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Ocean Freight Charges
As an indirect effect of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act (OSRA) of 1999, customs brokers are no longer able to
obtain ocean freight charges from the carrier. This information is required on customs entries for two reasons:
First, the ocean freight may be included in the sale price and it may or may not be treated as a non-dutiable
charge, and secondly it is used for statistical purposes by various government agencies.
In the past, we would call the carrier and they would give us the charges, which we would use when filing
the entry. Since we are no longer able to do so, it is now the importers' responsibility to supply this
information. As the importer of record, it is your responsibility to use reasonable care, and to provide
us with accurate information for your shipments. We recommend you speak to your shippers about this new
procedure, and make arrangements for them to provide you with the ocean freight charges, along with the
other standard shipping documents that you receive.
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