Source: http://test.jurist.org/documents/rulemaking/2016-04264.php
Timestamp: 2019-03-25 07:32:14
Document Index: 678155647

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 531', 'art 530', 'art 532', 'art 531', 'art 532', 'art 531', 'art 530', 'arts 530', 'art 530', '§\u2009530', 'art 531', 'art 530']

JURIST - Service Contracts and NVOCC Service Arrangements
on Monday 29 February 2016
Comments closed on 2016-03-30
Email: secretary@fmc.gov. Include in the subject line: “Docket 16-05, [Commentor/Company name].” Comments should be attached to the email as a Microsoft Word or text-searchable PDF document. Only non- confidential and public versions of confidential comments should be submitted by email.
Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or comments received, go to the Commission's Electronic Reading Room at: http://www.fmc.gov/16-05.
In 1998, Congress passed the Ocean Shipping Reform Act (OSRA), amending the Shipping Act of 1984 relating to service contracts. To facilitate compliance and minimize the filing burdens on the oceanborne commerce of the United States, service contracts and amendments effective after April 30, 1999 are required to be filed with the Commission in electronic format. The electronic filing of service contracts and amendments eliminated the regulatory burden of filing in paper format, saving ocean carriers both time and money. In addition, under OSRA, contracts between ocean common carriers and shippers can be agreed to on a confidential basis and the public no longer has access to view their contents. [1] Service contracts and amendments continue today to be filed into the Commission's electronic filing system, SERVCON.
On November 4, 2011, the Commission issued its Plan for Retrospective Review of Existing Rules (Retrospective Review Plan or Plan) and invited public comment on how it might improve existing regulations. [2] The Plan included a review schedule for its existing regulations, which was updated on February 13, 2013. The updated Plan called for review of the existing rules for NVOCC Service Arrangements in 46 CFR part 531 from 2013 to 2014, and for review of Service Contracts regulations Part 530 in 2013.
In response to the Commission's request for public comment, the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America, Inc. (NCBFAA) filed comments regarding Part 532, NVOCC Negotiated Rate Arrangements (NRAs), and Part 531, NVOCC Service Arrangements, on November 21, 2011. NCBFAA's comments supported the Commission's effort to review and streamline its regulations and indicated that several additional steps would significantly ease some of the obstacles that it claims have hindered utilization of Part 532, NVOCC NRAs, and Part 531, NVOCC Service Arrangements. The Commission also received the Comments of Ocean Common Carriers [3] regarding Part 530, Service Contracts on May 18, 2012. The carriers' comments largely focused on three areas that they believe changes in the service contract regulations would be beneficial, namely, introducing greater flexibility in the timing of service contract amendment filing, making adjustments to the service contract correction process, and expanding the list of commodities exempted from tariff and service contract filing. The comments are described in further detail in discussion of Parts 530 and 531 that follows.
Part 530—Service Contracts Back to Top
Another option, which would require a substantial amount of SERVCON system programming and necessitate a standard service contract format to be adopted and agreed to by carriers, would be to require “metadata” to be incorporated into service contracts that would include the 6-digit FMC Organization Number of all NVOCC parties. [4] For instance, with the required programming implemented this technology could be leveraged to identify during the filing process contracts or amendments which contain an NVOCC that is not in compliance with § 530.6. If an NVOCC is not compliant, an alert would be sent to the carrier filing the contract or amendment and Commission staff.
The Commission seeks comments on whether it should revise its regulations to allow: (1) A service contract amendment to be filed individually and sequentially within 30 days of its effectiveness; or (2) any number of service contract amendments to be consolidated into a single document, but filed within 30 days of the effective date of the earliest of all amendments contained in the document. Any clarifications or refinements to the suggestions made by the commenters, given the information technology constraints, are also requested.
Several stakeholders advised the Commission that essential terms publications were no longer accessed by the public or useful to stakeholders. However, other stakeholders indicated that they do rely on them for various purposes, such as during a grievance proceeding.
Part 531—NVOCC Service Arrangements Back to Top
In their comments on the Commission's Retrospective Review Plan, NCBFAA states that NSAs are private, negotiated contracts between NVOCCs and their shipper customers. [5] NCBFAA adds that the various NSAs that have been filed with the Commission provide little information that is of use to the agency.
Presently, the NSA regulations do not include a requirement that the NSA shipper certify its status, which is a requirement for shippers under current service contract regulations in Part 530. The Commission seeks comment on whether to make these requirements consistent and uniform for NVOCCs and VOCCs, as both are common carriers, and such certification assists in compliance.
Regulatory Notices and Analysis Back to Top
The Commission assigns a regulation identifier number (RIN) to each regulatory action listed in the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions (Unified Agenda). The Regulatory Information Service Center publishes the Unified Agenda in April and October of each year. You may use the RIN contained in the heading at the beginning of this document to find this action in the Unified Agenda, available at: http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/eAgendaMain.
4. “Metadata is structured information that describes, explains, locates, or otherwise makes it easier to retrieve, use, or manage an information resource. Metadata is often called data about data or information about information.” National Information Standards Organization (NIST), Understanding Metadata, NIST Press (2004), available at: http://www.niso.org/publications/press/UnderstandingMetadata.pdf (last visited Jan. 17, 2016).
Citation: 81 FR 10198
citation:81 FR 10198 comments_close:2016-03-30 date: docnum:2016-04264 effective_date: html:https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2016/02/29/2016-04264/service-contracts-and-nvocc-service-arrangements pdf:https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2016-02-29/pdf/2016-04264.pdf