Shipping Manifest

Definition

A shipping manifest is the carrier’s official list of everything loaded on a ship, plane, truck, or train. The carrier sends it to customs before the cargo loads or arrives. Customs then compares it with the bills of lading, the importer’s security filing (ISF) on ocean cargo, and the entry you file.

What it contains

Each line on a manifest is one shipment. Every line starts with a bill of lading number, or an air waybill number for air cargo, and that number is how customs ties the line to every other document. Beside it sit the carrier code, the vessel and voyage or flight, the ports, and the arrival date. It also names the shipper, the consignee (the company receiving the goods), and the notified party (the contact when the cargo arrives).

It ends with a description of the goods, the quantity, the weight, and the container and seal numbers. Quantity is counted in the smallest outer package, so 10 pallets holding 200 cartons show as 200 cartons.

What a shipping manifest looks like

Where it’s used

Commercial cargo entering the US by ocean, air, truck, or rail each has its own manifest, and carriers file them.

A non-vessel operating common carrier (NVOCC), which is a company that buys space from ocean carriers and resells it to smaller shippers, files the bills for the shipments it packs together.

Customs brokers and importer compliance managers don’t file the manifest, but they check their own filings against it, and customs officers use it to decide what gets released and what gets held. India works the same way, with the carrier filing an arrival manifest, called the Import General Manifest (IGM), through the ICEGATE system.

How it’s used

A manifest moves through the same steps on most ocean imports.

1. The shipper books with the carrier or an NVOCC, and the bills of lading are issued.

2. You or the importer file the ISF against the house bill number, if there is one.

3. The carrier, or the NVOCC for its own bills, sends the manifest to CBP through ACE, which is CBP’s electronic system for imports.

4. CBP screens the data, and a vague description or a missing party can trigger a “Do Not Load” message that keeps the container off the ship.

5. ACE matches your ISF and your cargo release to the bill numbers on the manifest.

6. CBP releases the cargo, or it places a hold until the problem is fixed.

7. If the cargo that arrives doesn’t match the list, the carrier reports an overage or a shortage.

Because every step leans on the bill number, one wrong digit can stall a good container.

Example

Say you file an ISF for a container of car parts using house bill NVOC-123456. Later the NVOCC re-issues the bill as NVOC-123457 and sends that new number to CBP. Your ISF now points to a bill that was never manifested, so ACE shows no match.

You fix it by updating the ISF and keeping the NVOCC’s correction notice, because the importer still faces $5,000 in liquidated damages (a payment CBP can claim against the importer’s bond).

Types

A manifest changes with how the cargo travels.

Ocean cargo declaration

The ocean cargo declaration, filed on CBP Form 1302, lists all foreign cargo on a vessel. It is due 24 hours before containers are loaded at the foreign port, so the ISF you file has to match it a full day before sailing. Ocean carriers and NVOCCs file it.

Air cargo manifest

The air cargo manifest, CBP Form 7509, lists the cargo on an arriving plane. It is due 4 hours before landing, or at takeoff if the plane comes from a nearby foreign area such as Mexico. Airlines file it, and air has no ISF, so the broker’s release is matched straight to the house air waybill.

Truck and rail manifest

The inward cargo manifest, CBP Form 7533, covers cargo arriving by truck or train. A truck manifest is due 1 hour before arrival, or 30 minutes for FAST trusted carriers, and a train manifest is due 2 hours before.

India arrival manifest (IGM)

The Import General Manifest is India’s version of the import manifest. The shipping line, airline, or its agent files it through ICEGATE before the cargo arrives. Indian Customs compares each line with the invoice, packing list, and bill of lading, so a manifest showing 400 cartons against an invoice showing 420 gets caught early.

Variations

The same manifest reads differently depending on what you compare it to.

Manifest vs. bill of lading

A bill of lading covers one shipment, while the manifest lists every bill on the ship, plane, truck, or train. The bill is also a contract and a receipt, and the manifest is neither. Carriers build the manifest from the bills, so a wrong consignee name on a bill shows up on the manifest.

Master vs. house

A master bill is the one the ocean carrier issues, and it often names the NVOCC as the consignee. A house bill is the one the NVOCC issues to each real customer. You file the ISF at the house level, so twelve shippers sharing one container means one master bill and twelve house bills.

Manifest vs. ISF

The manifest is the carrier’s list of what is on board, and the ISF (also called 10+2) is the importer’s filing about who bought, sold, and made the goods. The carrier files one, the importer or broker files the other, and the ISF applies only to ocean cargo. The bill number is the only link between them, so a typo leaves a correct ISF with nothing to match.

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