Permits and special licenses for unlading and lading.
19 C.F.R. § 4.30
in effectEffective: 2024-07-01(a) Except as prescribed in paragraph (f), (g), or (k) of this section or in § 123.8 of this chapter, and except in the case of a vessel exempt from entry or clearance fees under 19 U.S.C. 288, no passengers, cargo, baggage, or other article shall be unladen from a vessel which arrives directly or indirectly from any port or place outside the Customs territory of the U.S., including the adjacent waters (see § 4.6 of this part), or from a vessel which transits the Panama Canal and no cargo, baggage, or other article shall be laden on a vessel destined to a port or place outside the Customs territory of the U.S., including the adjacent waters (see § 4.6 of this part) if Customs supervision of such lading is required, until the port director shall have issued a permit or special license therefore on Customs Form 3171 or electronically pursuant to an authorized electronic data interchange system or other means of communication approved by the Customs Service.
(1) U.S. and foreign vessels arriving at a U.S. port directly from a foreign port or place are required to make entry, whether it be formal or, as provided in § 4.8, preliminary, before the port director may issue a permit or special license to lade or unlade.
(2) U.S. vessels arriving at a U.S. port from another U.S. port at which formal entry was made may be issued a permit or special license to lade or unlade without having to make either preliminary or formal entry at the second and subsequent ports. Foreign vessels arriving at a U.S. port from another U.S. port at which formal entry was made may be issued a permit or special license to lade or unlade at the second and subsequent ports prior to formal entry without the necessity of making preliminary entry. In these circumstances, after the master has reported arrival of the vessel, the port director may issue the permit or special license or may, in his discretion, require the vessel to be boarded, the master to make an oath or affirmation to the truth of the statements contained in the vessel's manifest to the Customs officer who boards the vessel, and require delivery of the manifest prior to issuing the permit.
(b) Application for a permit or special license will be made by the master, owner, or agent of the vessel on Customs Form 3171, or electronically pursuant to an authorized electronic data interchange system or other means of communication approved by the Customs Service, and will specifically indicate the type of service desired at that time, unless a term permit or term special license has been issued. Vessels that arrive in a Customs port with more than one vessel carrier sharing or leasing space on board the vessel (such as under a vessel sharing or slot charter arrangement) are required to indicate on the CF 3171 all carriers on board the vessel and indicate whether each carrier is transmitting its cargo declaration electronically or is presenting it on the Customs Form 1302. In the case of a term permit or term special license, upon entry of each vessel, a copy of the term permit or special license must be submitted to Customs during official hours in advance of the rendering of services so as to update the nature of the services desired and the exact times they will be needed. Permits must also be updated to reflect any other needed changes including those in the name of the vessel as well as the slot charter or vessel sharing parties. An agent of a vessel may limit his application to operations involved in the entry and unlading of the vessel or to operations involved in its lading and clearance. Such limitation will be specifically noted on the application.
(c) The request for a permit or a special license shall not be approved (previously issued term permits or special licenses shall be revoked) unless the carrier complies with the provisions of paragraphs (l) and (m) of this section regarding terminal facilities and employee lists, and the required cash deposit or bond has been filed on Customs Form 301, containing the bond conditions set forth in § 113.64 of this chapter relating to international carriers.
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When a carrier has on file a bond on Customs Form 301, containing the bond conditions set forth in § 113.63 of this chapter relating to basic custodial bond conditions, no further bond shall be required solely by reason of the unlading or lading at night or on a Sunday or holiday of merchandise or baggage covered by bonded transportation entries. Separate bonds shall be required if overtime services are requested by different principals.
(d) Except as prescribed in paragraph (f) or (g) of this section, a separate application for a permit or special license shall be filed in the case of each arrival.
(e) Stevedoring companies and others concerned in lading or unlading merchandise, or in removing or otherwise securing it, shall ascertain that the applicable preliminary Customs requirements have been complied with before commencing such operation, since performance in the absence of such compliance render them severally liable to the penalties prescribed in section 453, Tariff Act of 1930, even though they may not be responsible for taking the action necessary to secure compliance.
