinguished: - If the containers are owned by the haulier, and do not have transport document, it is not necessary to include them in the ENS. - On the contrary, if they are owned by a third party and a BL has been issued for them to be transported, they must be declared INDEED. In this case, the container is considered the goods transported and therefore, all the data in the tariff item must refer to the empty container (for example, the weight must be the weight of the empty container). 7. Taking into account that the weight of empty containers must be declared, in case of containerised cargo, shall the weight of the container be added to the goods weight? No, the weight stated on the ENS must be that of the goods without its equipment. In the case of empty containers, the containers themselves are the goods, and that is why their weight must be declared. The container weight does not to be declared for the rest of cases. 8. For those fissing vessels arriving into the CTC from international waters, what is the place of cargo loading? What is their itinerary? In these cases, origin rules as provided for in the CCCIP are applicable. According to Article 325 of those rules, the information to be declared is the ISO code of the flag country flown by the fissing vessel. The same rule applies to non-ec vessels. 9. What operators/ persons must be identified in an ENS? How? There are different roles to an ENS, which have the following requirements for identification purposes: Data submitter (message sender): is the person submitting the declaration. It needs to have a digitally-attested qualified certificate but an EORI is not required. 10
Haulier: they must have an EORI, but they do not require a TIN or a digitally-attested qualified certificate. It must only be declared when it is different than the declarant. Declarant or person lodging the ENS: they must have an EORI, but they do not require a TIN or a digitally-attested qualified certificate. Issuer and recipient: they must provide their identification details (EORI number) if they have one (operators who are not established within the Coomunity, or the persons established in the Community not being economic operators do not need to have an EORI number) or, alternatively, the following data: a) Name b) Street name/street number c) Country d) Post code e) City V. MOST COMMON MISTAKES FOUND IN THE ENS 1. If I do not know the goods recipient s EORI number, can I provide MY EORI number and HIS name, surname and address? No, NEVER. In general, the operators to be declared in the ENS must be identified by means of its EORI number. For the recipients, the EORI number is not compulsory. Alternatively, they can be identified by providing the following identification details: Name Street name/ street number Country Post code: in case we refer to a country where no post codes are used, please write -. City Those ENS where the EORI number of one operator and the identification details of another operator are provided in the same fiels are NOT CORRECT. In those cases, identification details will not be taken into account, and the data that will prevail would be the data contained in the EORI central electronic system. Also, EORI numbers declared must correspond to the actual operators (issuer, recipient, etc.), as filling in in all the fields the EORI number of the haulier, for instance, is NOT CORRECT. 2. Can I state the invoice number as a description of the goods if that is the information contained in the transport document? No, since UNLESS the corresponding HS code is also stated, the description of the goods must be accurate enough so as to enable customs to identify those goods. Generic terms such as "consolidated cargo", "parts", etc. are not acceptable. For more information about acceptable descriptions, please see the document TAXUD/1402/2007: 11
http://www.agenciatributaria.es/aeat/aduanas/contenidos_privados/procedimientos_aduaneros/ Proyecto_ECS/TAXUD-1402-2007-FINAL-ES.pdf 3. Shall the goods coming from Ceuta and Melilla be covered by an ENS, in spite of being Spanish? Yes, the goods coming from Ceuta and Melilla must be covered by an ENS. The country code corresponding to these cities is XC and XL, respectively. In neither case should ES be used. 4. Why is not my ENS supported by the IT system when the country of loading is not included in the itinerary of the goods? The places where the goods are loaded and unloaded can be declared in the heading, if they are the same for every tariff item or in the tariff item in the latter is not the case. In both cases, the ISO country code where those places are located must be stated as the first two positions of these codes. That country code must necessarily be part of the declared Journey" (or code of the itinerary countries) in the heading of the ENS, in all cases. 