Sea cargo manifest
SCM
A sea cargo manifest is the carrier's list of all cargo on a vessel for a voyage. It is set out by bill of lading and used by customs, ports and agents.
What it is
A sea cargo manifest is a summary of all cargo carried on a vessel for a particular voyage, prepared by the carrier or its agent. Each line corresponds to a bill of lading and gives the shipper, consignee, notify party, ports, marks, packages, weight, cargo description and containers. Separate manifests are normally prepared for each port of loading and discharge.
How it works in practice
The manifest is compiled from issued bills of lading once loading is confirmed. A freight manifest version also shows freight and charges, while the cargo manifest submitted to authorities does not need to. Customs administrations require manifest data in advance or on arrival, usually in a prescribed electronic format. In India, the Sea Cargo Manifest and Transhipment Regulations set out what carriers and other authorized persons must declare, and at which stages.
Why it matters
Customs uses the manifest to match declarations filed by importers and exporters against what the carrier says is on board. A consignment missing from the manifest, or shown with different details, cannot be cleared until an amendment is filed, which costs time and may attract a fee or penalty. For agents the manifest is also the working list for arrival notices, invoicing and delivery orders at the discharge port.
In Sailix
How Sailix handles it
Sailix generates a Sea Cargo Manifest as a PDF for the invoiced B/Ls on one sailing from the Export Manifest screen. On the import side, the Import Manifest Manager lists the bills on a voyage with arrival and discharge dates for line-by-line editing. Cargo Summary Notification files for Indian customs are produced separately from the same B/L data.
- Export manifestProduce the Sea Cargo Manifest PDF for one sailing from its invoiced B/Ls, with a voyage header you review and a row for each B/L.
- Export EDI filesGenerate export EDI JSON files for Indian ports, including EGM and the advance load list, and the terminal departure report from the B/Ls on a vessel voyage.
- Customs CSN filesGenerate Cargo Summary Notification JSON files to the Indian Customs SCMTR schema from import and export B/Ls, then submit them through your customs channel.
Related terms
- IGM and EGMIGM and EGM are the import and export cargo manifests filed with Indian customs for a vessel. The IGM covers an arriving vessel and the EGM a departing one.
- Cargo Summary NotificationA Cargo Summary Notification is a message filed with Indian customs summarizing cargo by master and house consignment. It is filed under the Sea Cargo Manifest and Transhipment Regulations.
- EDI in shippingEDI in shipping is the exchange of structured electronic messages between carriers, agents, terminals and customs. The messages include manifests, bookings and container moves.
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