GLOSSARY A-C

AQIS
Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service.

ATA
Actual Time of Arrival.

ATD
Actual Time of Departure.

Air Waybill
The shipping document used for the transportation of air freight: includes conditions, limitations of liability, shipping instructions, description of commodity, and may include applicable transportation charges. It is generally similar to a straight non-negotiable bill of lading and is used for similar purposes.

Aircraft Container
A unit load device (ULD) which links directly with the airplane cargo handling and restraint system.

All Risk
All Risks Coverage, a type of marine insurance, is the broadest kind of standard coverage, but excludes damage caused by war, strikes, and riots.

Allotment
A term used to describe blocked space by airlines on behalf of forwarders/shippers.

Alongside
A phrase referring to the side of a ship. Goods to be delivered alongside are to be placed on the dock or lighter within reach of the transport ship's tackle so that they can be loaded aboard the ship. Goods are delivered to the port of embarkation, but without loading fees.

BACC
A BACC (Biosecurity Authority Clearance Certificate) is a certificate issued by MPI (Ministry for Primary Industries) stating whether freight is MPI released or if it requires MPI inspection or other action to be taken before final release is given.

BAF (Bunker Adjustment Factor)
An adjustment in shipping charges to offset price fluctuations in the cost of bunker fuel.

Bill of Lading (B/L)
Bills of Lading (sometimes referred to as BOL or B/L) are contracts of carriage between the owner of the goods and the carrier. There are two types. A straight bill of lading is non-negotiable. A negotiable or shipper's order bill of lading can be bought, sold, or traded while goods are in transit and is used for many types of financing transactions. The customer usually needs to surrender the original as proof of ownership/title to take possession of the goods.

Bonded Warehouse
Also known as a customs warehouse, a bonded warehouse is an area where goods can be deposited without an importer or an agent needing to pay duties on them. If the importer decides to sell the goods for re-export, duties will not be incurred. Likewise, if the goods are destroyed, the obligation to pay duties will also be resolved. If the imported goods are released for sale, however, customs duties will come due.

Break Bulk Cargo
Break bulk cargo is loose cargo, such as timber or machinery which is too big to fit into a container and is stowed directly in a vessel's hold as opposed to containerised cargo.

Breakbulk Vessel
A general cargo vessel designed to efficiently handle un-containerised cargo. Vessels are usually self-sustaining in that they have their own loading and unloading machinery.

CAF (Currency Adjustment Factor)
A freight surcharge or adjustment factor imposed by an international carrier to offset foreign currency fluctuations. In some cases an emergency currency adjustment factor (ECAF) may be applied when a charge or rate has been originally published in a currency that is experiencing sustained or rapid decline. The CAF is charged as a percentage of the freight.

Carnet
A Carnet is an international customs document that allows the holder to temporarily (up to one year) import goods without payment of normally applicable duties and taxes, including value-added taxes. The Carnet eliminates the need to purchase a temporary import entry.  So long as the goods are re-exported within the allotted time frame, no duties or taxes are due. Failure to re-export all goods listed on the Carnet results in the need to pay the applicable duties.

Carriage and Insurance Paid – CIP (To) (named place of destination)
The containerised transport/multimodal equivalent of CIF. Seller pays for carriage and insurance to the named destination point, but risk passes when the goods are handed over to the first carrier.

Carriage Paid To - CPT (named place of destination)
The general/containerised/multimodal equivalent of CFR. The seller pays for carriage to the named point of destination, but risk passes when the goods are handed over to the first carrier.

CEDO
A CEDO is the "Customs Export Delivery Order" and is approval from NZ Customs that the cargo can legally be exported from New Zealand. As a rule CEDO’s must be lodged AND accepted 12 hours BEFORE the load vessel arrives in Port. Failure to complete the CEDO will mean the shipment will not proceed and more often than not, a financial penalty will be applied.

Clean Bill of Lading
A receipt for goods issued by a carrier with an indication that the goods were received in apparent good order and condition, without damages or other irregularities.

Combi Aircraft
An aircraft configured to carry both passengers and cargo on the Main Deck.

Commercial Invoice
A commercial invoice is the 'charge' document, containing details of the seller, buyer, goods, price and terms of trade.

Consignee
The person or firm named in a freight contract to whom goods have been consigned or turned over. For export control purposes, the documentation differentiates between an intermediate consignee and an ultimate consignee.

Consignment
Delivery of merchandise from an exporter (the consignor) to an agent (the consignee) under agreement that the agent sell the merchandise for the account of the exporter. The consignor retains title to the goods until sold. The consignee sells the goods for commission and remits the net proceeds to the consignor.

Consignor
The consignor, in a contract of carriage, is the person sending a shipment to be delivered whether by land, sea or air. Some carriers, such as national postal entities, use the term "sender" or "shipper" but in the event of a legal dispute the proper and technical term "consignor" will generally be used.

Consolidation
In order to handle small lots of consignments efficiently and competitively, the freight forwarder usually puts many consignments into one lot then tenders to a carrier for forwarding. In this case, each consignment will be shipped with one House Waybill respectively and all of them will be under one master Waybill.

Container Demurrage
Container Demurrage is a fee charged for the time a container spends on the wharf beyond a given free period. Ports of Auckland for example, allows 3.5 days free and thereafter it makes a per day charge for containers (and break-bulk cargo) for what in effect is storage, the demurrage must be paid in order to pick up the freight.

Cost and Freight (CFR, or CNF or C&F)
Cost and Freight (CFR) to a named overseas port of import. Under this term, the seller quotes a price for the goods that includes the cost of transportation to the named point of debarkation. The cost of insurance is left to the buyer's account; risk is transferred to the buyer once the goods have crossed the ship's rail. Strictly speaking for maritime transport only.

Cost, Insurance and Freight (CIF)
Cost, insurance, and freight (CIF) to a named overseas port of import. Under this term, the seller quotes a price for the goods (including insurance), all transportation, and miscellaneous charges to the point of debarkation for the vessel. Strictly speaking for maritime transport only.

Customs
The government authorities designated to collect duties levied by a country on imports and exports and to control the country’s borders.

Customs Broker
Customs brokerage is a profession that involves the 'clearing' of goods through customs barriers for importers and exporters (usually businesses). This involves the preparation of documents and/or electronic submissions, the calculation (and usually the payment) on behalf of the client of taxes, duties and excises, and facilitating communication between the importer/exporter and governmental authorities.

Customs Clearance
All goods arriving into or exiting from New Zealand are required by law to be cleared through the New Zealand Customs Service. Imported goods are subject to bio-security requirements and the payment of import duty and GST charges. Customs undertakes security screening and collects revenue charges on behalf of the New Zealand Government. Imported goods are deemed to be under Customs control until such time they have been Customs cleared.

Customs Controlled Area (CCA)
A Customs Controlled Area is a designated area such as a wharf, an airport or a licensed warehouse, where Customs ensure the security of all goods, people and conveyances arriving into or departing from the country, to protect the revenue and to ensure compliance with all Customs and Customs related requirements.  Customs have the power to control the movement of all goods, people and conveyances who enter the designated area.

Customs Delivery Order (D/O)
A customs delivery order is a document which releases freight from Customs’ hold/control once the applicable taxes and duty have been paid.

Customs Invoice
A document, required by some foreign countries' customs officials to verify the value, quantity, and nature of the shipment, describing the shipment and showing information such as the consignor, consignee, and value of the shipment.