(a) Status. Merchandise may be transported from one port to another in the United States through Canada or Mexico in accordance with the regulations in this subpart or subparts E for trucks transiting Canada, F for commercial traveler's samples, or G for baggage. Merchandise so transported is not subject to treatment as an importation when returned to the United States, and no inward foreign manifest is required for merchandise returned under an in-transit manifest. In-transit merchandise returned to the United States shall be treated as an importation as are shipments made from Canada or Mexico if:

(1) An in-transit manifest is not furnished for the merchandise upon its return to the United States;

(2) The merchandise has been trans-shipped in foreign territory without Customs supervision when the transshipment required the breaking of Customs seals; or

(3) The Customs inspector finds any of the Customs seals applied to the conveyance or compartment unlocked or missing.

(b) Use of certain vessels prohibited. Merchandise shall not be transported from port to port in the United States through Canada or Mexico by vessel in violation of the provisions of section 27, Merchant Marine Act of 1920, as amended (46 U.S.C. 883), or section 588, Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1588). (See § 4.80 of this chapter.)

(c) Regulations applicable. The provisions of this subpart shall govern all merchandise transported from one port to another in the United States through Canada or Mexico under in-transit procedures, except as otherwise provided in this subpart or in subpart E for truck shipments transiting Canada, subpart F for commercial traveler's samples transiting Canada, and subpart G for baggage transiting Canada or Mexico.

(a) Manifest required. A manifest in duplicate covering the in-transit merchandise which is to proceed under the provisions of this subpart shall be presented by the carrier to the Customs officer at each port of lading of a vessel, or at the port of exit of a vehicle. Where the merchandise is transported under Customs red in-bond seals and is accompanied by a transportation in-bond manifest, a separate in-transit manifest is not required.

(b) Additional copies. In the following cases additional copies of the manifest shall be presented:

(1) When the merchandise is to be transshipped in foreign territory under Customs supervision, a copy of the manifest for each place of transshipment shall be presented.

(2) When a Customs officer requests an extra copy of the manifest as a record of the transaction.

(c) Manifest forms to be used. The in-transit manifest forms to be used are:

(1) For trucks, railroad cars or other overland carriers transiting Mexico a manifest on Customs Form 7512-B or 7533-C shall be presented.

(2) For vessels of less than 5 net tons departing and arriving otherwise than by sea, a manifest on Customs Form 7512-B or 7533-C shall be presented. All other vessels are subject to the manifesting requirements contained in § 4.82 of this chapter.

(3) For rail cars transiting Canada, a manifest on Customs Form 7533-C (Canada A4-1/2) shall be presented. For trains which will remain intact while transiting Canadian territory, a consolidated train manifest containing all the information included in the individual car manifests and the train sheet required by § 123.23 may be used in lieu of individual car manifests. For a number of cars which will transit Canada as a group, a consolidated manifest may be used, but a train sheet shall also be presented.

(4) In all other cases where no in-transit manifest form is specified in this subpart, or in subpart E relating to truck shipments on the Canadian border, subpart F relating to commercial traveler's samples, and subpart G relating to baggage, Customs Form 7512-B or 7533-C shall be presented.

(d) Contents of in-transit manifest. The information contained in the manifest shall correspond to the information contained in the waybill accompanying the shipment, except that:

(1) The conveyance shall be identified in a suitable manner in the place provided for such identification.

(2) The description of ladings made up of several shipments which are to go forward in a conveyance or compartment sealed with Customs seals shall be “miscellaneous shipments.”

(3) When an in-transit rail shipment will enter and reenter Canada in a continuing movement en route to a final destination in the United States, only the final United States port of reentry shall be shown on the manifest.

Before an in-transit train proceeding under the provisions of this subpart departs from the United States, the carrier shall furnish to the customs officer at the port of exit a train sheet, sometimes called a consist, bridge sheet or trip sheet, listing each car of the train and specifically identifying the in-transit cars, unless a consolidated manifest containing this information has been presented for a train which will remain intact.

(a) Sealing required. Merchandise in transit proceeding under the provisions of this subpart shall be transported in sealed conveyances or compartments, except that:

(1) Less than load or compartment lots may be forwarded in unsealed conveyances or compartments, without cording and sealing;

(2) The Commissioner of Customs may authorize treatment of full loads or lots in the same manner as less than load or compartment lots;

(3) Live animals identifiable by specific description in the manifest may be transported in the care of an attendant or customs inspector at the expense of the parties in interest, in unsealed conveyances or compartments.

(b) Seals to be affixed. The carrier shall affix blue in-transit seals to all openings of conveyances and compartments containing in-transit merchandise except that:

(1) Sealable carload shipments on the Canadian border shall be sealed with yellow in-transit seals.

(2) Conveyances or compartments sealed with U.S. Customs red in-bound seals may go forward without additional seals.

(c) Carrier relieved of responsibility. The port director may relieve the carrier of the responsibility of affixing in-transit seals by notification in writing that Customs inspectors will assume it.

