21 May 2021
Who does this notice affect?
Clients in the imports and shipping industries – including freight forwarders, importers, and customs brokers – associated with imported goods and containers selected for the Cargo Compliance Verification (CCV) inspection.
What has changed?
The department is making changes to the directions that are automatically applied when a consignment is selected for a CCV inspection. The department has received feedback that the combination of the Compliance Verification and Inspection directions currently applied are causing confusion about the CCV inspection requirements.
The following changes will take place from Monday, 7 June 2021.
- The ‘Compliance Verification – Sea Cargo Survey’ direction will be renamed to ‘Compliance Verification – Inspect (Secure Seals Intact)’ to clarify the seals intact requirement.
- The ‘Inspection – Inspect (Secure Seals intact)’ direction will no longer be issued.
- A ‘Movement Withheld – Pending Information’ direction will be issued requiring that the business name and address of the CCV inspection location is provided to the department when the documentation is submitted via COLS. The location can be the importer’s premises, a nominated third-party location (e.g., a warehouse), or an Approved Arrangement (AA) location.
- The ‘Documentation – Present all documentation’ direction will remain, with comments added requiring all commodity and non-commodity documentation be submitted via COLS.
- Where a consignment has multiple containers, a container will be selected for the CCV inspection and the details added to the ‘Compliance Verification – Inspect (Secure Seals Intact)’ direction at the time of document assessment. All remaining containers must be secured seals intact pending the outcome of the CCV inspection, either at the same location or off site.
What do customs brokers or the person in charge need to do?
To minimise any possible delays, customs brokers or the person in charge must:
- present all commodity and non-commodity documentation via COLS, preferably prior to the arrival date
- provide the business name and address of the CCV inspection location when submitting the documentation via COLS
- for consignments with multiple containers, ensure that:
- the selected container is presented for the CCV inspection
- the remaining containers are secured seals intact pending the outcome of the CCV inspection.
If you don’t provide the business name and address of the CCV inspection location with the documentation via COLS, the ‘Movement Withheld – Pending information’ direction will be re-issued advising that this information is required.
Booking a CCV inspection early will assist you with getting a booking for your preferred unpack date. Existing bookings can be changed up to 24 hours prior to the booking date without incurring fees. The Request for inspection form is available on the department website.
The time needed for a CCV inspection depends on the container size, whether the goods are palletised or loose, and the number of staff provided for manual unpacks. Consignments with many lines of goods will require more time. When making a CCV inspection booking, it is important to consider these factors and allocate time for the biosecurity officer to:
- be given a site induction at any non-AA locations
- supervise the breaking of the container seal and the full unpack of the selected container
- conduct the inspection of the goods, any packaging, and the container.
Further information
For further information regarding CCV, please visit the department’s website.