When U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Robert C. Bonner implemented the 24-hour advance manifest rule in December, he made it clear that the trade security program was a work in progress. At the time, he said the agency would start slowly to give the trade community time to adjust to the rule's provisions.

It appears that the adjustment period is now over. In May, CBP announced a series of measures that upped the penalties for non-compliance with the 24-hour rule, which requires importers, consolidators, and ocean carriers to submit detailed shipment data to customs authorities at least 24 hours prior to loading U.S.-bound cargo on a container ship.

Initially, CBP focused enforcement on shipments that had inadequate cargo descriptions and also violated the 24-hour advance manifest-filing deadline. The new measures take that a step further: now, the agency will issue "do not load" orders for all containerized shipments with insufficient cargo descriptions, not just those that miss the filing deadline.

Also at risk are containerizedshipments with incomplete consignment details. For example, shipments that are consigned "to order" and don't provide complete information for the actual receiving or notify party will be ruled in violation. Likewise, shipments that show a name but no address for a consignee or notify party, or leave either of those fields blank, will not be loaded.

CBP has already begun issuing fines to ocean carriers and consolidators for late submission of cargo declarations and for loading improperly documented containers that will transit U.S. waters en route to foreign destinations. Fines for ocean carriers will be $5,000 for a first violation and $10,000 for subsequent violations. Consolidators, known as NVOCCs, will pay $5,000 per violation.

Details of the agency's enforcement plans as well as explanations of the 24-hour rule's requirements are posted under the "Frequently Asked Questions" section of Customs and Border Protection's Web site (www.cbp.gov).