§ 520.4 - Tariff contents.

§ 520.4 Tariff contents.

Cross Reference

Link to an amendment published at 89 FR 31, Jan. 2, 2024.

(a) General. Tariffs published pursuant to this part shallmust:

(1) State the places between which cargo will be carried;

(2) List each classification of cargo in use;

(3) State the level of ocean transportation intermediarycompensation, if any, to be paid by a carrier or conference to an ocean freight forwarder, as defined by section 3(17)(A) of the Act (46 U.S.C. 40102(18)), compensation, if any, to be paid by a carrier or conference19);

(4) State separately each terminal or other charge, privilege, or facility under the control of the carrier or conference and any rules or regulations that in any way change, affect, or determine any part of or the aggregate total of the rates or charges;

(5) Include sample copies of any bill of lading showing legible terms and conditions, contract of affreightment, and/or other document evidencing the transportation agreement;

(6) Include copies of any loyalty contract, omitting the shipper's name;

(7) Contain an organization record, tariff record, and tariff rules; and

(8) For commodity tariffs, also contain a retrievable commodity index, commodity descriptions, and tariff rate items.

(b) Organization record. Common carriers' and conferences' organization records shall must include:

(1) Organization name;

(2) Organization number assigned by the Commission;

(3) Agreement number, where applicable;

(4) Organization type (e.g., ocean common carrier (VOCC), conference (CONF), non-vessel-operating common carrier (NVOCC) or agent);

(5) Home office address and telephone number of firm's representative;

(6) Names and organization numbers of all affiliates to conferences or agreements, including trade names; and

(7) The publisher, if any, used to maintain the organization's tariffs.

(c) Tariff record. The tariff record for each tariff shall must include:

(1) Organization number and name, including any trade name;

(2) Tariff number;

(3) Tariff title;

(4) Tariff type (e.g., commodity, rules, equipment interchange, or bill of lading);

(5) Contact person and address;

(6) Default measurement and currency units;

(7) Origination and destination scope; and

(8) A statement certifying that all information contained in the tariff is true and accurate and no unlawful alterations will be permitted.

(d) Tariff rules. Carriers and conferences shall must publish in their tariffs any rule that affects the application of the tariff.

(e) Commodity descriptions.

(1) For each separate commodity in a tariff, a distinct numeric code may be used. Tariff publishers are not required to use any numeric code to identify commodities, but should they choose to do so, they are encouraged to use the U.S. Harmonized Tariff Schedule (“U.S. HTS”) for both the commodity coding and associated terminology (definitions).

(2)

If a tariff publisher uses a numeric code to identify commodities, the following commodity types

shall

must be preceded by their associated 2-digit prefixes, with the remaining digits at the publisher's option:

(i) Mixed commodities—“99”;

(ii) Projects—“98”; and

(iii) non-commodities, e.g., “cargo, n.o.s.,” “general cargo,” or “freight-all kinds”—“00”.

(

3

2) Commodity index.

(i)

Each commodity description created under this section shall

Common carriers or their publishers must have at least one similar index entry which will logically represent the commodity within the alphabetical index

. Publishers are encouraged, however, to

for each commodity description it creates under this section. Common carriers or their publishers must create multiple entries in the index for articles with equally valid common use names, such as

,

“Sodium Chloride,” “Salt, common,” etc.

(ii) If a commodity description includes two or more commodities, each included commodity

shall

must be shown in the index.

(iii) Items, such as “mixed commodities,” “projects” or “project rates,” “n.o.s.” descriptions, and “FAK,”

shall

must be included in the commodity index.

(f) Tariff rate items. A tariff rate item (“TRI”) is the single freight rate in effect for the transportation of cargo under a specified set of transportation conditions. TRIs must contain the following:

(1) Brief commodity description;

(2) TRI number (optional);

(3) Publication date;

(4) Effective date;

(5) Origin and destination locations scopes or location groups;

(6) Rate and rate basis; and

(7) Service code.

(g) Location groups. In the primary tariff , or in a governing tariff, a publisher may define and create groups of cities, states, provinces, and countries (e.g., location groups) or groups of ports (e.g., port groups), which may can be used in the construction of TRIs and other tariff objects, in lieu of specifying particular place names in each tariff item , or creating multiple tariff items which are identical in all ways except for place names.

(h) Inland rate tables. If a carrier or conference desires to provide intermodal transportation to or from named points/postal regions at combination rates, it shall must clearly and accurately set forth the applicable charges in an “Inland Rate Tables” section. An inland rate table may be constructed to provide an inland distance which is applied to a per mile rate to calculate the inland rate.

(i) Shipper requests. Conference tariffs shall must contain clear and complete instructions, in accordance with the agreement's provisions, stating where and by what method shippers may can file requests and complaints and how they may can engage in consultation pursuant to section 5(b)(6) of the Act ( 46 U.S.C. 40303(b)(6)–(7), together with a sample rate request form or a description of the information necessary for processing the request or complaint.

(j) Inland divisions. Common carriers are not required to state separately or otherwise reveal in tariffs the inland division of a through rate.

[64 FR 11225, Mar. 8, 1999, as amended at 74 FR 50722, Oct. 1, 2009; 89 FR 31, Jan. 2, 2024]