§ 18.6 - Short shipments; shortages; entry and allowance.

§ 18.6 Short shipments; shortages; entry and allowance.

(a) Notification of short shipment. When an in-bond shipment arrives at the port of destination or the port of exportation and the cargo covered by the original in-bond application is short, the arriving carrier must notify CBP of the shortage when submitting the notice of arrival via a CBP-approved EDI system.

(b) New in-bond application required. The carrier or any of the parties named in § 18.1(c) must, in accordance with the filing requirements of § 18.1, submit a new in-bond application to transport short shipped packages that have been located or recovered to the port of destination or port of exportation provided in the in-bond application. Reference must be made in the new in-bond application to the original transportation entry.

(c) Demand for redelivery; entry. When a shipment or a portion of a shipment is not delivered, or when delivery is to an unauthorized location or is delivered to the consignee without the permission of CBP, CBP may demand return (redelivery) of the merchandise to CBP custody. The demand must be made no later than 30 days after the shortage, delivery, or failure to deliver is discovered by CBP. The demand for the redelivery of the merchandise to CBP custody must be made to the bonded carrier, cartman, or lighterman identified in the in-bond application. The demand for the redelivery of the merchandise will be made on CBP Form 4647, Notice of Redelivery, other appropriate form or letter, or by an electronic equivalent thereof. A copy of the demand or electronic equivalent thereof, with the date of mailing or delivery noted thereon, must be retained by the port director and made part of the in-bond entry record. Entry of the merchandise may be accepted if the merchandise can be recovered intact without any of the packages having been opened. In such cases, any shortage from the invoice quantity will be presumed to have occurred while the merchandise was in the possession of the bonded carrier.

(d) Failure to redeliver; entry. If the merchandise cannot be recovered intact, entry will be accepted in accordance with § 141.4 of this chapter for the full manifested quantity, unless a lesser amount is otherwise permitted in accordance with subpart A of part 158. Except as provided in paragraph (e) of this section, if the merchandise is not returned to CBP custody within 30 days of the date of mailing of the demand for redelivery, if mailed, or within 30 days of the date of transmission, if transmitted by a method other than by mail, there shall be sent to the party whose bond is obligated on the transportation entry a demand for liquidated damages on CBP Form 5955-A. CBP will also seek the payment of duties, taxes, and fees, where appropriate, pursuant to § 18.8(c).

(e) Failure to redeliver merchandise covered by a carnet. If merchandise covered by a carnet cannot be recovered intact as specified in paragraph (c) of this section, entry will not be accepted; there will be sent to the appropriate guaranteeing association a demand for liquidated damages, duties, and taxes as prescribed in § 18.8(d); and, if appropriate, there will also be sent to the initial bonded carrier a demand for any excess, as provided in § 114.22(e) of this chapter. Demands must be made on the forms specified in paragraph (d) of this section.

(f) Allowance. An allowance in duty on merchandise reported short at destination, including merchandise found by the appraising officer to be damaged and worthless, and animals and birds found by the discharging officer to be dead on arrival at destination, must be made in in accordance with law.

(g) Rail and seatrain. In the case of shipments arriving in the United States by rail or seatrain, which are forwarded under CBP in-bond seals under the provisions of subpart D of part 123 of this chapter, and § 18.11, or § 18.20, a notation must be made by the carrier or shipper in the in-bond application, to show whether the shipment was transferred to the car designated in the manifest and whether it was laden in the car in the foreign country. If laden on the car in a foreign country, the country must be identified in the notation.