Cargo security, manifest and exams

This glossary covers Cargo security, manifest and exams terms used by importers, customs brokers and trade-compliance teams.

ISF 10+2

Importer Security Filing under 19 CFR part 149: ten importer data elements plus two carrier elements (vessel stow plan, container status messages) for U.S. bound vessel cargo; not an entry.

ISF-5

Five-element Importer Security Filing under 19 CFR 149.3(b) for vessel cargo that is FROB (foreign cargo remaining on board), immediate exportation or transportation and exportation; not the ten-element ISF-10.

ISF late filing penalty

The liquidated damages claim CBP issues under the importer's bond for a late, inaccurate, unupdated, unwithdrawn or missing Importer Security Filing; a bond claim, not a 19 U.S.C. 1592 penalty.

ISF bond

The bond securing Importer Security Filing liability: a continuous importation, custodial, carrier or FTZ bond, a single transaction bond, or the ISF-specific Appendix D bond under 19 CFR part 113.

AMS

CBP's Automated Manifest System: the manifest channel (vessel, air, rail) through which carriers and NVOCCs file bills of lading and CBP posts holds and releases; not USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service.

ACAS

Air Cargo Advance Screening: CBP's pre-loading security filing of air cargo data for U.S.-bound flights, made before the cargo is loaded abroad; separate from the later air manifest filing.

24-hour rule

Vessel advance cargo declaration rule: the carrier or NVOCC transmits the bill-level manifest to CBP no later than 24 hours before lading at the foreign port; not the importer's ISF.

PAPS

Pre-Arrival Processing System: U.S. inbound truck release process where the carrier's ACE manifest and the broker's pre-filed entry are tied by a barcoded shipment control number; not a Canadian program.

PARS

Pre-Arrival Review System: the Canada Border Services Agency's pre-arrival truck release process, keyed to a carrier-assigned PARS barcode that the Canadian broker's release request references; not a U.S. CBP program.

BRASS

Border Release Advanced Screening and Selectivity: a CBP land-border line release program for pre-approved, repetitive low-risk shipments released at the booth from a barcode and invoice; not FAST or CTPAT.

FAST

Free and Secure Trade: CBP's trusted commercial driver and carrier program at the Canadian and Mexican land borders, run with CBSA in the north (dedicated lanes); not a release filing.

arrival notice

Carrier or NVOCC notice to the consignee and notify party that a shipment is arriving: bill number, container, charges due, free time; a commercial document, not a CBP form.

telex release

The carrier's release of cargo at destination without surrender of the original bill of lading, after the shipper surrenders it at origin (compare express release); commercial, not a CBP release.

CES exam

A physical CBP examination at a Centralized Examination Station, a privately operated CBP-designated facility where cargo is moved for unloading and inspection at the importer's expense; not a CBP lab.

VACIS

Vehicle and Cargo Inspection System: the gamma-ray or x-ray equipment behind CBP's non-intrusive inspection (NII) exam, in which a sealed container is scanned rather than opened; not a hold code.

intensive exam

A full physical CBP examination in which the container is unloaded (devanned), typically at a Centralized Examination Station, and the cargo is opened, counted and inspected; the costliest exam type.

tailgate exam

A CBP exam in which officers open the container doors at the terminal or CES and inspect what is visible from the tailgate without unloading; lighter than an intensive exam.

manifest hold

A CBP hold against a bill of lading in the carrier's manifest (AMS or ACE) so the terminal cannot release the cargo until CBP lifts it; not a PGA hold.

A-TCET hold

A hold by CBP's Anti-Terrorism Contraband Enforcement Team, an Office of Field Operations unit targeting narcotics, weapons, currency and contraband, usually resolved by an intensive exam; not a PGA hold.

PGA hold

A partner government agency's hold on an entry line, set through the ACE PGA message set, that stops release until the agency clears it; not a CBP-targeted hold.