Export attention! New regulations on Indian manifests, new regulations on related documents in Egypt, Nicaragua, and El Salvador

▷Egypt

According to the notification of the Egyptian authorities, starting from April 1, 2021 (according to the time of arrival at the Egyptian port, mandatory on July 1), ACID (Advance Cargo Information Declaration) must be displayed for all cargo to Egypt In the notifier column, goods lacking ACID information will not be unloaded from the ship.

Background sharing on ACID: According to the new Egyptian regulations, importers must report the arrival of the goods in advance before loading at the port of departure and wait for the approval of the relevant authorities. Once the customs approval (cargo information declaration form) is received, the importer is responsible for providing ACID to the exporter so that they can update all documents related to the shipment, including the bill of lading.

▷Nicaragua

Only the original bill of lading will be accepted;

The original bill of lading must show the cost (if the bill of lading does not show the cost, the consignee must contact the port of destination to obtain proof of the cost);

The shipper on the bill of lading must show the legal name, address (including city and country) and phone number;

Must provide the consignee’s TAX ID (13 digits, such as: J0310000064784);

Must provide a high security seal number (High Security Seal Number);

Must provide the gross weight in KGS and the volume in CBM;

All wood materials must be declared and will be fumigated at the port of destination;

Private household items must be transported by a freight forwarder.

▷El Salvador

Only the original bill of lading will be accepted;

The bill of lading must show the consignee’s TAX ID, contact number and email address;

If the booking requires Door Delivery, the bill of lading must show the exact place of delivery;

The customs requires the total cost to be entered in the customs system. Therefore, it is recommended that the original bill of lading show the cost. If the bill of lading does not show the cost, the consignee needs to contact the port of destination to obtain a proof of the cost.

▷India

According to the announcement issued by the shipping company Hapag-Lloyd, the Central Commission for Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) of India issued Notice No. 39/2021-Customs (NT) on March 31, 2021, regarding the Indian Maritime Cargo Manifest (SCMT) The regulations have been updated, and the SCMTR will take effect on April 15, 2021.

It is understood that Indian Customs has prepared a system to digitally accept shipping documents from various stakeholders. The Indian Customs also recommends that all shipping companies conduct parallel tests on the export general manifest EGM and IGM documents.

The following are the main requirements of SCMTR:

▍Marine Arrival Manifest (SAM)

Import manifests are now called "arrival manifests" and shipping companies will be required to submit detailed information about all imports, transshipments and loading containers to Indian customs before departure or before arrival at Indian ports.

For cargo unloaded/destination in Indian ports, the Arrival Manifest (SAM) should also include the following data:

HSN code (6 digits)

The consignee’s IEC (importer exporter code) (if there is no IEC, the consignee’s PAN should be indicated)

Notifier/consignee's PAN (permanent account number)

House Bill of Lading (HBL) information needs to be declared at the last port of call in India before departure

▍Arrival manifest requirements

Before arriving at an Indian port, submit all IGM/SCMT related information, bill of lading (HBL) or cargo summary notice (CSN), preferred container freight station (CFS) details, etc., at least 72 hours before the departure of the last port of call to Shipping company.

Important note: For FROB containers, the above data is not required. However, the complete bill of lading information needs to be provided 72 hours before the last port of call.

▍Departure Manifest (SDM)

The export manifest is now called the departure manifest, and shipping companies will be required to submit details of all exported containers to Indian customs before the ship leaves the port.

The departure manifest should also include the following data:

• HSN code (6 digits)

• Shipper/consignor’s IEC code (if there is no IEC, indicate the shipper’s/consignor’s PAN).

• Shipper’s PAN (permanent account number)

• PCIN (Main Cargo Identification Number)-Date (yyyy-mm-dd)

Important note: The above information must be submitted in the export cargo shipping instructions.

Export attention! New regulations on Indian manifests, new regulations on related documents in Egypt, Nicaragua, and El Salvador

Regarding the arrival manifest and departure manifest, the CBIC authorities have made the following clarifications:

The PCIN (Main Cargo Identification Number) will be generated by the customs, and the actual shipper and consignee will be stated on the bill of lading for imported goods or the LEO bill of lading for exported goods.

When the freight forwarder/consolidator submits the detailed information of the bill of lading (HBL) using the CSN format, the customs will generate a CSN (Cargo Summary Notification).

When the details of the HBL and the master bill of lading (MBL) match the corresponding CSN or SAM/SDM documents, the customs will generate the MCIN (Master Cargo Identification Number).

▍Departure manifest requirements

In order to comply with the SCMT deadline, Hapag-Lloyd will implement a revised deadline for export goods.

We kindly ask you to submit PCIN (generated after the generated LEO transport document) or CSN (generated by the freight forwarder/consolidator) to Hapag-Lloyd before the deadline.

If the freight forwarder/consolidator does not generate a CSN, the bill of lading (HBL) data and PCIN should be submitted to Hapag-Lloyd within the announced deadline.

Any modification after submission of SAM or SDM must be approved by Indian customs authorities and will be subject to customs fines.

▍Change of destination (COD)

COD is only allowed to be used 72 hours before the vessel departs from the last port of call. After this deadline, any changes in the bill of lading information may result in discrepancies with the arrival manifest, resulting in fines.

Local data requirements, including HBL declaration requirements, CFS / DPD nomination, special economic zone declaration; after using SCMTR, this port cut-off time will be revised to 3 working days before the vessel arrives at the last port.

The change of destination will not be processed unless related changes are made to the waybill and relevant evidence is submitted to the shipping company.