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US Customs requires importers of record to file ISF 10+2

The 1st ISF 10+2 Rule Essay

Effective January 26 of 2010, importers will be faced with a $5,000 fine per violation if the ISF data is not filed.
This is a brand ocean containerized cargo new rule, called the “Importer Security Filing and Additional Carrier Requirements”, and is being enforced:

  • to enhance the importer’s sphere of accountability back to the point of stuffing
  • that will in turn enhance cargo targeting prior to the loading at the foreign port
  • and ultimately should result in fewer exams for low risk shipments

The responsibility of the ISF importer for the “Importer Security Filing” covers the “10” data elements component of the rule, and the responsibility of “Additional Carrier Requirements” by the steamship line corresponds to the “+2” container tracking report portion of the rule. The 10 elements of the importer’s data are: seller, buyer, importer, consignee, manufacturer, ship to party, country of origin, harmonized tariff schedule (HTS) number, container stuffing location, and consolidator. The 2 elements of the steamship’s data are: vessel stow plan and container status messages.

The rule has been a goal of Customs and Border Patrol for many years, as an effort to push supply chain security efforts back from our borders to the point of origin (“stuffing”). The proposed rule was published back in January of 2008, with the final rule published last November of that same year (2008). The effective date of the rule was this past January (2009), and full enforcement of the rule is planned for January 26th, 2010.
Unitrans Worldwide, Inc. can conduct this mandatory government filing on your behalf and keep your company in compliance and save you possible fines.

The 2nd ISF 10+2 Rule Essay

If any data in a container changes while it is in transit between a foreign port and a US port, then according to Customs and Border Protection, the shipper must amend its Importer Security Filings and file them in the Federal Register. Only the party who originally filed the ISF is permitted to update the ISF.