5. Why does the system rejects my ENS when I do not include ES as part of the journey? Customs offices in Spain only support ENS when the office of first entry is located in our territory. Therefore, if Spain is not part of the journey of the means of transport, the ENS is not supported. 6. Why does the system reject an ENS when the journey is FR-ES? ENS must only be submitted for goods carried on means of transport entering the CTC from third territories. If there is no third countries in the itinerary of the means of transport, no ENS should not be lodged at all, and therefore that possibility is not supported by the IT sustem. It is essential to declare correctly the itinerary of the means of transport (Country(ies) of routing codes) to avoid delays in customs clearance later. 7. Must empty containers be declared? Empty containers must be declared in the ENS when, for transportation, their corresponding transport document (bill of lading) has been issued. By contrast, the empty containers owned (or available to) by the haulier itself for which no transport contract has been signed do not need to be declared in the SDTS or the ENS. Should they be declared, the container itself is the goods, so the following must be taken into consideration: Weight: the mass of the empty container Package type: CN (code for non specified container, except as transport equipment). Number of packages: as many as empty containers are loaded. 12
VI. CONSOLIDATED CONSIGNMENTS 1. Is it possible to declare a consolidated shipment at Master s level in the ENS? The ENS should be based on the transport document, there being some tolerance for both Master bill of lading information and House bill of lading information, providing they are complete. However, certain data must be in House format in case of consolidation. For example, in accordance with Annex 30 bis of the CCCIP, the description of the goods must be accurate enough as for customs to be able to identify the goods. Generic terms such as "consolidated cargo", "general cargo" or "parties" are not allowed. Therefore, it is not possible to send the ENS at Master s level, it must be always based on House s data. This does not preclude that several shipments for which all the input data (sender, recipient, description or 4-digit NC classification...) match may be declared in the same tariff item of the ENS. You can find more information about acceptable descriptions in the document TAXUD/1402/2007: (http://www.agenciatributaria.es/aeat/aduanas/contenidos_privados/procedimientos_aduanero s/proyecto_ecs/taxud-1402-2007-final-es.pdf) 2. If declarations at the House level must be done, who must lodge the ENS? The obligation to lodge the ENS is still the haulier s. In those cases where the haulier has issued a Master bill of lading to a forwarder who, in turn, has issued a certain number of Houses bills of lading for [illegible], the haulier has two options: a) to reach an agreement with the forwarder that the latter will forward to it the data necessary to send the ENS on time, being responsible for the data accuracy and truthfulness, or b) to reach an agreement with the forwarder for it to be the one lodging the ENS on its behalf, on the basis of the information they possess (House bill of lading). In this case, the haulier must ensure that the ENS is lodged within the deadline but, once filed, the forwarder will be the one held responsible for the accuracy and truthfulness of its contents. Once the ENS has been submitted, the forwarder must notify the MRN allocated to the ENS to the haulier, so that it can include it in the SDTS it will lodge at its arrival at the CTC. 3. Can the airline send the ENS for the Master and the forwarder for the Houses? No, as ENS overlaps must be avoided. If sent at House s bill of lading level, another cannot/should not be sent at Master s bill of lading level (see previous question). For example, Company A issues a Master bill of lading to forwarder B, and the forwarder B issues 10 Houses bills of lading in connection to that Master bill of lading. In both cases, this process will entail a ENS with 10 tariff items (one per House bill of lading). That ENS would be numbered with a MRN having 10 items (00001, 00002,..., 00010). Therefore, the person in charge of sending the ENS would be A (the haulier). However, as the information must be based in Houses bill of lading data, it has two options: 13
