(a) All agreements (including oral agreements reduced to writing in accordance with the Act) subject to this part and filed with the Commission for review and disposition pursuant to section 6 of the Act (46 U.S.C. 40304, 40306, 41307(b)-(d)), must be submitted to the Commission either in paper during regular business hours to the Secretary, Federal Maritime Commission, Washington, DC 20573, or electronically using the automated agreement filing system.

(1) Paper filings. Paper filings must include:

(i) A true copy and seven additional copies of the executed agreement;

(ii) Where required by this part, an original and five copies of the completed Information Form referenced at subpart E of this part; and

(iii) A letter of transmittal as described in paragraph (b) of this section.

(2) Electronic filings.

(i) Electronic filings using the automated agreement filing system must be made in accordance with the instructions found on the Commission's home page, http://www.fmc.gov.

(ii) Electronic filings must include searchable Portable Document Format (PDF) copies of the following:

(A) A true copy of the executed agreement;

(B) Where required by this part, a completed Information Form referenced at subpart E of this part; and

(C) A letter of transmittal as described in paragraph (b) of this section.

(b) The letter of transmittal shall:

(1) Identify all of the documents being transmitted including, in the instance of a modification to an effective agreement, the full name of the effective agreement, the Commission-assigned agreement number of the effective agreement and the revision, page and/or appendix number of the modification being filed;

(2) Provide a concise, succinct summary of the filed agreement or modification separate and apart from any narrative intended to provide support for the acceptability of the agreement or modification;

(3) Clearly provide the typewritten or otherwise imprinted name, position, business address, and telephone number of the filing party; and

(4) Be signed by the filing party or on the filing party's behalf by an authorized employee or agent of the filing party. A faxed, photocopied, or scanned signature will be accepted.

(c) To facilitate the timely and accurate publication of the Federal Register Notice, the letter of transmittal shall also provide a current list of the agreement's participants where such information is not provided elsewhere in the transmitted documents.

(d) Any agreement that does not meet the filing requirements of this section, including any applicable Information Form requirements, shall be rejected in accordance with §535.601(b).

(e) Assessment agreements shall be filed and shall be effective upon filing.

(f) Parties to agreements with expiration dates shall file any modification seeking renewal for a specific term or elimination of a termination date in sufficient time to accommodate the 45-day waiting period required under the Act.

(g) The filing fee is $3,454 for new agreements and any agreement modifications requiring Commission review and action; $526 for agreements processed under delegated authority (for types of agreements that can be processed under delegated authority, see §501.27(e) of this chapter); $296 for carrier exempt agreements; and $87 for terminal exempt agreements.

(h) The fee for a request for expedited review of an agreement pursuant to §535.605 is $151. This fee must be paid in addition to the carrier agreement filing fee required by paragraph (g) of this section.

[69 FR 64414, Nov. 4, 2004, as amended at 70 FR 10330, Mar. 3, 2005; 74 FR 50728, Oct. 1, 2009; 75 FR 29455, May 26, 2010; 81 FR 24705, Apr. 27, 2016; 81 FR 59145, Aug. 29, 2016; 83 FR 50295, Oct. 5, 2018; 85 FR 72578, Nov. 13, 2020]