In this Guide

The Customs Filing Module (CFM) functions with Parcel for export filing. CFM processes international shipments originating in the United States through the Automated Export System (AES). CFM submits US Customs data for a shipment to AES and polls for responses, processing data and returning status messages accordingly.
For information on configuring CFM with Parcel, see the following Help topic: Location Settings - Customs Filing Module Integration.

Using CFM for International Shipments

To use CFM with international shipments, carry out the following steps:

From the Workstation Menu, select Customs Workstation Setup to display the Customs Workstation screen, and then, from the Operating Mode drop-down list, select one of the following options:
Ship and Continue
Ship and Wait
Note: For more information on these options see the following Help topic: Workstation - Customs Workstation Setup.
When adding an item to a shipment, in addition to the Details and Producer sub-tabs, click on the Customs sub-tab and fill out the required fields on this sub-tab. See the following Help topic: Items Tab - Customs Sub-tab.
When filling out the International (INTL) tab for the shipment, click on the Customs sub-tab and fill out the required fields on this sub-tab. See the following Help topic: INTL Tab - Customs Sub-tab .
Ship the shipment. Depending on the operating mode selected in step 1, continue shipping ("Ship and Continue" option) or wait for the shipment to be processed by AES and status messages to be returned ("Ship and Wait").
If a status message indicates that shipment data was not successfully validated by CFM or was rejected by AES, make whatever modifications are necessary based on the response messages and resubmit the shipment. Otherwise, complete the shipment. See the following Help topic: CFM - Responses and Status Messages .

Exchange Rate Files

US Customs requires that AES filing to be in US Dollars (USD). Therefore, all Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) Schedule B amounts are reported in USD as the declared values to the nearest dollar. For customers with invoices that are sent through CFM as shipments and that have the commercially shipped product information in a currency other than USD, you must create a set of exchange rate tables in the form of Excel spreadsheets for converting specified currencies to USD. All that is required is to copy these files into the appropriate directory.
CFM then automatically checks the specified currency for the shipment against the required currency (USD) and makes any necessary conversion. For example, for a shipment originating in the US the value of which is stated in the currency of the UK (GBP), CFM will check to determine that this value needs to be converted to USD, lookup the conversion rate in the appropriate Excel file, and then make the conversion for submission. See the CFM Installation Guide for more information.
Note: You must create a separate exchange rate file for each location, with the file name pointing to the location. See the CFM Installation Guide for formatting details.

Items Tab - Customs Sub-tab

The fields on the Customs sub-tab of the Items tab provide the required information for the customs processing of each item in an international shipment using the Customs Filing Module (CFM). Fill out the required fields on this sub-tab before adding the item to the shipment.
Note: For the fields on this tab, "required" means that the information is required for AES filing. The Parcel UI does not validate whether these fields are populated.

General Fields (Top Section)

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Total Line Price	Enter The amount listed on the Shipper's Export Declaration form ("SED Amount" field on the Details sub-tab of the Items tab) as the customs value for the item. Note: This is a required field.
License Exception Flag	Enter a numerical value to indicate whether a license exception applies to this item. Valid values are as follows: 1 – Indicates that an Export License is required. Note that in this case the Export License Number listed in the License Number field on the Details sub-tab of the Items tab must contain a valid export license number. 2 – Indicates that a US Exception is required for US Customs through the Automated Export System (AES). A license exception symbol must be selected from the Lic. Exception drop-down list on the Details sub-tab of the Items tab. Note: This is a required field for AES filing if an Export License or US Exception is required.
License Type Code	Enter the code for the license type or license exemption being used for export. The License Type Code or License Exemption Code indicates the type of export license, export permit, license exemption, license exception, or other export authorization. The code indicates the type of licensing requirements that apply to the export shipment as determined by various government agencies participating in AES. Notes: This is a required field for AES filing if you have a license exception. See AESTIR Appendix F for a list and descriptions of these codes.
Customs Regime	Enter the Customs Code used to determine what type of regulations to apply to goods; for example, Sale of Duty Paid Goods, Sale of Goods from Customs Warehouse, etc. See the following notes. Notes: This is a required field for AES filing. For shipments originating in the US, this is the two-character Export Information Code (EIC). For shipments passing through AES, this code is validated from the AES lookup tables. The EIC indicates the type or condition of the item. See the Automated Export System Trade Interface Requirements (AESTIR) documentation (Appendix E) for a list and description of these codes.

Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) Fields

Optionally (if required for an arms or other defense-related shipment) enter values for the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) fields as described in the following table.
Note: The following acronyms are used in the table describing the fields of on this sub-tab:

DDTC – Directorate of Defense Trade Controls. This is the division of the US Department of State charged with controlling the export and temporary import of defense articles and defense services covered by the United States Munitions List (USML).
ITAR – International Traffic in Arms Regulations. ITAR is a set of United States government regulations that control the export and import of defense-related articles and services on the United States Munitions List (USML).

USML – United States Munitions List. This is a list of articles, services, and related technology designated as defense- and space-related by the United States federal government.

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DDTC Exemption	Enter your exemption. This is the DDTC exemption in the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) (CFR 120-130) and serves as the written authorization from the DDTC to permit the export. *Note:* With this exemption, no additional license or other written approval from the DDTC is necessary.
DDTC Registration No	Enter your DDTC Registration Number (also called the Registrant Code). Note: Before applying for a license or using an exemption, exporters must first register with the DDTC and be assigned a Registration Number. *Caution:* If this registration number has expired, AES will reject the shipment transaction.
DDTC Significant Military Equipment	Enter Y for yes or N for no. Yes indicates that some or all of the articles to be exported warrant special export controls because of their capacity for substantial military utility or capability. No indicates that this is not the case. *Note:* To determine whether your shipment contains Significant Military Equipment, refer to the ITAR.
DDTC Eligible Party Cert	Enter Y for yes or N for no. Yes indicates self-certification by the DDTC registered exporter that they can meet all the ITAR criteria to use the exemption and a certification by the DDTC registered exporter that all parties to the transaction are eligible to receive USML items under the ITAR. No indicates that this is not the case. *Note:* Refer to ITAR 120.1c to determine whether a party is eligible to receive USML items. If you need further assistance with this indicator, contact the DDTC.
DDTC US Munitions List Category Code	Enter the value from the DDTC USML Category Code that categorizes the item in your export shipment as stated on the license or other export authorization; for example, from Block 11 (DSP-5), Block 14 (DSP-73) or Block 13 (DSP-85 and DSP-61) of the State License. Valid Values are 01-18 and 20-21 *Note:* The USML Category Code may be printed on the license in Roman numerals; for example: II (= 2) for "guns and armament." Enter the Arabic numeral equivalent (not the Roman numeral) in this field. USML Category Codes are listed in Arabic numerals in AESTIR Appendix L.
DDTC UOM	Enter the DDTC unit of measure for the article being shipped as stated on the license or other export authorization. This information should be provided on the license, unless the unit of measure is the commodity itself (for example: 4 T-55 engines, 11 centerfire rifles, etc.) In those cases, simply use an appropriate Unit of Measure code ("Items", "Pieces", etc.) *Note:* If you need further assistance in determining the correct code, contact the DDTC.
DDTC Quantity	Enter the number of units that correspond to the DDTC unit of measure (see previous row) reported for this commodity.

After you enter the necessary information on the Customs sub-tab, together with the information on the other Items sub-tabs, click the Items tab to add the item to the shipment. See the following Help topic: Warehouse Screen - Items Tab . Since this is an international shipment, you also need to fill out the INTL tab including its Customs sub-tab for AES filing. See the following Help topics: Warehouse Screen - INTL Tab and INTL Tab - Customs Sub-tab .
Note: For more information on the DDTC, as well as the ITAR and USML, see the DDTC Web site.

INTL Tab - Customs Sub-tab

The fields on the Customs sub-tab of the INTL tab provide the required information for the customs processing of an international shipment using the Customs Filing Module (CFM). Fill out the required fields on this sub-tab as well as the fields on the Details tab.
Note: For the fields on this tab, "required" means that the information is required for AES filing. The Parcel UI does not validate whether these fields are populated.

