General Order Warehouse (G.O.)

General order (G.O.) is the status of imported merchandise that CBP has taken into its custody because it was not entered in time, or because the entry could not be completed. A general order warehouse is a bonded warehouse, Class 11 under 19 CFR 19.1, established exclusively for storing and disposing of that merchandise.

The fifteen-day clock

• Merchandise landed without a release permit may stay at the place of unlading until the fifteenth calendar day after landing (19 CFR 4.37(a))
• No later than 20 calendar days after landing, the carrier must notify CBP of unentered merchandise, and notify a bonded warehouse certified to receive general order merchandise (19 CFR 4.37(a) and (c))
• The G.O. warehouse then arranges the transfer and storage, at the consignee's expense

What general order costs you

Under 19 CFR 127.1, general order merchandise is stored "at the risk and expense of the consignee". The G.O. warehouse's storage and handling, plus the cartage to get there, are billed before release. The shipment can still be entered from the G.O. warehouse, but only after those charges are paid.

Six months to auction

Merchandise that stays in CBP custody for 6 months from the date of importation without its duties and charges being paid is treated as unclaimed and abandoned, and CBP sells it at public auction (19 U.S.C. 1491(a); 19 CFR 127.11). Perishable and dangerous articles can be sold after only three days' public notice (19 CFR 127.28(c)).

How to stay out of general order

• File before arrival. Have your customs broker file the entry before the vessel arrives, with a customs bond already in place
• Act on the arrival notice. It gives the arrival date and the charges due; the fifteen days run from landing whether or not anyone read it
• Watch LCL free time. At a CFS the commercial free time is usually far shorter than 15 days, so storage starts well before the G.O. clock runs out
• Move it into bond if the entry is stuck. A warehouse entry into a bonded warehouse you choose is usually cheaper and more controllable than general order

Airlift is an NVOCC, not a licensed customs broker; on the shipments it books, it coordinates the entry through its licensed broker network. See customs clearance, LCL and the CFS clock and warehousing.