Most holds on Latin American and Caribbean ocean freight are not caused by exotic rules. They come from a short list of repeat mistakes: vague cargo descriptions, placeholder party names, wrong package counts, late or rejected export filings, and documents that disagree with each other. CBP and the Census Bureau publish what they expect; this guide turns their guidance into a checklist.
Latin American trade from Florida runs on tight schedules: short transits, weekly sailings and small vessels that cannot wait. A data problem that would cost an hour in an office can cost a week on the dock. CBP’s cargo vessel manifest guidance lists what can follow manifest violations, including failure to file, incorrect information, overages and shortages: penalties and liquidated damages, Do Not Load holds, holds for examination, or seizure.
The good news is that the same few mistakes show up again and again, and almost all of them are preventable at booking. Some show up mostly on northbound cargo coming into the United States, where CBP reviews the manifest; others show up on southbound cargo, where the U.S. export filing and the destination customs office are the checkpoints. The checklist below covers both directions.
CBP requires the carrier to provide a precise description of the cargo, or the Harmonized Tariff Schedule number to the 6-digit level. Its guidance names the descriptions it does not accept: generic terms such as “FAK,” “general cargo,” “STC,” “equipment” and “parts.”
On northbound cargo from Latin America, this usually starts with a supplier’s shorthand copied straight onto the house bill. On southbound cargo, the same vague wording on the invoice causes questions at destination. A description should tell a customs officer what the goods are: “used auto parts” is a start, “used automobile brake rotors, steel” is a description.
CBP’s guidance lists, as a filing error, a manifest with invalid shipper or consignee names, or one that identifies the shipper as “various” or the consignee as “unknown.” It also says that simple and house bills must list the shipper as the foreign vendor, supplier, manufacturer or similar party, and that third-party logistics providers are not acceptable as the shipper. Carriers must issue a separate bill of lading for each shipper-consignee relationship.
For consolidators, the temptation is to list themselves, or a forwarder, as shipper. The guidance is clear that the shipper is the party that actually supplies the goods. Shipper and consignee entries also need a valid address with city or province, country and postal code.
The manifest quantity is the smallest external packaging unit. CBP says containers and pallets are not acceptable manifested quantities, and gives the example that two pallets containing 50 pieces each count as 100, not 2. It also lists improperly manifested consolidated cargo, where counting only visible packaging is used, as a filing error.
This one is easy to fix with a rule at the dock: the dock receipt captures pieces, not just pallets, and the bill of lading inherits that count.
Northbound cargo from Latin America often moves on services that call at several ports before Florida. CBP’s manifest data elements separate the first foreign port, where the carrier takes possession of the cargo, from the last foreign port before the vessel departs for the United States, and they also require the date of departure from the foreign port and the date of arrival at the first U.S. port of entry. Copying the last port into both fields, or leaving an old estimated arrival date after a schedule change, produces a manifest that does not describe the real voyage.
Timing makes this worse. The cargo data is due 24 hours before the cargo is loaded at the foreign port, which on a short Caribbean or Central American voyage can be well before anyone in Miami thinks of the shipment as urgent. A booking process that records the actual load port and updates the schedule in one place avoids the problem.
On southbound cargo, the U.S. export filing is where most problems start. The Census Bureau’s Foreign Trade Regulations require EEI when a Schedule B line is worth more than $2,500 or a license is needed. Common mistakes, drawn from the Census quick guide:
For the full export picture, see our AES and EEI filing guide.
At destination, customs authorities compare the invoice, the bill of lading and any certificate of origin. When the consignee name, the package count or the description differs between them, the shipment waits. Preferential origin claims are especially sensitive: under CAFTA-DR, the ITA’s Dominican Republic guide says the importer’s certification must include the certifier’s name, the HS classification and description of the good, origin information and the date. A certification that does not match the invoice invites a challenge.
| Mistake | What can happen | Prevention |
|---|---|---|
| Generic description (“FAK,” “parts”) | CBP filing error, hold or exam | Precise description or 6-digit HTS at booking |
| Shipper “various,” consignee “unknown” | CBP filing error | Real foreign supplier and consignee with full address |
| Pallets counted instead of pieces | Improper manifest of consolidated cargo | Count the smallest external packaging unit on the dock receipt |
| EEI late or rejected | No ITN; cargo should not load | File early and confirm acceptance before the 24-hour cutoff |
| Invoice and B/L disagree | Destination customs query or delay | Build every document from the same booking record |
That is the design idea behind GDZ-ISIS, built in Miami since 1985 for carriers and NVOCCs on Caribbean and Latin American lanes: quotations become bookings, bookings feed dock receipts and bills of lading, and the ACE manifest is filed from the same bills of lading your team issued. If your team keeps fixing the same errors, talk to GDZ.
CBP’s manifest guidance names generic terms such as “FAK,” “general cargo,” “STC,” “equipment” and “parts” as insufficient. It requires a precise description or the HTS number to the 6-digit level.
CBP’s guidance says simple and house bills must list the shipper as the foreign vendor, supplier, manufacturer or similar party, and that third-party logistics providers are not acceptable. A separate bill of lading is required for each shipper-consignee relationship.
Use the smallest external packaging unit. CBP says containers and pallets are not acceptable quantities; two pallets holding 50 pieces each count as 100.
A filing with a fatal error is not accepted and no ITN is generated, so the carrier has no proof of filing. The Census Bureau says fatal errors must be corrected immediately, and late filings generate compliance alerts.
CBP says manifest violations can lead to enforcement action including penalties and liquidated damages, Do Not Load holds, holds for examination, or seizure. Amounts depend on the violation; confirm with CBP or your customs attorney.