Objection raised to new EU reporting ruling

There is strong international and local objection to one of two main clauses in the European Commission (EC) rewrite of the European Union (EU) advance cargo data reporting requirements – which demands that buyer and seller details must be disclosed. The first of the main clauses is the proposal to require non-vessel-operating common carriers (NVOCCs) and freight forwarders to file entry summary declarations (ENS). Just as ocean carriers do today, ENS filings must be made to the European customs office of first entry 24 hours before a container is loaded onto a ship for transport to the EU in deep sea traffic. There is no objection to this requirement, although the World Shipping Council (WSC) – whose members operate approximately 90% of the global liner ship capacity – has suggested there is “a need for clarity about the technical details of this change”. But the WSC has been up in arms about that other main clause – which it described as “the Commission looking for a short-cut way to obtain the identity of the ‘buyer’ and ‘seller’ of the imported goods before vessel loading”. And it has been joined in its protest to the EC by the European Shippers' Council (ESC), the European freight forwarders’ association (Clecat), the European Community Shipowners Association (Ecsa) and other trade associations. On the local front, the SA Association of Freight Forwarders (Saaff) is also opposing the Commission’s proposal. Voicing the objection, the WSC said: “Instead of getting it from the importer, like the US does, the Commission’s proposed regulation would require that this information be provided to the carrier/NVOCC – or in the alternative, to the consignee – to be filed in an ENS as a condition of vessel loading.” Based on its understanding and experience with shippers, the WSC said it had advised the Commission that buyer and seller data could be business confidential information. Therefore, it is not appropriate to require its disclosure to ocean carriers/ NVOCCs or to these parties’ consignees, who may not be parties to the goods’ sales contract. And it explained this in more detail in its January paper submitted to the Commission entitled “Why the EC’s proposed amendments to the ENS filing system need further clarification before adoption”. In SA, the same objections are expressed by Saaff. After FTW queried the local view, David Logan, CEO of Saaff, held discussions with Marco L Sorgetti, directorgeneral of Fiata, the global voice of freight logistics associations. And their joint conclusion was that an official decision was still to be made by Fiata on this – but it would be likely to support the Clecat objection. “Saaff is a country member of Fiata,” Logan added, “and would support Fiata’s view on this matter.” The EC has been applying pen to paper on this rewrite for quite some time, but is now in the final stages of completing its proposal as part of the implementation of the new Union Customs Code (UCC). Its regulations for the implementation of the UCC are scheduled to be adopted in May so that, in principle, they can take effect on May 1, 2016.