SEYCHELLES REVENUE COMMISSION

CUSTOMS DIVISION

AIR CARGO MANIFEST PROCEDURES

ASYCUDAWorld

April 2013
AIR CARGO MANIFEST – STANDARD OPERATION PROCEDURES

TABLE OF CONTENTS

OBJECTIVE   3  

SCOPE   3  

RESPONSIBILITY   3  

LEGAL BASIS   3  

CARGO REPORTING   3  
INTRODUCTION   3  
USE OF IATA CARGO IMP DATA   4  
AMENDMENTS TO MANIFESTS   4  
ARRIVAL OF DAMAGED GOODS   4  
CONSOLIDATED CARGO   4  
CARGO FOR INTERNATIONAL COURIERS   5  

CARGO MANIFEST PROCEDURE   5  

TRANSMISSION OF CARGO IMP TEXT FILES (BEFORE ARRIVAL)   5  
INTEGRATION OF CARGO IMP TEXT FILES INTO ASYCUDAWORLD   5  
ABSENCE OF CARGO IMP TEXT FILES   5  
REGISTERING THE MANIFEST (AFTER ARRIVAL)   6  
ARRIVAL OF GOODS, TALLY AND LOCATION   6  
DE-GROUPAGE OF CONSOLIDATED CARGO   6  
BEFORE REGISTRATION OF MANIFEST   6  
AFTER REGISTRATION OF MANIFEST   7  
GOODS READY FOR CLEARANCE   7  

ANNEX 1: SUMMARY OF AIR CARGO MANIFEST PROCEDURES   8  

ANNEX 2: AIRLINE MANIFEST PROCEDURES – FLOW CHART   9  

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OBJECTIVE

To establish all required operations involved in receiving and registering electronic cargo
manifests at the International Airport of Seychelles.

SCOPE
The present procedure will be implemented at the International Airport of Seychelles, and will
be effective as of 10/June/2013.

RESPONSIBILITY
The accomplishment of this procedure is the responsibility of airlines operating in Seychelles
hereinafter referred as “Airline” or airline agents acting on their behalf, and the Customs
Officers involved in activities related to the arrival or departure of flights carrying or not
carrying any goods, and where applicable, any agency responsible for the custody of the
goods in the transit sheds.

LEGAL BASIS
Customs Management Act, (2011) and subsequent Regulations

CARGO REPORTING

Introduction
All flights arriving from a destination outside of Seychelles must deliver, to Customs, a
Cargo Manifest detailing all of the goods being carried. There is no exception to this rule.
Furthermore, all cargo brought into the Seychelles shall be covered by a summary
declaration which should be submitted electronically to Customs prior to its arrival in
Seychelles. The summary should contain, but not limited to, the place of loading/unloading,
type of packages, number of packages, shipping marks and container number. This
information is crucial for Customs and the other Government regulatory agencies tasks with
making risk assessment decisions. The ability to expedite the risk assessment process will
impact on the time it takes Customs to clear and release legitimate cargo.
The Summary Declaration is an electronic safety and security declaration from the Carrier
to the Customs Authorities. It must be lodged in advance of the arrival of the flight.
Cargo cannot be released without a cargo manifest having been registered with Customs
except in circumstances prescribed in regulations.
Customs requires that the Airline delivers the electronic manifest within 3 hours of landing
and before any goods are unloaded.
The electronic manifest is a declaration by the Airline carrying the goods. The purpose of
filing a manifest is to ensure:
i. That all imports or exports are accounted for;
ii. That all documents relating to the flight have been submitted and are complete;
and,
iii. That the Airline or agent has satisfied all legal requirements.
The responsibility of submitting the electronic manifests rests with the Airline. It is possible
to appoint an agent to transact business with the Customs. The agent and the Airline are
equally liable to fulfill all obligations.
All manifests must be submitted through the Customs computer system and must conform
to the approved electronic formats.

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AIR CARGO MANIFEST – STANDARD OPERATION PROCEDURES

For the purposes of this Procedure, Freight Forwarders and Courier companies are agents
that arrange the movement of freight (Grouped shipments, orders, and/or goods) on behalf
of exporters and importers”
All manifests for flights must be registered on the Customs computer system upon arrival to
the Seychelles.

