Some Sharing of Client Info for Verification OK for Brokers, Says CBP

The sharing of client contact information, including names and address, for security verification purposes would be permissible in certain situations, said CBP in a Nov. 21 ruling. The ruling, HQ H221355, is in response to a ruling request from Alan Klestadt, a lawyer at Grunfeld, Desiderio. Klestadt, asked the agency to say whether the release of contact information to third parties for security verifications is allowed under current regulations.

(Klestadt asserted that the release of such information to a third party wouldn't violate 19 CFR 111.24 as it would be before the initiation of a customs transaction. Customs brokers are subject to certain recordkeeping requirements, including 19 CFR 111.24, which says "The records referred to in this part and pertaining to the business of the clients serviced by the broker are to be considered confidential, and the broker must not disclose their contents or any information connected with the records to any persons other than those clients, their surety on a particular entry, and the Field Director, Office of International Trade, Regulatory Audit, the special agent in charge, the port director, or other duly accredited officers or agents of the United States, except on subpoena by a court of competent jurisdiction.")

While CBP prohibits the release of client information that's contained within entry filing documents related to 'customs business,' brokers may release such information if it has the consent of its client, said CBP. CBP has previously found that confidentiality applies to client information that appears on entry documents, it said. The situation is different if the client consents to the disclosure of the information, said CBP. "Accordingly, a broker obtaining a written release from a client allowing for the sharing of client information, such as that which would be necessary to share with a third party for security screening purposes, would not be subject to disciplinary action for violating the confidentiality requirements," the ruling said.

The confidentiality requirements also wouldn't apply to prospective clients that haven't provided business records to the broker, said CBP. "In the case of a prospective client, we assume that no business records have yet been provided to the broker," it said. "Assuming that the proposed disclosure involves no records of the prospective client, disclosure of the name and address of the proposed client would not be prohibited," by 19 CFR 111.24, the ruling said.