(f) The port director may issue a term permit on Customs Form 3171, which will remain in effect until revoked by the port director, terminated by the carrier, or automatically cancelled by termination of the supporting continuous bond, to unlade merchandise, passengers, or baggage, or to lade merchandise or baggage during official hours.
(g) The port director may issue a term special license on Customs Form 3171, which will remain in effect until revoked by the port director, terminated by the carrier, or automatically cancelled by termination of the supporting continuous bond, to unlade merchandise, passengers, or baggage, or to lade merchandise or baggage during overtime hours or on a Sunday or holiday when Customs supervision is required. (See § 24.16 of this chapter regarding pleasure vessels.)
(h) A special license for the unlading or lading of a vessel at night or on a Sunday or holiday shall be refused by the port director if the character of the merchandise or the conditions or facilities at the place of unlading or lading render the issuance of such special license dangerous to the revenue. In no case shall a special license for unlading or lading at night or on a Sunday or holiday be granted except on the ground of commercial necessity.
(i) The port director shall not issue a permit or special license to unlade cargo or equipment of vessels arriving directly or indirectly from any port or place outside the United States, except on compliance with one or more of the following conditions:
(1) The merchandise shall have been duly entered and permits issued; or
(2) A bond on Customs Form 301, containing the bond conditions set forth in § 113.64 of this chapter relating to international carriers, or cash deposit shall have been given; or
(3) The merchandise is to be discharged into the custody of the port director as provided for in section 490(b), Tariff Act of 1930.
(j) Bonds are not required under this section for vessels owned by the United States and operated for its account.
(k) In the case of vessels of 5 net tons or over which are used exclusively as pleasure vessels and which arrive from any country, the port director in his discretion and under such conditions as he deems advisable may allow the required application for unlading passengers and baggage to be made orally, and may authorize his inspectors to grant oral permission for unlading at any time, and to grant requests on Customs Form 3171 for overtime services.
(l) A permit to unlade pursuant to this part 4 or part 122 of this chapter shall not be granted unless the port director determines that the applicant provides or the terminal at which the applicant will unlade the cargo provides (1) sufficient space, capable of being locked, sealed, or otherwise secured, for the storage immediately upon unlading of cargo whose weight-to-value ratio renders it susceptible to theft or pilferage and of packages which have been broken prior to or in the course of unlading; and (2) an adequate number of vehicles, capable of being locked, sealed, or otherwise secured, for the transportation of such cargo or packages between the point of unlading and the point of storage. A term permit to unlade shall be revoked if the port director determines subsequent to such issuance that the requirements of this paragraph have not been met.
(m) A permit to unlade pursuant to this part 4 or part 122 of this chapter shall not be granted to an importing carrier, and a term permit to unlade previously granted to such a carrier shall be revoked, (1) if such carrier, within 30 days after the date of receipt of a written demand by the port director, does not furnish a written list of the names, addresses, social security numbers, and dates and places of birth of persons it employs in connection with the unlading, storage and delivery of imported merchandise; or (2) if, having furnished such a list, the carrier does not advise the port director in writing of the names, addresses, social security numbers, and dates and places of birth of any new personnel employed in connection with the unlading, storage and delivery of imported merchandise within 10 days after such employment. If the employment of any such person is terminated, the carrier shall promptly advise the port director. For the purposes of this part, a person shall not be deemed to be employed by a carrier if he is an officer or employee of an independent contractor engaged by a carrier to load, unload, transport or otherwise handle cargo.
(n) CBP will not issue a permit to unlade before it has received the cargo declaration information pursuant to § 4.7(b)(2) or (4) of this part. In cases in which CBP does not receive complete cargo declaration information from the carrier or a NVOCC in the manner, format, and time frame required by § 4.7(b)(2) or (4), as appropriate, CBP may delay issuance of the permit to unlade the entire vessel until all required information is received. CBP may also decline to issue a permit to unlade the specific cargo for which a cargo declaration is not received in a timely manner under § 4.7(b)(2) or (4). Further, where a carrier does not transmit a cargo declaration in the manner required by § 4.7(b)(2) or (4), preliminary entry pursuant to § 4.8(b) will be denied.
Source: eCFRURL: https://www.ecfr.gov/api/versioner/v1/full/2024-07-01/title-19.xmlFetched: 7/26/2026