Update on European Union’s Import Control System 2

Dear Valued APL Customer, 

We would like to inform you that, with approval from the customs authorities, APL has decided on November 13, 2024 as the Go Live date for ICS2. From this date, our customs declarations must be fully compliant with ICS2 regulations. 

ICS2 regulations apply to all deep sea and short sea cargo that is discharging or transshipping or transiting the 27 member states of EU, Northern Ireland, Norway or Switzerland as well as to cargo which will remain on board (FROB - Freight Remaining On Board). This reinforces customs risk management and improves security and safety risk analysis for the goods entering or transiting the European Union.

What changes for you?
To comply with the regulation, the Shipping Instructions (SI) must be filed with us including data mandatory for ICS2 within the SI cut off period to avoid container roll overs.

Essential data elements for ENS - ICS2

The below data is necessary to be included in the SI:

• 6-digits Harmonized System (HS) code for each commodity.
• Complete and accurate cargo description.
• CUS code for harmless and DG chemicals if included in ECICS (European Customs Inventory of Chemical Substances).
• UCR (Unique Consignment Reference) if issued by the customer.
• Full address and EORI number of all the parties if the European customs has assigned it to them.

Single filing or multiple filings:

Single filing:
You can provide us with the below information if you would like for APL to file it on your behalf as a single filing:

Complete information of Buyer and Seller including their EORI for all import cargo destined to the EU.
House Bills of Lading information.

OR

Multiple filings:
You can provide us the EORI (Economic Operators Registration and Identification) number of the supplementary declarant who will perform a partial filing. 

APL reserves the right to impose a fee for this service.

NO MRN, NO LOAD: APL will receive a Movement Reference Number (MRN) for each Bill of lading as acknowledgement from the Customs authorities after filing ENS. To ensure compliance, APL will enforce a “NO MRN, NO LOAD” policy for deep sea voyages where ENS must be submitted 24 hours before loading the container on the vessel entering EU. For Short sea voyages, ENS should be submitted at least 2 hours before the vessel touches EU port. 

Shipping instruction submission channels: 

We have updated our eCommerce channels to support these data submissions. We will soon provide detailed guidelines to input ICS2 data. For more information, please reach out to your local APL contacts. 

For more information about ICS2 - Release 3, please visit the European Commission's website at the following link: Import Control System 2 - Release 3 - European Commission (europa.eu) 

Sincerely, 
APL