Use of IATA Cargo IMP data

For the purpose of this procedure, Customs system (ASYCUDAWorld) will use the IATA’s
Cargo IMP data, which complies with all international standards related to cargo Manifest
and transport documents (AWB). Therefore, Airlines will submit electronically the text files
that are related to the Cargo Manifest (FFM), Air Waybill (FWB) and Consolidation List
(FHL).
The implementation of this procedure will be divided into two phases:
i. Semi-automatic process, where Airlines will assign contact persons to drop the
above-mentioned text files, into the electronic folders created by Customs, for every
flight arriving in Seychelles, to be automatically integrated into ASYCUDAWorld; and
ii. Automatic process, where text files will be automatically dropped in the folders
created by Customs for automatic integration in ASYCUDAWorld

Amendments to Manifests
Amendments to the manifest may be requested to Customs by the Airline within 24 hours of
the manifest’s registration and after all cargo has been off-loaded.
In addition to the aforementioned, where goods are reported short, the Airline or the agent
must satisfy the Customs that:
i. The goods were not loaded;
ii. They have been discharged and landed at some previous port or airport;
iii. They have been over-carried and landed at a subsequent customs airport; or,
iv. The goods have been over-carried; they have been returned and landed in
Seychelles on the return voyage or by some other flight, which shall have landed
them at the airport to which they have been over-carried.

Arrival of damaged goods

Where goods land in a damaged state, the Airline or Airline Agent submits to Customs, a
“damage report form”, which contains all the particulars of all the damaged cargo. The
damage report form is to be signed by:
i. The custodians of the cargo, and
ii. The customs representatives who were present when the damaged goods were
surveyed.
All cargo landed, for which a Customs entry has not been submitted, must be temporarily
stored in a Customs approved designated area (Transit Shed) to pending submission of an
entry and clearance.

Consolidated Cargo
Freight Forwarders must prepare and submit all waybills for any consolidated cargo
consigned to them before or after registration of the manifest.
Freight Forwarders must be clearly identified on all Master Air Waybills. The Airline or the
agent must have the Freight Forwarder detailed on each Airway Bill.
The consolidator may use the ASYCUDAWorld to key in the data for each transport
document or could use compatible interface software to upload de-grouped XML files
directly to ASYCUDAWorld.

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All house AWBs created from a master AWB may be viewed only by the owner (creator) of
said house AWBs.
The responsibility and liability for the validation of de-groupage information shall remain
with Airline even if it was the Freight Forwarder who keyed in the House Air Waybill.

Cargo for International Couriers

Following IATA Cargo IMP information, the Airline will identify Air Waybills consigned to
International Couriers, as Master AWBs.
International Courier Agent may de-group the Master Air Waybills after Registration of
Manifest, following manifest procedures. The Manifest Seat at the Airport will be able to
assist Courier Agents with special and well-documented cases.

CARGO MANIFEST PROCEDURE

Transmission of Cargo IMP text files (before arrival)

Airline (e-signature not required)
In general, Airlines will transmit to Customs the Cargo IMP text files.
During the first phase of the implementation, Airlines’ nominated responsible persons
will:
a. Receive Cargo IMP files (Airline procedure);
b. Convert Cargo IMP files into 3 text files: FFM, FWB and FHL;
c. Access the ASYCUDA web service (user name and password required);
d. Create a folder for each flight. The folder’s name shall be AA#DDMMM, where
AA is the Airline code, # is the flight number, and DDMMM represent the day
and month of arrival.
e. Inside the folder, create 3 sub-folders: FFM, FWB and FHL
f. Drop FFM text file into FFM sub-folder, FWB text file into FWB sub-folder, and
FHL text file into FHL sub-folder.
For flights arriving to Seychelles on the same day, Airlines will create the first folder
(see paragraph d. above) with a different name (e.g. adding “-1” to the flight number),
so the system can identify unique folders for each flight.
In the second phase of the implementation, a protocol will define communication
parameters between Airlines and ASYCUDA, for the automatic send/reception of Cargo
IMP files

Integration of Cargo IMP text files into ASYCUDAWorld

ASYCUDAWorld (automatic procedure)
ASYCUDAWorld will continuously scan the electronic folders and new Cargo IMP files
will be automatically integrated and stored in the system.

