CSMS Message: 03-001326

TO: ALL ABI FILERS

FROM: CBP TRADE SUPPORT OFFICE

SUBJECT: PROPER CREATION AND REPORTING OF MANUFACTURER ID'S

VERY IMPORTANT THAT ALL AUTOMATED FILER EMPLOYEES
WHO INPUT MID'S READ THIS MESSAGE!

IT IS BECOMING INCREASINGLY IMPORTANT FOR ABI FILERS TO SEND ACCURATE &
CORRECT MANUFACTURER IDENTIFICATION CODES (MID'S) IN ABI TRANSACTIONS
THIS IS DUE TO INCREASED ENFORCEMENT AND SECURITY INITIATIVES OF CUSTOMS
AND OTHER GOVERNMENT AGENCIES, ESPECIALLY THE FOOD AND DRUG
ADMINISTRATION. THE RULES FOR CREATING A MID USING THE STANDARD
MANUFACTURER ID ALGORITHM IS COVERED IN CUSTOMS DIRECTIVE 3500-12 DATED
NOVEMBER 24, 1986. THE INSTRUCTIONS FOR ADDING THE MID IN ABI IS COVERED
N THE CATAIR, PAGES AMF1 - AMF11. THE PURPOSE OF THIS ADMINISTRATIVE
MESSAGE IS TO BRING TO YOUR ATTENTION SEVERAL PROBLEMS,ESPECIALLY IN THE
FOOD & DRUG INTERFACE, THAT HAVE OCCURRED BECAUSE OF INPUT OF
INCORRECT MID'S.

DUE TO PROGRAMMING LIMITATIONS, ACS DOES NOT EDIT THE
FIRST TWO POSITIONS OF THE MID CODE (ISO COUNTRY CODE) AS IT DOES
IN THE COUNTRY OF ORIGIN FIELD. AN EXAMPLE IS THAT IF YOU TRANSMIT 'SU'
(SOVIET UNION) AS A COUNTRY OF ORIGIN IT WILL REJECT. IF YOU SEND 'SU'
AS THE ISO CODE IN THE FIRST TWO POSITIONS OF THE MID.
CODE IT WILL NOT REJECT. THE FOLLOWING ISO CODES ARE INVALID AND
SHOULD NOT BE USED IN MANUFACTURER CODES. THE CORRECT CODE TO BE USED IS
SHOWN IN PARENTHESIS.

INCORRECT CORRECT

CS CZECH REPUBLIC (CS)
DD EAST GERMANY (DE)
EN ESTONIA (EE)
EU EUROPEAN UNION (INDIVIDUAL COUNTRY)
GG REPUBLIC OF GEORGIA (GE)
KK KAZAKSTAN (KZ)
MM MYANMAR (BU)
SQ SLOVAKIA (SK)
SU SOVIET UNION (INDIVIDUAL COUNTRY)
ZR ZAIRE (CD OR CG)

ANOTHER PROBLEM LIES IN THE INCORRECT USE OF SOME FOREIGN CITY NAMES.
ONE OF THESE IS THE CAPITAL OF ONE OF THE COUNTRIES SHOWN ABOVE, MYANMAR
THE OFFICIAL, INTERNATIONALLY ACCEPTED NAME FOR THIS COUNTRY IS "BURMA"
THE CORRECT NAME FOR THE CAPITOL CITY IS "RANGOON" NOT YANGON.

OTHER MAJOR FOREIGN CITIES WHERE THE ENGLISH VERSION OF THE CITY NAME
SHOULD BE USED ARE:

VIENNA (INCORRECT: WIEN)
COLOGNE (INCORRECT: KOLN, KOELN)
FLORENCE (INCORRECT: FIRENZE)
MUNICH (INCORRECT: MUENCHEN)

IF THE FIRM IDENTIFIED IN THE MID IS IN THE UNITED STATES THEN
THE FIRST TWO LETTERS (ISO CODE) OF THE MID MUST BE 'US'. THERE ARE
SEVERAL RECENT EXAMPLES WHERE FILERS HAVE SENT COUNTRY CODES THAT CORR-
ESPOND WITH U.S. STATE'S POSTAL CODE INSTEAD OF 'US'. THIS RESULTS IN
CITY/COUNTRY ANOMALIES SUCH AS:

PHOENIX AZERBAIJAN
DENVER COLOMBIA
ATLANTA GABON
CHICAGO ISRAEL
NEW ORLEANS LAOS
BOSTON MALTA
PITTSBURGH PANAMA
RICHMOND VATICAN CITY

THERE ARE TWENTY-TWO COUNTRY CODES THAT MATCH STATE ABBREVIATIONS:(AR,AL
AZ,CO,DE,GA,ID,IL,IN,KY,LA,MA,MD,MN,MS,NC,NE,PA,SD,SC,TN,VA). PLEASE
DO NOT USE THEM FOR US MID'S. USE ONLY 'US' FOR US ADDRESSES.

OTHER COMMON MID ERRORS:

USING 'GE' FOR GERMANY. 'DE' IS GERMANY. 'GE' IS GEORGIA
USING 'KE' FOR KOREA. 'KR' IS KOREA. 'KE' IS KENYA.
USING 'IR' FOR IRELAND. 'IE' IS IRELAND. 'IR' IS IRAN.

AUTOMATED FILERS PLEASE PASS THIS INFORMATION ON TO ALL YOUR OFFICES SO
THAT EVERYONE WHO INPUTS MID'S CAN READ IT. THE USE OF AN INCORRECT MID
CAN DEFEAT PAPERLESS STATUS AND CREATE ADDITIONAL WORK FOR CUSTOMS THUS
CAN DELAY RELEASE OF YOUR ENTRY.

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS PLEASE CONTACT YOUR ASSIGNED CLIENT
REPRESENTATIVE.

Referenced By

CSMS #03-001327