Facilitation and airport services - Airports Council International

3.33Elimination of the paper cargo manifest and of paper air waybill, and use ofElectronic Data Interchange (EDI)ACI POLICY3.33.1 State authorities should reduceor eliminate the requirements for hardcopy manifests or air waybills andleverage EDI and new technologies tofacilitate the more expeditiousprocessing and clearance of cargo.ACI RECOMMENDED PRACTICE / COMMENTCargo manifests are unnecessary, since the same information can readily beobtained from air waybills in either paper or electronic form. The use ofElectronic Data Interchange (EDI) for the submission of waybill information hassignificant cost and facilitation benefits for all parties involved in the cargoprocess. A further benefit is that information on incoming goods can be obtainedby Customs in advance of the arrival of the aircraft. Existing UN/EDIFACTstandards for EDI messages should be used (see ICAO Annex 9, Standard4.15).Whether information appears in the cargo manifest or in air waybills, it isessential to limit the description of the nature of goods to the 15 characters setaside for this purpose. The use of more than one line of information per shipmentis contrary to the goal of facilitation.ACI supports Montreal Protocol no. 4, which entered into force in 1998, andprovides a statutory basis for electronic submission of air waybills. It would behelpful if the number of signatory States would increase.3.34Release of documented partial shipmentsACI POLICY3.34.1 Part-shipments of cargo shouldbe released when the completedocumentation for any such partshipmenthas been presented.ACI RECOMMENDED PRACTICE / COMMENTACI supports ICAO Recommended Practice 4.30, that part-shipments should bereleased when the complete documentation for any such part-shipment has beenpresented. This is expected to end the practice previously followed by someCustoms authorities of holding part-shipments in bond until all the missing partsof the shipment have arrived, even though the part-shipment is documented.3.35Release of operators of cargo facilities from liabilityACI POLICY3.35.1 Governments should absolveboth airlines and airport operators orcargo warehouse operators fromliability for customs duties, taxes andother charges at such time as goodsare transferred, with the approval of theauthorities, into the possession of athird party.ACI RECOMMENDED PRACTICE / COMMENTACI believes that this release from liability should apply regardless of whetherthe third party has a security or guarantee on file with the customs authorities.ACI Policy and Recommended Practices Handbook | Seventh Edition | November 2009 Section 3 | Page 17