FAQs on Electronic Notifications
Are location of goods codes mandatory?
The location of goods is mandatory for air freight, and for sea freight 2 June 2020.
Why are you asking for the Location of Goods on sea freight? Have the rules changed?
Inconsistency between air and sea shipments caused confusion resulting in people incorrectly using the Location of Goods field in sea freight lodgements. In order to simplify this, the Location of Goods field in sea freight lodgements became mandatory on 2 June 2020.
Can I electronically check if the CTO has received the notification?
You cannot do this through TSW. If you need to double-check receipt you will need to contact CTO directly to confirm receipt of the response.
How do I notify more than one place?
You can add extra delivery notifications to the lodgement as needed. In TSW Online this is called Delivery Notifications, but it may also be called Delivery Notification Party in other software.
Which LoG code do I use for FAK off the port?
All the ports are different as they use different software. It is best to check with the port directly if you’re not sure.
Which ports can I use a UNLOCODE for in the Location of Goods and Delivery notification fields/to send a delivery notification?
Ports who have a port authority code in TSW are able to have their UN/LOCODE used in the delivery notification fields – see the Location of Goods spreadsheet for the most up to date information on which ports can have their UN/LOCODE used.
How do we prevent an importer receiving/uplifting cargo when the broker deferred lodgement is unpaid?
If the client continues to refuse to pay the Custom’s Broker this is a civil matter between the Customs Broker and their client. The Customs Broker has elected to take on the credit risk in using their broker deferred account.
In what instances can I release cargo with a hard-copy delivery order?
Refer to your procedure statement.
What clearances are required for an International Transhipment?
Goods that are transhipped internationally need to have both Import and Export clearance. There are two ways to do this:
- Submit an International Transhipment Request (ITR) on the Inward Cargo Report (ICR) which will include where the cargo is discharging (Port of Discharge & Location of Goods) and also where the cargo is being loaded for export (Transhipment Destination). The ICR will then provide both the Import and Export clearance for the inward and outward leg.
- If the export vessel is not known at the time at the time the ICR is submitted, or the container is being repacked or a new bill is cut for the export journey, complete an ITR request on a Cargo Report Export (CRE).
- The approval of the International Transhipment Request covers the re-positioning of the cargo as well as the import and export clearance.
How do I know when to use a port code (UN/LOCODE) or a CCA Code?
CCA codes need to be used in some specific cargo scenarios to send the notification to the correct place e.g. Cars, Ship Spares, Bulk.
In general the main Port code needs to be used as this usually generates a notification to the main port system which will automatically lift holds. Using as CCA code that sends an email will not automatically lift the hold if the port is expecting a system to system message.
This table - Using the correct port codes (PDF 63 KB) - provides guidance on what code to use to release holds at a port.
My software won’t allow me to submit the UN/LOCODE in various fields it will only allow the 9 digit client codes.
Each UN/LOCODE configured in TSW has a corresponding 9 digit client code. We typically do not publish these as the UN/LOCODE is more user friendly. If your software won’t allow the UN/LOCODE you can add in the 9 digit client code instead. These are available in the above table.
My software uses different terms, how do I know which one to use?
If you have any questions please direct these to your software provider as we cannot provide advice on how external software works. In general we have no visibility over other software and no knowledge of how it works. The terminology generally appears to be very similar what needs to go in what field by reading the TSW Notification Scenarios document.
Holds are not being lifted on my containers but I am specifying the Port in the location of Goods field
Refer to ‘Using the Correct Port Code’ table above. You need to ensure the correct code is used for the type of Cargo.
The warehouse my goods are being taken to are saying they haven’t received the notification even though they are on the lodgement.
The first step is to ask the warehouse if they are getting notifications via emails or Business to Business (B2B). If the warehouse is unsure how to access TSW then a Customs Officer can also check this. If no notification preferences are set up, then no notification is sent. The other key check is to ensure that the lodgement type is specified because they may have missed setting up a lodgement.
Any change to the notification preferences won’t take effect until an officer has approved the registration update.
When will movements of cargo under Customs control be electronic as well?
Domestic transhipment, which is part of an ICR, will replace all manual processes in the future. While this is technically already available we will run a thorough pilot before mandating this major business process change to ensure everyone is prepared.
Why did the port put a hold back on when I changed my location of goods code?
If you change the Location of Goods code on the lodgement (this includes removing it all together) the Location which was specified on the previous version is sent a Cancel response. This provides advice to the location that the clearance they have previously received is no longer valid, as the Cargo is no longer being cleared from that location.
For some Locations, removing a CCA and adding a Port code or vice versa means they receive both a Cancel and Clear response to the same place. Sometimes the Cancel response is received after the Clear, reapplying a hold to the container. To fix this ask a Customs officer to resend the delivery response