Highlight! Interpretation of issues related to the new manifest at Shanghai port

Special attention to those engaged in foreign trade and freight forwarding who ship from Shanghai Port! A new operational method for export manifest transmission will be implemented from November 1, 2018, introducing new requirements for the transmission time limit, changes, and transmission of pre-allocated manifests. Prior to this, the General Administration of Customs has issued Order No. 172 and Announcement No. 56 of 2017, announcing adjustments to the new pre-allocated export manifests. Users must provide accurate information (including mandatory fields such as the code of the sending and receiving enterprises, container number and seal number, and gross weight) when sending the pre-allocated manifest, and it must be verified to be consistent with the customs declaration information before customs declaration and boarding can be arranged.  

▲Document No. 56 of the General Administration of Customs in 2017

Currently, major shipping companies have issued an urgent notice, urging everyone to pay close attention and pass on the information to others. To ensure that customs pre-allocated manifests can be sent to customs in a timely manner, please provide complete manifest information at least 3-4 days before the ship departs. Otherwise, there may be situations where you cannot board the ship or clear customs in a timely manner!  

Currently, according to customs regulations, the export pre-allocated manifest for container ships must be transmitted to customs by the shipping company 24 hours before loading. The information in the manifest needs to be provided to the shipping company by the cargo owner and freight forwarder. The specific information in the new manifest includes the following:

Shipper code: (Unified Social Credit Code Certificate)

Shipper name: (shipping unit)

Shipper's address:

Shipper's contact number:

Consignee name: (in English)

Consignee address: (in English)

Consignee code: (The actual consignee or notifier's legal enterprise registration code in the country or region shall be filled in, in the format of "9999+enterprise code"; for natural persons, the ID card, passport number, or other valid documents shall be filled in, in the formats of "ID+ID number", "PASSPORT+passport number", and "8888+identity code", respectively)

Consignee contact number:

Moreover, the customs has clarified that before the transmission deadline, the new pre-allocated manifest can only be successfully sent once. Afterwards, updates can only be submitted through modification or deletion. Multiple modifications will cause the customs to enter manual review mode or result in the manifest being returned, which will affect the customer's shipment for that voyage.

Interpretation of issues related to the new manifest

What is a manifest?

According to the "Administrative Measures of the Customs of the People's Republic of China for the Manifests of Inbound and Outbound Means of Transport", the manifests of inbound and outbound means of transport refer to the carriers that reflect the information of goods, articles, and passengers carried by inbound and outbound means of transport, including original manifests, pre-allocated manifests, and loading manifests.

"Original manifest" refers to the manifest transmitted by the manifest transmitter to the customs, reflecting the information about the goods, articles, or passengers loaded on the inbound means of transport. It is also known as the "import manifest" as we previously mentioned.  

"Pre-arranged manifest" refers to a manifest that reflects the information about the goods, articles, or passengers expected to be loaded onto the outbound transportation vehicle.  

"Loading manifest" refers to the manifest that reflects the actual cargo, articles, or passenger information loaded onto the outbound transportation vehicle.  

The pre-allocated manifest and loading manifest are primarily for export manifests. Under the new manifest model, the clean manifest has been eliminated and the loading manifest has been added.  

What are the functions of the new manifest system recently launched by the General Administration?  

The new manifest system achieves full supervision over all logistics links of import and export goods through the connection and verification of the original import manifest, export pre-allocated manifest, export loading manifest, arrival report, tally report, diversion application, distribution application, reallocation application, and unloading application transmitted by enterprises.  

The new manifest system is more complex in logic than the old one, but it boasts a higher degree of automation, with many operational steps being completed automatically by the system, eliminating the need for manual intervention from customs. For instance, the export shipment information verification work previously carried out by Ningbo Customs is now automatically completed by the system in the new manifest system. There is no longer a need for manual verification. As long as the pre-allocated manifest, arrival report, customs declaration form, loading manifest, and other data match, the system can automatically send the loading permission instruction to the dock. Another example is the customs clearance of the customs declaration form. Previously, manual customs clearance was required. Now, after the system automatically verifies the tally report as normal during the shipment of goods, the customs declaration form can be automatically cleared.  

What are the major changes between the new manifest system after reform and the previous one?  

The export process of the new manifest system is as follows:

1. The manifest transmitter sends the pre-allocated manifest, and after the goods arrive at the customs supervision site, the supervision site sends an arrival report;  

2. The customs declarer declares the export customs declaration form, and the customs handles the inspection and release procedures;  

3. The manifest transmitter sends the loading manifest;  

4. The customs system automatically sends the loading permission instruction to the dock;  

5. After the goods are loaded and shipped, the cargo handling company sends a cargo handling report to the customs;  

6. The customs system automatically processes the customs declaration for clearance. Under the new manifest mode, the export clean manifest has been eliminated, and a cargo handling report has been added.

In addition, the system is highly automated. We can print the export tax refund form the day after export, which is faster than under the old manifest mode.  

When will Shanghai Customs start using the new manifest system?  

It has been reported that Shanghai Port will implement new operational measures for export manifest transmission starting from November 1, 2018, introducing new requirements for the transmission time limit, modifications, and transmission of pre-allocated manifests.

After the new manifest system goes online, which types of enterprises need to transmit data to the new manifest system?  

Each manifest transmission enterprise is required to transmit the original inbound manifest, outbound pre-allocated manifest, and outbound loading manifest (empty containers and international transfer containers are temporarily not required to be transmitted) to the customs. Manifest transmission enterprises mainly refer to shipping agencies. Operators of ports, customs supervision areas, and cargo handling departments are required to transmit arrival reports and cargo handling reports to the customs.

CargoEDI is actively preparing solutions

Since serving Ningbo E-Port in 2014, CargoEDI has not only acquired mature EDI interaction technology and rich transmission experience, but also explored a brand-new service model combining client-side and online services. As an "old friend" in the freight forwarding circle, CargoEDI keeps abreast of every "development" in the freight forwarding industry and helps freight forwarding companies provide corresponding solutions. In response to the new manifest requirements implemented by Ningbo on July 1, 2018, CargoEDI provided a complete and perfect solution for Ningbo freight forwarding companies.  

Shanghai new manifest page

In response to the "Announcement No. 56" issued by the General Administration of Customs of Shanghai, CargoEDI has been closely monitoring the situation. Immediately after the announcement, we conducted a demand survey and analysis, promptly upgraded the platform for our existing customers, and launched a new manifest service platform based on the actual situation of the industry.