- Reach an agreement for B to provide A with data from their House bills of lading so that A can send the ENS. From the sending of the data, Iberia would be responsible for the accuracy and truthfulness of the reported data. - Reach an agreement for B to send the declaration on behalf of A. From the sending of the data, B would be responsible for the accuracy and truthfulness of the reported data. Therefore, there will an ENS only which will include the House bills of lading in different tariff items. In the SDTS, A would declare the MRN of the ENS and then B would unbind by declaring in each "new" tariff item (unbindings are considered tariff items additions) the heading MRN of the corresponding tariff item of the ENS (see question 17 of section II, on ENS numbering). 4. In the case above, what happens if you have more than one ENS for the same heading of an SDTS? In this case, and only when the type of bill of lading being declared in the SDTS is a Master (MB), can the MRN not be declared in the previous ENS, and the IT system will search on the basis of bill of lading number. Later, the forwarder will carry out the unbinding. In case of transhipment goods in which in principle unbinding is not intended, the declarant will be informed of the risks identified in order to proceed to unbinding. VII. COMBINED TRANSPORT 27. What is meant by combined transport? Who should send the ENS in these cases? Combined transport rules apply to those cases where the active means of transport entering the CTC (the ferry) merely transport other means of transport which, after entering the CTC, will move on its own means as an active means of transport (truck). In these cases, the haulier is not the operator of the ferry, but the company that is operating the truck and has issued the corresponding CMR, and is therefore responsible for lodging the ENS. The type of transport, for the purposes of determining what data must be declared, is "maritime" (Table 2.1 of Annex 30bis of the CCCIP) and the deadlines for lodging ENS are those of a ferry boat. Finally, the IMO code of the ferry must be declared as the ID of active means of transport crossing the border in the ENS. 28. In the case above, is it not necessary to declare the truck number plate? Yes, the truck number plate should be declared in the field "Conveyance reference number" preceded by the code "XFER". In neither case should the truck number plate be declared in the field for the number of container. In case both the road tractor and trailer number plates are to be declared, that will be done consecutively, separated by ":" [colon]. 29. The transport of a trailer without a road in a ferry, is it considered combined transport? Who should send the ENS in this case? 14
No, it is not, as the trailer cannot move on its own after its arrival to the CTC, so it is NOT considered combined transport. In this case, it is the shipping company the one in charge of sending the ENS or arrange its lodging with a third party on its behalf. In this situation, considering that the information necessary to send the ENS is held by the company operating the truck and having issued the CMR, the shipping line has two options: a) to reach an agreement with the truck company to send to them the data necessary to send the ENS on time, being responsible for the data accuracy and truthfulness, or b) to reach an agreement with the truck company for it to be the one lodging the ENS on its behalf, on the basis of the information they possess. In this case, the shipping company must ensure that the ENS is lodged within the deadline but, once filed, the transport company will be the one held responsible for the accuracy and truthfulness of its contents. 30. For cases of trucks with consolidation of cargo coming through Algeciras in a ferry from Tangier, should a single ENS be lodged for the whole truck or different ENSs for each tariff item of the consolidation of cargo? If a single ENS is made for the whole consolidation of cargo but some of the tariff items are at risk, is the whole truck stopped? The ENS must be based on the transport document, i.e., the CMR, but the operator can choose how to send his declaration providing the heading data of the ENS are the same for all the goods included in each ENS (see question 18 of section II). Where a risk affecting exclusively a tariff item of the ENS is identified, the other goods may move normally. On the other hand, if the risk affects the heading of an ENS, all goods declared therein will be controlled. VIII. SECURITY RISKS AND PROTECTION (CONTROLS AND ENS) 1. At what point will controls derived from the analysis of safety and security risks be carried out, if any? There are 3 times when it is possible to carry the controls, depending on the severity of the risks: a) Prior to the load: for short-sea shipping container traffic, a "no load" message will be sent in those cases where there is a danger to the safety and security of such gravity requiring that it requires immediate intervention, and such goods will not be allowed to enter the CTC (for example, a health alert). b) At the customs office of first entry, although its unloading is not expected (FROB), only when a risk of such a serious nature has been detected that immediate intervention is required. c) In the customs office where the unloading and presentation of the goods take place, in general. 2. Does the message of "no load" affect the entire ENS? Can we load the rest of goods declared in the ENS? The message of "no load" may affect a tariff item of the ENS, if the risk is detected at a tariff item, or the entire declaration, if detected at a heading. The no load message will specify the affected tariff item(s). In the event that only one, or several tariff items are affected, the rest can be loaded without further proceedings. 15
