The E-Manifest Close Message is the critical document
The E-Manifest Close Message is the critical document in any amendment process to any LCL H.B/L for shipments to Canada. The Close Message is a unique number and a list of the H.B/Ls in the consolidation. You can use the Consolidation Number, the Master Bill Number, or create a unique Close Message Number, it doesn’t matter as long as it is unique and doesn’t repeat.
The E-Manifest Amendment Process for LCL shipments is:
1) Send the Close Message Cancel message to CBSA.
2) Send the Cancel Shipment message for the LCL shipment that will be amended.
3) Send the New message for the same H.B/L reflecting the changes / amendment. (Don’t worry that this is a New message. CBSA, and other Customs organizations, keep track of the H.B/L message and understand that this is an amendment to a shipment that is already on file.
4) Send a new Close Message with a new Close Message Number.
Our system takes care of all of this automatically for you in the background, but it is important that you understand the process.
CBSA compares each shipment message with the other shipments that are associated with that shipment. This is the Previous Bill of Lading. If the shipment you are filing had data that does not match the data of associated shipments – the M.B/L or the Master Loader’s H.B/L – then you will get an error message noting the data point that does not match.
THIS DOES NOT MEAN THAT YOUR DATA IS WRONG. It only means that it doesn’t match.
Any party – the Co-Loader, the Master Loader, or the Carrier can be the first party to file their bill of lading for the set of associated shipments. The first document filed has nothing to be compared to so it could have an error that CBSA does not high light. THE KEY IS THAT DATA NEEDS TO BE BOTH ACCURATE AND MATCH ALL OF THE OTHERS.
If you get an error message, then follow this process:
1) Confirm that your data is accurate with a reputable 3rd party. This could be for Sub Location Codes (we have the most up to date list from CBSA and are associating this with the vessel services in our Sailing Schedule). You may need to make a change if you have the wrong data and process the amendment.
2) If you confirm that your data is correct, then contact the party you are working with – the Master Loader or the Carrier – and ensure that they correct the data and file an Amendment. You don’t need to file an amendment if your data is accurate and on file.
