Japan's 24 hour Advanced Manifest Regulation

Dear Valued Customers,

OOCL would like to notify you that Japan Customs has announced a new 24 hour Advanced Manifest Regulation, to take effect from March 2014. The rules require all ocean carriers and Non Vessel Operating Common Carriers (NVOCCs) to submit a list of customs-defined data elements to Japan Customs at least 24 hours prior to vessel departure from the Port of Loading. The regulation is applicable to all cargo loaded on foreign trading vessels intending to enter a port in Japan, while empty containers, cargo on platform container and cargo not to be discharged in Japan are exempted. When the filing is made 24 hours before loading of a cargo on a vessel, carriers and NVOCCs can receive an advance notice before loading of the cargo.

Failure to comply with this rule could result in cargo hold at port of loading, or the denial of permission to unload vessel cargo and the possibility of returning the cargo to the load port, and the carriers and NVOCCs will be subject to imprisonment for up to one year or fines up to JPY500,000.

For more details about the requirements and FAQs, please see the following information from Japan Customs: http://www.customs.go.jp/english/summary/advance/index.htm

To comply with this regulation, we request our customers to provide complete and accurate shipping instructions before the closing time. This information will be published on our website and also available in our Booking Acknowledgements/Confirmations document.

OOCL will continue to update customers if there are any further developments on this customs initiative.

Should you have any inquiries relating to this regulation, please feel free to contact our local customer service representatives. Thank you.