3. Those controls deriving from the risks identified in the ENS, will be carried out in the port where the goods are unloaded? Where will the goods onboard the means of transport going to exit the CTC be controlled? In general, controls will be performed in the place of unloading of the goods. However, a risk of such a serious nature has been detected that immediate intervention by the customs office of first entry is required, that customs office will be in charge of controlling the goods even if it is necessary to ask for the unplanned unloading of goods (FROB). In relation to the goods simply passing through the CTC, they would be controlled at the customs office of first entry on the basis of the risks, if any, being detected. 4. If a thread for FROB that must be controlled at the first point of entry is detected, how is the haulier informed of the unloading of the goods? The customs office, through the Inbox, will inform the operator of the active means of transport of those goods to be unloaded and made available to Customs, by means of the disclosure of: a) In air transport, the transport document number. b) In maritime transport, the container number. Likewise, the declarant of the ENS will be informed of this, provided it is connected to the customs IT system. 5. How will the hauliers shipping the goods to be controlled of where is their unloading scheduled? Control at the discharge point will be made using the usual procedure and, as a general rule, no specific information will be given on the controls carried out during the customs clearance. However, in those cases where no customs declaration will take place (transfers), the location of each tariff item will be disclosed through the inbox IT system: retained (cannot be transferred to other means of transport until they are controlled by customs) or available. This information will be disclosed to: a) for air transport, the airline sending the SDTS. b) for maritime transport, the shipping agent having sent the information of the tariff item to be transhipped. For air transport, if the tariff item is to be retained is a consolidated shipment, the haulier must notify the unbinding agent when it may unbind. If it does so, it will informed of which one is the shipment in risk, and the rest of goods may continue to be shipped. IX. FORMALITIES AFTER ARRIVAL 1. What happens when the vessel reaches the first port of entry? Before or upon arrival at the first port of entry, the vessel operator must send the so-called Arrival Notification for all shipments being shipped on the vessel. The AN allows Customs to identify all previously filed ENS for those shipments. A declaration will have to be lodged for all the containers to be unloaded at the first port (so far). The party presenting the goods for temporary storage must also submit a summary declaration for temporary storage. This summary declaration may be lodged along 16
with the declaration and the notice of arrival if so authorised by the Customs authorities of each EU Member State. 2. Who should send the notice of arrival (AN) referred to in Article 184(g) of the CCCIP? What form is to be used? The notice of arrival is ONE per means of transport and must ALWAYS be send by the operator of the active means of transport. This notice consists of the data shown below (Key Entry) which, as required by the regulations, will enable to identify the ENSs lodged for the goods carried on that vessel as well as carry out the corresponding controls on the basis of the risks identified, including FROBs: - Type of means of transport - IMO Code of the vessel (maritime transport) or flight number (air transport) - Expected date of arrival In Spain, at present, these data are already included in the SDTS heading so that the notice of arrival will also be included therein as provided for in Article 186.5 of CCCIP. 3. As the notice of arrival must be only lodged at the customs office of first entry, in the other cases, is it necessary to send the heading of the SDTS as there is no notice of arrival? Yes, the FULL SDTS must always be submitted in all ports /airports where the means of transport are calling. Therefore, the heading is to be sent too to the following customs offices (other than the customs office of first entry) even if the data therein will not be considered as a notice of arrival and, therefore, the procedure is different. The main difference is that the customs controls to be carried out on the basis of the risk identified in the ENSs are limited to goods to be unloaded being declared at tariff item level, and it is not necessary to identify the FROB, which will have been previously controlled by the office of first entry. 