EU Import Control System 2 (ICS2) Operational Guide

Since 4 November 2024, MSC has successfully started submitting customs declarations under ICS2 (European Union’s Import Control System 2) requirements.

As described in previous communications (EU Import Control System 2 ICS2 | MSC), ICS2 prescribes that new requirements will be needed for all goods transported on maritime and inland waterways, roads and railways (including postal and express consignments), to or through the 27 European Union countries, and three other countries: Northern Ireland, Norway and Switzerland. This regulation applies also to EU transhipment and freight remaining on board (FROB).

MSC is pleased to support and comply with this new regulation, which will become fully effective also for House Filers from April 2025, as it will enhance the security and safety of customers’ pre-arrival procedures.

Safety and security data of the Economic Operators (EOs) are submitted to ICS2 countries via an Entry Summary Declaration (ENS).

Depending on the presence of House Bill of Ladings included in the shipment, on the final destination of the goods, and on the possibility of EOs or performing Multiple filings, different filing scenarios are available:

Direct Customers (shipment not including House Bill of Ladings):

• Goods delivered in ICS2 countries: Buyer and Seller of the goods must be declared to EU customs, together with the Bill of Lading data.
• Goods not delivered to ICS2 countries (the case of EU FROB, EU Transhipment, or POD EU with final destination outside EU): only Bill of Lading data must be declared to EU customs.

House Filers (House Bill of Lading(s) included in the shipment):

• Goods delivered in ICS2 countries: House Bill of Lading(s) data, including Buyer and Seller of the goods, must be declared to customs, together with the Master Bill of Lading data.
• Goods not delivered to ICS2 countries (the case of EU FROB, EU Transhipment, or POD EU with final destination outside EU): House Bill of Lading(s) data, not including Buyer and Seller of the goods, together with the Master Bill of Lading data, must be declared to customs.

In the case of House Bill of Lading(s) and/or Buyer and Seller data that must be declared to customs, the multiple filings option is possible. EOs can directly submit these data to EU customs, without disclosing them to the carrier. This is possible by sharing with MSC the EORI number of the Supplementary declarant. Customs will receive the “Ocean Carrier” declaration from MSC (F12 or F13 filing options), and the supplementary declarant will be responsible for submitting the necessary additional information (F14, F15, or F17 filing options).

If all the data are provided to the Ocean Carrier, MSC will submit complete datasets via F10 (no House Bill of Lading included), or F11 (including House Bill of Lading data).

How data can be provided to MSC

Master Bill of Lading data must be provided to MSC via the usual Shipping Instructions (SI) channels, that include:

• myMSC
• EDI (for direct customers)
• INTTRA

We remind customers that MSC need to receive via SI also the following information:

• EORI number of consignee is an optional field, and must be provided for all the EU based legal entities (“legal person”) that requested and are in possession of this number, therefore only for shipments with final destination in EU. EORI is not needed when consignee is not a “legal person” or a legal entity located outside EU.
• Commodity code (Harmonized System) must be declared with at least 6 digits.
• House Bill of Lading(s) included in the shipment: yes or no.
• Goods are delivered in ICS2 countries: yes or no.
  • If goods are delivered in EU, and if House Bill of Lading(s) are not included in the shipment, are Seller and Buyer coincident with Shipper and Consignee: yes or no.
• Full address details, including street name, number, PO Box, city, postcode and country for all involved parties
• EORI number of Supplementary declarant, only in the case of Multiple ENS filings

If no specific field is available in eSI, this information must be submitted in the SI comment section.

Buyer and Seller and/or House Bill of Lading(s) data

These are specific ICS2 required data. Customers can submit this information via:

• myMSC, accessing to the dedicated EU Customs module and completing the required data requested by the user interface
• EDI, via dedicated IFTMIN segments, fully described on the Developer Portal - MSC
• INTTRA, where both Buyer and Seller data and House Bill of Lading(s) data can be included in the shipping instructions journey

Exceptionally, House Bill of Lading(s) data not shared to MSC via above channels will be filed by MSC and submitted to EU customs. For this value-added service, MSC will invoice USD 30 per House Bill of Lading.

Should you have any questions, please contact your local MSC representatives in our global network of more than 675 offices.