Absence of Cargo IMP text files

Airline (e-signature not required)
When Cargo IMP text files are not available, prior to the arrival of the flight:
a. The Airline or the Airline’s Agent accesses the Customs server using the
appropriate login credentials to input the required information for the cargo
manifest;
b. The Airline or Airline’s Agent completes general segment of the manifest before
proceeding to enter the corresponding air waybills, into ASYCUDAWorld; and
c. Once all the required data or information is entered, the document must be
verified and stored.

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AIR CARGO MANIFEST – STANDARD OPERATION PROCEDURES

Registering the Manifest (after arrival)

Airlines (e-signature required)
Upon arrival of the flight, the Airline or the Airline’s Agent accesses the Customs
system to retrieve the STORED manifest for registration.
The Airline or Airline’s Agent requests the system to REGISTER the completed cargo
manifest with all its related Air Waybills, into the Customs server. Accordingly, the
system will display a registration number for the cargo manifest as proof of registration
and positive allocation of data into the system.
The Airline or Airline’s Agent prints out the Manifest’s General Segment page and
attaches it to the hard copy of the cargo Manifest to be submitted to Customs.
Submission of the above-mentioned documents grants the authorization for off-loading
the arrived cargo.
The registered cargo manifest will now have legal value and the Airline or Airline’s
Agent must ensure that all data is complete and correct. The REGISTERED status of a
cargo manifest implies ACCEPTANCE of such information by Customs.
Airlines or Airline’s Agents cannot modify cargo manifest after arrival of flight.

Arrival of goods, Tally and Location

Customs (e-signature not required)
Following the arrival of the flight, the Airline or Airline’s Agent submits the hard copy of
the registered Cargo Manifest (with the printed Manifest General Segment) to the
Customs’ Boarding Officer. Carrier will be authorised to off-load the cargo.
Customs and the Airline or Airline’s Agent supervise the off-loading of the cargo from
the aircraft and its transfer to the designated Transit Shed. Cargo will be transferred to
the Airport Cargo Terminal.
Cargo identified for “Direct Delivery” will be separated from normal cargo for immediate
release following the procedure described in the respective SOP.
For the rest of cargo, once in the Transit Shed, Customs tally the off loaded cargo. If no
discrepancies are found (short landing or excess), Customs officers will update the
location of BLs in ASYCUDAWorld, using the appropriate option.
Customs officer will update Shortage/Excess in ASYCUDAWorld. AWBs with
shortage/excess annotation will not be located in the system, until the Airline or
Airline’s Agent request the proper amendment. AWBs with shortage/excess
annotations will automatically be blocked; therefore clearance of goods will not be
possible until differences are documented. The responsibility and liability for the
process (request for amendment) shall remain with Airline or Airline’s Agent.
Any request for amendments for short landed cargo or cargo in excess must be
supported by evidence (documented). Airlines or Airline Agents will submit their
request to the Manifest Seat (within 24 hours after the tally of goods) for proper action
to update the system.

De-groupage of consolidated cargo

Freight Forwarder / Airline or Airline’s Agent (e-signature required)
Customs (e-signature not required)

Before registration of Manifest

Freight Forwarders can de-group only MWBs (Master waybills). Freight Forwarders
shall de-group Master waybills using the respective options in ASYCUDA.
The Airline or Airline’s Agent must validate de-groupage, however Manifest Seat can
also assist in the validation procedure.

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AIR CARGO MANIFEST – STANDARD OPERATION PROCEDURES

After registration of Manifest

Freight Forwarders can de-group only MWBs (Master waybills), using the respective
options in ASYCUDA
The Manifest Seat will assist on validation of de-groupage.

Goods ready for clearance

Airline or Airline’s Agent
After completing all necessary steps, goods will be considered “ready for clearance”. It
is recommended that Airlines or Airline’s Agent:
a. Communicate the status to their customers, using the updated information
about the status of goods; and
b. Assist customers in Manifest-related issues.

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AIR CARGO MANIFEST – STANDARD OPERATION PROCEDURES

ANNEX 1: SUMMARY OF AIR CARGO MANIFEST PROCEDURES

Store Manifest
Integrate Manifest
Register Manifest
Identify Direct Delivery consignments
Tally and Location
De-group Master ABW

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ANNEX 2: AIRLINE MANIFEST PROCEDURES – FLOW CHART

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