4. In maritime transport, if the AN is part of the SDTS that is sent through the Port Authorities, can it still be sent through them? Is there a deadline to lodge it? The SDTS, and therefore the AN, will still be sent through the Port Authorities, according to the present requirements. As for the deadlines, the SDTS can be sent at any time PRIOR to the arrival of the means of transport (it is considered that the arrival occurs when the port authorities sent "the activation message" to the customs office (after requesting for piloting service). 5. How do you link the ENS(s) to the subsequent SDTS? When the goods arrive at the CTC and are presented to customs they must be included in the summary declaration for temporary storage (SDTS). Each item of the SDTS should include a reference to the previous ENS (186.2 CCCIP). Only a SINGLE reference (as document type) is supported for each tariff item of the SDTS: full MRN for the ENS or (tariff item) MRN for a tariff item of the ENS. That is, each item in the SDTS can refer to: - A full ENS (MRN): when all the goods declared in the ENS are included in that tariff item of the SDTS, or 17
- A sole tariff item of the ENS ((tariff item) MRN): when that tariff item of the SDTS only includes goods declared in a single tariff item of the ENS, so that the other goods on the same ENS shall be declared in other tariff items elsewhere in the SDTS. Consequently, it is possible for a tariff item of SDTS to refer to 2 or more tariff items in the previous ENS. Only the reference to the full ENS to a single game is supported (see question 17 on the numbering of the ENS and references). (See question below on the numbering of the ENS) 6. How are ENSs numbered? Is an MRN assigned for each bill of lading or for each declaration? Each ENS is numbered by means of a MRN, and each of the tariff items in that ENS is numbered with a tariff MRN (5 digits). For example, an ENS containing 3 items is numbered with the MRN 10 ES 00101 700000666 and each of the 5 tariff items is numbered with its own tariff MRN: 10 ES 00101 700000666 00001 10 ES 00101 700000666 00002 10 ES 00101 700000666 00003 In subsequent procedures (SDTS), whether the operator wants to refer to the ENS as a whole they will refer to the MRN for the ENS (10 ES 00101 700000666) and should they want to refer to a particular tariff item, they will refer to the tariff MRN of such tariff item. 7. Is it necessary to include a reference to the previous ENS in all cases? What if there is no ENS? There are several cases where the SDTS should not refer to a previous ENS: a) In the case of goods entering the CTC which must not be covered by an ENS in accordance with the exceptions provided for in Article 181(c) of CCCIP. b) When the goods have already been transhipped at a port/airport, as they have already been declared for temporary storage at the first point where they were unloaded from the means of transport which introduced them in the CTC and, where appropriate, the security and protection controls will have already been carried out at that point (Article 183.3 of CCCIP). c) For air transport, when an item of the SDTS includes consolidated goods for which several ENSs have been sent, the MRN may not be initially declared, providing the type of bill of lading is MB. In this case, the MRN of the previous ENSs shall be declared when making the unbinding. d) Finally, considering that the SDTS is lodged in all cases and not only for the goods coming from outside the CTC, there will not be a reference to a previous ENS when these goods are not coming from outside the CTC. 8. How do the new requirements in relation to the clearance of customs declarations (SAD)? Is it necessary for the SAD to refer to the ENS? The ENS has no implications in terms of clearance procedures. The DUA must refer to the SDTS (which, in turn, will refer to the previous ENS), as it is done at present. 18
From the point of view of the controls to be carried because of the risks identified in the ENS, such inspections shall be made as far as possible during the clearance procedure, but without affecting the current processing. 9. Will there be any change in box 40 of the SAD? Should any reference be made in the SAD to the previous ENS as a loading document? No, box 40 should still refer to the SDTS, as it does at present. 10. Should the FROB be included in the SDTS? In principle, no. However, if a FROB consignment being declared in the ENS is affected by a risk of such a serious nature that unloading from the means of transport at the customs office of first entry is required, the operator must include those goods in the SDTS, once it has been informed of the need to unload those goods. 19