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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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Foundations

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Standards

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Flagship messages

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Tools

X12 304 — Shipping Instructions

The 304 carries ocean shipping instructions from shipper (NVOCC, freight forwarder, shipper) to ocean carrier: cargo details, routing, parties, required documents.

Purpose

The 304 documents all instructions needed to issue an ocean Bill of Lading: booking reference, parties (shipper, consignee, notify), port of loading and discharge, marks and numbers, cargo description, quantity and weight, payment terms, documentary instructions (B/L original count, surrender mode).

It is the X12 equivalent of EDIFACT IFTMIN on the ocean side. Acknowledged by 997, it precedes B/L issuance (digital or paper); the 304 also conditions issuance of the 310 (Freight Receipt and Invoice) downstream.

Envelope structure

The 304 travels within the three X12 envelope levels (ISA/IEA, GS/GE with functional group SI, and ST/SE). Didactic example in release 004010:

x12 example-304.x12 
ISA*00*          *00*          *ZZ*ACMENVOCC     *ZZ*ACMECARRIER   *260514*0930*U*00401*000000304*0*P*>~
GS*SI*ACMENVOCC*ACMECARRIER*20260514*0930*1*X*004010~
ST*304*0001~
ZC1*BK-2026-7741*20260514*00*GLW***ACMECARRIER~
N9*BN*BK-2026-7741~
N1*SH*ACME ELECTRONICS INC*92*S-0001~
N1*CN*ACME EU GMBH*92*C-0042~
N1*NT*ACME LOGISTICS HAMBURG*92*N-0078~
R4*L*UN*USNYC*PORT OF NEW YORK*US~
R4*D*UN*DEHAM*HAMBURG*DE~
N7*ULD*HLCU8741230*40HC~
W09*M*1*EA~
LX*1~
L0*1*22000*N*68*M3*22000~
L5*1*ELECTRONICS COMPONENTS~
SE*13*0001~
GE*1*1~
IEA*1*000000304~

Common segments

  • Header — ST, ZC1 (Beginning Segment for Shipping Instructions), N9 (booking).
  • Parties — N1 (SH, CN, NT = Notify, FW = Forwarder).
  • Routing — R4*L (Load port), R4*D (Discharge port), R4*T (Transshipment).
  • Equipment — N7 (Container, ISO type 40HC / 20DV…), W09 (equipment count).
  • Cargo lines — LX loop with L0 (Weight and Volume), L5 (Description), H1 (Hazmat if applicable).
  • Summary — SE.

Common pitfalls

  • UN/LOCODE: R4 element 03 must carry the UN/LOCODE (5 chars: country + city); a free-text port name triggers an 824 rejection at major carriers (Maersk, MSC, CMA CGM).
  • IMDG Hazmat: encode UN number, IMDG class, packing group via H1; missing IMDG causes loading refusal and detention billing.
  • B/L instructions: surrender mode (Telex Release, Express B/L, Original 3/3) must be structured in MSG; left free, the carrier defaults — usually to 3 paper originals.

Documentation

The code 304 and the name Shipping Instructions 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.