Definitions, as published
The definition of each term exactly as its official source words it, with the article or page it comes from.
| Term slug | Definition text | Citation |
|---|---|---|
| controlled-carrier | The term "controlled carrier" means an ocean common carrier that is, or whose operating assets are, directly or indirectly, owned or controlled by a government, with ownership or control by a government being deemed to exist for a carrier if— | 46 U.S.C. § 40102(9) |
| deferred-rebate | The term "deferred rebate" means a return by a common carrier of any freight money to a shipper, where the return is— | 46 U.S.C. § 40102(10) |
| forest-products | The term "forest products" includes lumber in bundles, rough timber, ties, poles, piling, laminated beams, bundled siding, bundled plywood, bundled core stock or veneers, bundled particle or fiber boards, bundled hardwood, wood pulp in rolls, wood pulp in unitized bales, and paper and paper board in rolls or in pallet or skid-sized sheets. | 46 U.S.C. § 40102(11) |
| inland-division | The term "inland division" means the amount paid by a common carrier to an inland carrier for the inland portion of through transportation offered to the public by the common carrier. | 46 U.S.C. § 40102(12) |
| inland-portion | The term "inland portion" means the charge to the public by a common carrier for the non-ocean portion of through transportation. | 46 U.S.C. § 40102(13) |
| loyalty-contract | The term "loyalty contract" means a contract with an ocean common carrier or agreement providing for— | 46 U.S.C. § 40102(14) |
| marine-terminal-operator | The term "marine terminal operator" means a person engaged in the United States in the business of providing wharfage, dock, warehouse, or other terminal facilities in connection with a common carrier, or in connection with a common carrier and a water carrier subject to subchapter II of chapter 135 of title 49. | 46 U.S.C. § 40102(15) |
| maritime-labor-agreement | The term "maritime labor agreement"— | 46 U.S.C. § 40102(16) |
| non-vessel-operating-common-carrier | The term "non-vessel-operating common carrier" means a common carrier that— | 46 U.S.C. § 40102(17) |
| ocean-common-carrier | The term "ocean common carrier" means a vessel-operating common carrier. | 46 U.S.C. § 40102(18) |
| ocean-freight-forwarder | The term "ocean freight forwarder" means a person that— | 46 U.S.C. § 40102(19) |
| ocean-transportation-intermediary | The term "ocean transportation intermediary" means an ocean freight forwarder or a non-vessel-operating common carrier. | 46 U.S.C. § 40102(20) |
| service-contract | The term "service contract" means a written contract, other than a bill of lading or receipt, between one or more shippers, on the one hand, and an individual ocean common carrier or an agreement between or among ocean common carriers, on the other, in which— | 46 U.S.C. § 40102(21) |
| shipment | The term "shipment" means all of the cargo carried under the terms of a single bill of lading. | 46 U.S.C. § 40102(22) |
| shipper | The term "shipper" means— | 46 U.S.C. § 40102(23) |
| shippers-association | The term "shippers' association" means a group of shippers that consolidates or distributes freight on a nonprofit basis for the members of the group to obtain carload, truckload, or other volume rates or service contracts. | 46 U.S.C. § 40102(24) |
| through-rate | The term "through rate" means the single amount charged by a common carrier in connection with through transportation. | 46 U.S.C. § 40102(25) |
| through-transportation | The term "through transportation" means continuous transportation between origin and destination for which a through rate is assessed and which is offered or performed by one or more carriers, at least one of which is a common carrier, between a United States port or point and a foreign port or point. | 46 U.S.C. § 40102(26) |
| customs-authorities | the customs administrations of the Member States responsible for applying the customs legislation and any other authorities empowered under national law to apply certain customs legislation; | Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Article 5(1)-(2), OJ L 269, 10.10.2013, p. 12 |
| customs-legislation | the body of legislation made up of all of the following: (a) the Code and the provisions supplementing or implementing it adopted at Union or national level; (b) the Common Customs Tariff; (c) the legislation setting up a Union system of reliefs from customs duty; (d) international agreements containing customs provisions, insofar as they are applicable in the Union; | Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Article 5(1)-(2), OJ L 269, 10.10.2013, p. 12 |
| customs-controls | specific acts performed by the customs authorities in order to ensure compliance with the customs legislation and other legislation governing the entry, exit, transit, movement, storage and end-use of goods moved between the customs territory of the Union and countries or territories outside that territory, and the presence and movement within the customs territory of the Union of non-Union goods and goods placed under the end-use procedure; | Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Article 5(3)-(17), OJ L 269, 10.10.2013, p. 13 |