In this box...	Do this...
Customs Trans Ref	If you have not configured CFM to automatically generate a transaction reference identifier for each transaction, enter a unique documentation identifier for keeping track of the transaction in Customs.
Port of Loading Code	For shipments originating in the US, enter the four-digit AES Port Code from the AES lookup validation tables (AES Schedule D - US Customs Ports); for example: 1001 (New York, NY). Note: This is a required field for AES filing. This information is provided by the carrier. See your carrier representative.
Port of Discharge Code	For shipments originating in the US, enter the five-digit AES Port of Discharge Code (from AES Schedule K - Foreign Ports); for example: 12493 (Vancouver, BC, Canada). Note: This is a required field for AES filing if the mode of transportation is "ocean" (ship) and is also required for shipments to and from Puerto Rico and US Territories. See AES documentation.
Intl Carrier Code	Enter the Standard Carrier Alpha Code (SCAC). This is the two-to-four letter identification code used by the US transportation industry to identify freight carriers or the two-character International Air Transport Association (IATA) airline designator code describing the shipping carrier for customs purposes. Note: This is a required field for AES filing.
Mode of Transportation	Enter the customs Mode of Transport code. Valid values are as follows: A - Air AC - Air Containerized J - Motor JC - Motor Containerized R - Rail RC - Rail Containerized S - Ocean SC - Ocean Containerized SB - Ocean Barge M - Mail AU - Auto P - Pedestrian H - Passenger, Hand-Carried Note: This is a required field for AES filing if the value other than the default. In Parcel, this default is A (Air) or J (Motor) depending on the carrier and service; for example, a shipment with UPS Worldwide Express would be assigned A as the default. In some cases, however, you may need to enter a different code depending on the mode of transportation associated with the International Carrier Code you have specified (see previous row).
Marks and Numbers	Enter any identifying marks or numbers used on the packaging of a shipment to help customers identify a particular shipment. Notes: The value in this field should be identical the corresponding field on the Details sub-tab of the Items tab. For those carriers filing export manifests via the Automated Export System/Vessel Transportation Module (AES/VTM), the filing citation must be entered in the Marks and Numbers field.
Foreign Trade Zone ID	When filing to the AES, the Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) Identifier must be reported when inbound code 67 (FTZ withdrawal for immediate export) or inbound code 68 (FTZ withdrawal for transportation and export) is selected. Currently, the FTZ Identifier requires 5 digits. The first 3 characters must be numeric and represent the general purpose zone. The last 2 characters represent the subzone and are alphanumeric.
Routed Transaction	Enter a value of Y if the shipment is a routed export transaction or N if it is not. Note: US Customs defines a routed export transaction as an export transaction in which the foreign principal party in interest (FPPI) authorizes a US agent to facilitate the export of a shipment from the US and to prepare and file electronic export information (EEI).
Ultimate Consignee Type	There are the following types of ultimate consignee: Direct Consumer Government Entity Reseller Other/Unknown. Notes: Other/Unknown is an entity that does not fall under one of the other three ultimate consignee types or whose type is not know at the time of export. Ultimate Consignee Type appears on the following reports for AES submission: - Commercial Invoice (CI) - Shipper's Export Declaration (SED) - Shipper's Letter of Instruction (SLI)

Responses and Status Messages

When you ship an international shipment using CFM, you receive a response (status) message or messages indicating success or possible modifications required in the information submitted. Response messages in CFM have the following characteristics. Each message consists of a Transaction Reference identifying the shipment and a response detail. The detail portion contains one or more messages in response to the submission that was made with the shipment.
To display the set of responses to all open shipments, select Ship > Customs Status to display the Customs Transaction Status popup window. See the examples in the Examples section.
Note: This status window displays the following types of responses:

Responses from CFM – When you submit a shipment via CFM, CFM first validates the data included in the shipment. Responses from CFM are the result of this validation and may include error messages indicating incomplete or erroneous data in the relevant Parcel fields. If the shipment passes validation, a message is returned that the shipment has been submitted to AES for processing.
Responses from AES – These can be any type (see the table below) but typically indicate a successful shipment that has been processed and can be closed. They may include and exemption or warning.

Response Message Types

The following table lists and describes the types of possible response messages:

Message Type	Description
Success	A success type means that the submission was successful and ready for confirmation. This is a response from AES. Parcel displays the following text: "Shipment Successful. Ready to confirm."
Exemption	An exemption type means that the response for the transaction submitted describes an exemption applying to the transaction. For example, for exports from the US, if the goods are below a certain value and do not contain any licensed item, when shipping to Canada an exemption can apply.
Warning	A warning type is a response indicating that validation issues have occurred on the submission. This message type does not necessarily mean that the submission was unsuccessful. It does mean that the submission should be rechecked to ensure that the submission meets all requirements. The warning indicates the specific validation issue(s).
Information	An information type is a response providing information on the result of the submission. For example, the information may be that the shipment is submitted to AES for processing.
Error	An error type means that the submission request was rejected for some reason. This message includes the line number of the item that the error applies to (if applicable) and the line number of the "parent" of the item that the Error applies to (if applicable). For example, it may cite a used vehicle entry that belongs to Customs Line 1 as its parent. For Parcel CFM errors, the message includes the name of the problematic field. For AES messages.

Notes:

Typically, the system returns a combination of the message types listed in the previous table in a single response for a given transaction. For example, you may receive a success message together with a warning or information response. Alternately, you could receive several error responses if the failure has multiple causes. For more information, see Appendix - Customs and Export - Response Messages .
These status messages can be viewed for all open shipments with CFM by selecting Ship > Customs Status.