DC Velocity - October 2011

A potential source of disagreement between shipper and carrier is the EORI—or to be precise, whether the number is required for an ENS filing. The wording of the EU regulations indicates that the ENS can still be accepted if the EORI numbers are not available. However, some ocean carriers have said they will not accept the ENS data if the EORIs are not included, Little notes.

Another area where carriers and shippers may not see eye to eye is the cutoff time for freight data submissions. Although the data are required 24 hours before loading, some carriers have been requiring the exporter to provide the information 48 hours to four days in advance to give them enough time to process and submit it to European customs authorities, says Sheila Hewitt, vice president of the 3PL Transplace’s international arm. “In some cases, shippers have difficulty communicating that information because they have not yet loaded the materials into a container, making a tight window for them to get it to the ocean carrier in time,” she observes.

What if the U.S. exporter cannot pro-
vide all the necessary information? “We
have a list of required information. If any
were missing, including one of the
mandatory elements, our operating sys-
tem alerts us, and we have to collect and
enter the necessary data before we can
proceed,” King says. “It’s highly unlikely a
shipment would get through with miss-
ing data; if this happened and the carriers
were unable to file with EU customs, then
it could result in delays or penalties.”
The direct responsibility for filing lies
with the carrier, so—depending on the issue,
King emphasizes—the carrier, shipper, or
forwarder may be liable for any penalties. In
some circumstances, carriers could elect to
pass those penalties on to customers.