| person | a natural person, a legal person, and any association of persons which is not a legal person but which is recognised under Union or national law as having the capacity to perform legal acts; | Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Article 5(3)-(17), OJ L 269, 10.10.2013, p. 13 |
| economic-operator | a person who, in the course of his or her business, is involved in activities covered by the customs legislation; | Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Article 5(3)-(17), OJ L 269, 10.10.2013, p. 13 |
| customs-representative | any person appointed by another person to carry out the acts and formalities required under the customs legislation in his or her dealings with customs authorities; | Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Article 5(3)-(17), OJ L 269, 10.10.2013, p. 13 |
| risk | the likelihood and the impact of an event occurring, with regard to the entry, exit, transit, movement or end-use of goods moved between the customs territory of the Union and countries or territories outside that territory and to the presence within the customs territory of the Union of non-Union goods, which would: (a) prevent the correct application of Union or national measures; (b) compromise the financial interests of the Union and its Member States; or (c) pose a threat to the security and safety of the Union and its residents, to human, animal or plant health, to the environment or to consumers; | Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Article 5(3)-(17), OJ L 269, 10.10.2013, p. 13 |
| customs-formalities | all the operations which must be carried out by a person and by the customs authorities in order to comply with the customs legislation; | Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Article 5(3)-(17), OJ L 269, 10.10.2013, p. 13 |
| entry-summary-declaration | the act whereby a person informs the customs authorities, in the prescribed form and manner and within a specific time-limit, that goods are to be brought into the customs territory of the Union; | Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Article 5(3)-(17), OJ L 269, 10.10.2013, p. 13 |
| exit-summary-declaration | the act whereby a person informs the customs authorities, in the prescribed form and manner and within a specific time-limit, that goods are to be taken out of the customs territory of the Union; | Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Article 5(3)-(17), OJ L 269, 10.10.2013, p. 13 |
| temporary-storage-declaration | the act whereby a person indicates, in the prescribed form and manner, that goods are in temporary storage; | Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Article 5(3)-(17), OJ L 269, 10.10.2013, p. 13 |
| customs-declaration | the act whereby a person indicates, in the prescribed form and manner, a wish to place goods under a given customs procedure, with an indication, where appropriate, of any specific arrangements to be applied; | Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Article 5(3)-(17), OJ L 269, 10.10.2013, p. 13 |
| re-export-declaration | the act whereby a person indicates, in the prescribed form and manner, a wish to take non-Union goods, with the exception of those under the free zone procedure or in temporary storage, out of the customs territory of the Union; | Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Article 5(3)-(17), OJ L 269, 10.10.2013, p. 13 |
| re-export-notification | the act whereby a person indicates, in the prescribed form and manner, a wish to take non-Union goods which are under the free zone procedure or in temporary storage out of the customs territory of the Union; | Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Article 5(3)-(17), OJ L 269, 10.10.2013, p. 13 |
| declarant | the person lodging a customs declaration, a temporary storage declaration, an entry summary declaration, an exit summary declaration, a re-export declaration or a re-export notification in his or her own name or the person in whose name such a declaration or notification is lodged; | Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Article 5(3)-(17), OJ L 269, 10.10.2013, p. 13 |
| customs-procedure | any of the following procedures under which goods may be placed in accordance with the Code: (a) release for free circulation; (b) special procedures; (c) export; | Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Article 5(3)-(17), OJ L 269, 10.10.2013, p. 13 |
| temporary-storage | the situation of non-Union goods temporarily stored under customs supervision in the period between their presentation to customs and their placing under a customs procedure or re-export; | Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Article 5(3)-(17), OJ L 269, 10.10.2013, p. 13 |
| customs-debt | the obligation on a person to pay the amount of import or export duty which applies to specific goods under the customs legislation in force; | Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Article 5(18)-(35), OJ L 269, 10.10.2013, p. 14 |
| debtor | any person liable for a customs debt; | Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Article 5(18)-(35), OJ L 269, 10.10.2013, p. 14 |
