Split Shipment and the Date of Acceptance of the Declaration
A broker files a declaration on 3 May for machinery arriving by sea. On 10 May, before the entry is accepted, a second consignment of identical spare parts (same invoice, same supplier, same HS heading) arrives at the same port on a different vessel. The broker wants to add the second consignment to the original declaration to save one processing fee. The declarant's commercial invoice shows a single total price of 180,000 EUR for both shipments, with delivery terms CIF Bandar Abbas. The tariff rate for the heading is 10% and the spare parts are not subject to any quota or license. The customs system assigns the declaration to the red (physical inspection) channel. The broker asks whether the two consignments can be merged and, if not, what the consequences of the 10 May arrival are for the entry date and any storage liability.
1. Can the two consignments be declared on a single declaration? Identify the governing principle and state the practical result.
Read the worked answer
No. A customs declaration must cover the goods presented to customs under one consignment; goods arriving on a different vessel on a different date are a separate consignment and must be declared separately, even if the invoice is combined. The governing principle is that the declaration is tied to the goods actually presented and to the date of acceptance of that declaration, which fixes the tariff, rate of exchange, and rules applicable. Merging the two would misstate the date of acceptance for the second consignment and defeat the inspection channel assignment. The practical result: two declarations, each with its own acceptance date; the second consignment's duty is calculated at the rate and exchange rate in force on its own acceptance date, not 3 May.
2. The second consignment sits in the port for 12 days before the broker files its declaration. Who bears the storage and demurrage, and does the delay change the duty?
Read the worked answer
The importer bears storage and demurrage from the date the goods are discharged until clearance, because the delay is caused by the declarant's failure to file a timely declaration, not by customs. Under the customs regulations, goods must be declared within the prescribed period after arrival; failure to do so exposes the importer to storage charges and, where the period is exceeded, to the goods being treated as abandoned or unclaimed. Duty is not increased by the delay itself, but the applicable rate and exchange rate are those in force on the date of acceptance of the second declaration, so if the rate or exchange rate moved between 3 and 22 May, the second consignment's duty changes accordingly. The broker should advise the client of the storage exposure and file immediately.
3. Does the red-channel assignment for the first declaration carry over to the second?
Read the worked answer
No. Channel assignment is made by the system per declaration, based on risk parameters at the time of lodgement. The second declaration is a new lodgement and is risk-assessed independently; it may be green, yellow, or red. The broker cannot rely on the first declaration's channel to predict the second, and must be prepared for physical inspection of the second consignment, which adds time and cost to the clearance and should be built into the client's delivery schedule.