CBP Scuttles Plans for Local Permit Waiver Pilot, Permitting Changes Remain Likely

CBP won't go through with plans for a pilot that would waive local broker permitting requirements, said Elena Ryan, CBP's acting director, Trade Facilitation and Administration. Ryan spoke on a panel on rewriting broker regulations at the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA) Sept. 10. CBP previously said it was considering a pilot program that would waive the requirement to maintain a place of business within the district where customs business is being conducted.

"When we talked about having a more relaxed permitting regime, folks were pretty content with the way things are now," said Ryan. "In the end we decided we didn't want to test this in a pilot environment where we would allow you to exercise outside the current permitting allowed in the regulations. There just was not good support for that," she said. But permitting changes remain likely, she said. For instance, participation within the Centers of Excellence and Expertise (CEEs) likely won't require a specific or national permit to participate with the CEE because entry will still be filed with the port, she said. Also the seven current geographic areas "maybe don't make the most sense" and it might make better sense to move to four or three districts, she said.

New Geographic Districts

Potential geographic areas may divided by east, west, north, south, or even east, west and the middle of the country, said Ryan. Geographic districting is required by statute so CBP couldn't simply get rid of the requirements, she said. Many involved in the broker outreach wondered why CBP doesn't just expand Remote Location Filing (RLF), which is happening, but not as quickly as "we would like," she said. While the RLF 03 entry types will be available in the next few months in ACE, other expansion would be more difficult and there are other capabilities ahead of RLF, she said.

(See ITT's Online Archives 12062905 for summary of discussion of the pilot during the June 28 "Role of the Broker" Webinar.)

Continuing Education

The idea of requiring continuing education has become somewhat controversial because it's viewed by some as a commercial opportunity for the NCBFAA, said Ryan. The NCBFAA submitted a proposal to the CBP at the agency's request in which it would administer such a continuing education program, something the association already does. CBP itself doesn't have the money to administer such a program, said Ryan. There's no clear trend in who is supportive or not of requiring continuing education, with brokers and importers of all sizes coming out on either side of the debate, said Ryan. Brokers at the conference seemed to be largely supportive of the initiative.

Bona Fides Popular Among Brokers

The plan to establish bona fides for brokers is the most popular of the "Role of the Broker" initiatives, said Ryan. "Brokers especially would like to level the playing field, have a minimum standard that you are able to say your importer is, to a reasonable degree, who they say they are." Richard DiNucci, assistant commissioner in the CBP Office of International Trade, said the standard for bona fides will be codified in detail rather than in broad guidance that can create confusion. "It will be clearly articulated what's required, so we all know what's required," he said. "If that individual who doesn't want to follow that process doesn't follow it, [CBP will] deal with him."

Ryan said it's unlikely bona fides requirements will be retroactive for current clients. Among bona fides requirements being considered are a checklist to verify an importer’s power of attorney (POA), disallowing POAs from freight forwarders, and requirements for face-to-face, telephone, or email importer verification, CBP has said.

(See ITT's Online Archives 12062211 for summary of discussion of bona fides requirements during the June 21 "Role of the Broker" Webinar.)