Required by the Trade Act of 2002, the second phase of the regulations now demand that an electronic manifest be sent to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at least one hour in advance of reaching the border for regular shipment and 30 minutes before arrival for Free and Secure Trade (FAST) lane entries.
If a carrier arrives without the necessary pre-posting, it will be referred to the secondary examination where an electronic manifest will need to be forwarded to CBP. “If carriers completely disregard the requirements,” says CBP Director at Laredo, Gene Garza, “or make no attempt to file and e-Manifest, the shipment may be returned to Mexico.”
To send an e-Manifest, carriers have three basic options. They may log onto eManifest: Trucks at www.CBP.gov in order to learn how to send an e-Manifest free of charge through the government's ACE Secure Data Portal. A carrier may purchase software to send an e-Manifest. For a fee, a carrier may contract with a third party provider to send e-Manifests on their behalf for their commercial shipments.
“We encourage the international trade community to avail themselves of the resources,” continues Garza, “in order to ensure that e-Manifests are sent to CBP in a timely manner and so that their shipments do not face additional delay or return.”