| import-duty | customs duty payable on the import of goods; | Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Article 5(18)-(35), OJ L 269, 10.10.2013, p. 14 |
| export-duty | customs duty payable on the export of goods; | Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Article 5(18)-(35), OJ L 269, 10.10.2013, p. 14 |
| customs-status | the status of goods as Union or non-Union goods; | Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Article 5(18)-(35), OJ L 269, 10.10.2013, p. 14 |
| union-goods | goods which fall into any of the following categories: (a) goods wholly obtained in the customs territory of the Union and not incorporating goods imported from countries or territories outside the customs territory of the Union; (b) goods brought into the customs territory of the Union from countries or territories outside that territory and released for free circulation; (c) goods obtained or produced in the customs territory of the Union, either solely from goods referred to in point (b) or from goods referred to in points (a) and (b); | Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Article 5(18)-(35), OJ L 269, 10.10.2013, p. 14 |
| non-union-goods | goods other than those referred to in point 23 or which have lost their customs status as Union goods; | Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Article 5(18)-(35), OJ L 269, 10.10.2013, p. 14 |
| risk-management | the systematic identification of risk, including through random checks, and the implementation of all measures necessary for limiting exposure to risk; | Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Article 5(18)-(35), OJ L 269, 10.10.2013, p. 14 |
| release-of-goods | the act whereby the customs authorities make goods available for the purposes specified for the customs procedure under which they are placed; | Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Article 5(18)-(35), OJ L 269, 10.10.2013, p. 14 |
| customs-supervision | action taken in general by the customs authorities with a view to ensuring that customs legislation and, where appropriate, other provisions applicable to goods subject to such action are observed; | Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Article 5(18)-(35), OJ L 269, 10.10.2013, p. 14 |
| repayment | the refunding of an amount of import or export duty that has been paid; | Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Article 5(18)-(35), OJ L 269, 10.10.2013, p. 14 |
| remission | the waiving of the obligation to pay an amount of import or export duty which has not been paid; | Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Article 5(18)-(35), OJ L 269, 10.10.2013, p. 14 |
| processed-products | goods placed under a processing procedure which have undergone processing operations; | Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Article 5(18)-(35), OJ L 269, 10.10.2013, p. 14 |
| person-established-in-the-customs-territory-of-the-union | in the case of a natural person, any person who has his or her habitual residence in the customs territory of the Union; in the case of a legal person or an association of persons, any person having its registered office, central headquarters or a permanent business establishment in the customs territory of the Union; | Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Article 5(18)-(35), OJ L 269, 10.10.2013, p. 14 |
| permanent-business-establishment | a fixed place of business, where both the necessary human and technical resources are permanently present and through which a person's customs-related operations are wholly or partly carried out; | Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Article 5(18)-(35), OJ L 269, 10.10.2013, p. 14 |
Sources
- Glossary for Transport Statistics — 6th edition (2026) — Eurostat, UNECE ve ITF-OECD · Reusable with attribution
- UNCTADstat maritime/transport metadata — UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) / UNCTADstat · Reusable with attribution
- IMO conventions and maritime definitions — official definition clauses and terminology pages — International Maritime Organization (IMO) · Reusable with attribution
- U.S. federal air cargo/security definitions associated with ICAO scope — International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO); auxiliary U.S. federal regulatory sources · Public domain
- United States federal transport and customs definitions — GPO / Office of Federal Register / PHMSA-DOT / FMCSA-DOT / FMC / CBP-DHS / U.S. Congress · Public domain
- European Union transport and customs definitions — European Parliament and Council instruments; Publications Office of the EU / EUR-Lex · Reusable with attribution
- Hague–Visby Article I via UK legislation.gov.uk — UN Treaty Collection/UN, UNCITRAL, UNECE, ICAO, OTIF ve UK legislation.gov.uk · Reusable with attribution
- BTS/FMCSA/FMC/CBP/MARAD federal-authored glossary rows — BTS; FMCSA; FMC; CBP; MARAD · Public domain
- United Kingdom official transport and customs terms — HMRC; Department for Transport; Traffic Commissioners/DVSA; UK Parliament/legislation.gov.uk · Reusable with attribution
1,049 further records are on file but not shown, because the publisher's terms do not clearly allow them to be republished.