(a) Certification. Conveyances proceeding under the provisions of this subpart shall not proceed until the Customs inspector has certified the in-transit manifest or verified its certification by the carrier. The port director may require the carrier to execute the certificate as an alternative to certification by the Customs officer. When the carrier is to execute the certificate, and the merchandise will be forwarded without being under Customs seals, the agent of the carrier shall carefully examine the packages covered by the manifests to satisfy himself that the merchandise agrees with the manifest as to quantity and description.

(b) Disposition of manifest. The original manifest, after certification, shall accompany the merchandise. Additional copies required when the merchandise is to be transshipped in Canada or Mexico under Customs supervision shall be given to the person in charge of the conveyance for delivery to the Customs officers who will supervise transshipment.

(a) General. Merchandise in transit proceeding under the provisions of this subpart may be transshipped from one conveyance to another in foreign territory. When transshipment requires the breaking of Customs seals, the breaking of the seals, transshipment and sealing of the conveyance or compartment to which the merchandise is transshipped shall be under the supervision of a Customs officer. He shall note his action on both the additional copy of the manifest presented to him, in accordance with § 123.25(b), and on the original copy, which shall be returned to the person in charge of the conveyance to accompany the merchandise. Merchandise transshipped in foreign territory without customs supervision when Customs seals were broken shall be treated upon return to the United States as imported merchandise.

(b) Storage awaiting transshipment. Merchandise moving under in-transit manifests and Customs seals which is to be stored in foreign territory awaiting transshipment shall be checked into a storehouse by the Customs officer at the place of transshipment. It shall remain under Customs locks and seals until transshipment is completed under Customs supervision.

(c) Manifests where contents broken up. When transshipment involves the breaking up of the in-transit contents of a conveyance or compartment, in such a manner as to require separate manifests for articles previously covered by a single manifest, the Customs officer supervising the transshipment shall take up the carrier's copy of the manifest and require the carrier to prepare a new manifest, in duplicate, for each conveyance to which the merchandise is transshipped. If there is to be further transshipment, an additional copy of each new manifest shall be presented by the carrier, and shall be returned to the person in charge of the carrier for delivery to the Customs officer at the point of further transshipment in accordance with § 123.25(b). After the transshipment and sealing of the conveyances and compartments has been supervised and the new manifests certified the originals of the new manifests shall be returned to the carrier to accompany the merchandise to the point of reentry into the United States.

If animals in sealed conveyances or compartments cannot be fed and watered in Canada without breaking customs seals, the seals shall be broken and the animals fed and watered under the supervision of a United States or Canadian Customs officer. The supervising officer shall reseal the conveyance or compartment, and make notation as to the resealing on the manifest.

(a) In-transit status abandoned. When the in-transit status of merchandise transiting Canada or Mexico is abandoned and the merchandise is entered for consumption or other disposition in Canada or Mexico, the carrier must send the in-transit seals and manifests to the port where the manifests were first filed with CBP, or in the case of trucks under subpart E, the port of exit, with an endorsement by the carrier's agent on each manifest showing that the merchandise was so entered. The carriers must comply with the export control regulations, 15 CFR part 370.

(b) In-transit merchandise exported to Canada or Mexico. Merchandise to be exported to Canada or Mexico after moving in-transit through a contiguous country will be treated as exported when it has passed through the last port of exit from the United States. This paragraph will control whether or not the merchandise to be exported is domestic or foreign and whether or not it is exported with benefit of drawback. The manifest, Electronic Export Information (EEI) filing citations, exclusions, and/or exemption legends, and the notice of exportation, if any, must be filed at the last port of exit from the United States.

(a) Presentation of documents. At the first port in the United States after transportation through Canada or Mexico under the provisions of this subpart, the carrier shall present to Customs the in-transit manifest or manifests for each loaded conveyance. For mixed ladings, that is, ladings made up of several shipments, the waybills shall be available at the port of return or discharge for use by Customs officers. For a railroad train for which a consolidated manifest was not used the conductor shall also present a train sheet showing the car numbers and initials.

(b) Vessels and rail shipments continuing in-transit movement—(1) Vessels. In the case of a vessel carrying in-transit merchandise, the master's copies of the in-transit or in-bond manifest covering the merchandise given final Customs release at that port shall be retained by Customs at that port and the manifests covering merchandise to be discharged at subsequent ports of arrival shall be returned to the master of the vessel for presentation to Customs at the next port.

(2) Rail shipments. An in-transit rail shipment arriving at an intermediate port of reentry or exit intended for further in-transit movement through Canada may be permitted to go forward under the accompanying in-transit manifest after verification by Customs that the manifest satisfactorily identifies the shipment.

(c) Checking and breaking of seals—(1) Checking seals. The Customs officer at the port of arrival shall check customs seals applied to the conveyance or compartment for unlocked or missing seals. Where the seals are unlocked or missing, the merchandise shall be treated as having been imported from the transited country.

(2) Breaking seals. In-bond seals shall be broken only by a Customs officer or by a person acting under the direction of a Customs officer. In-transit seals may be broken by any carrier's employee, or by a consignee at any time or place after the merchandise under such seals has been released by Customs.

(d) Proper manifest. In-transit merchandise shall not be released until proper in-transit manifests are received except that it may be treated as imported merchandise.

(e) Substitution of merchandise. Any instance of substitution of merchandise shall be reported to the Commissioner of Customs, and the merchandise shall be detained.