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Spotlight PEPPOL BIS Billing 3.0 The EU e-invoicing mandate is here — France Sept 2026, Belgium Jan 2026, Germany 2025.

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Standards

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Tools

X12 312 — Arrival Notice (Ocean)

The 312 is the ocean arrival notice: a notice to consignee or notify party that the container is in port and available for release formalities.

Purpose

The 312 documents vessel arrival and cargo availability at the discharge port: B/L reference, vessel and voyage, ETA / ATA, container number, free time, charges due before release (THC, ISPS, demurrage), pickup point of contact.

It triggers downstream planning on the consignee side (drayage, customs, delivery). Acknowledged by 997, it is the arrival pendant of the 304 issued upstream; disputes flow via 824.

Envelope structure

The 312 travels within the three X12 envelope levels (ISA/IEA, GS/GE with functional group IO, and ST/SE). Didactic example in release 004010:

x12 example-312.x12 
ISA*00*          *00*          *ZZ*ACMECARRIER   *ZZ*ACMECONSIGNEE *260514*1015*U*00401*000000312*0*P*>~
GS*IO*ACMECARRIER*ACMECONSIGNEE*20260514*1015*1*X*004010~
ST*312*0001~
ZC1*MAEU-7741230*20260514*00*ARN***ACMECARRIER~
N9*BM*MAEU-7741230~
N1*CN*ACME EU GMBH*92*C-0042~
N1*NT*ACME LOGISTICS HAMBURG*92*N-0078~
V1*MAEU*EVERGREEN STAR*9123456*034E*DEHAM*20260612~
R4*D*UN*DEHAM*HAMBURG*DE~
N7*ULD*HLCU8741230*40HC~
L11*FREE TIME 7 DAYS~
L1*1*DEMURRAGE PER DAY*USD*150.00~
SE*10*0001~
GE*1*1~
IEA*1*000000312~

Common segments

  • Header — ST, ZC1 (Beginning Segment Arrival Notice), N9*BM (B/L).
  • Parties — N1*CN (Consignee), N1*NT (Notify).
  • Vessel / Voyage — V1 (Vessel Identification: carrier SCAC, vessel name, IMO, voyage, port, ETA).
  • Routing — R4*D (discharge port).
  • Conditions — L11 (free time), L1 (demurrage / detention rates).
  • Summary — SE.

Common pitfalls

  • ETA vs ATA: encode V1 ETA, and send a follow-up 312 with updated ATA on berthing; some carriers issue a single 312 and do not correct — clarify in the interchange agreement.
  • Free time start: L11 must be unambiguous on the start point (vessel arrival at berth vs notice date) otherwise demurrage billing is contestable.
  • Missing notify: without N1*NT, the notice cannot route to the drayage carrier or broker — demurrage risk by default of pickup.

Documentation

The code 312 and the name Arrival Notice (Ocean) are public and listed on x12.org/products/transaction-sets. The complete structure of loops, qualifiers and code lists is distributed by DISA via the proprietary Implementation Guides (TR3). ediverse.io covers only public concepts, the envelope and didactic examples.