Brokers Reject Two-Tier Section 321 Filing With 10-Digit HTS in ABI but Not in AMS

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. -- Any two-track solution to Section 321 filing in both the Automated Broker Interface and the Automated Manifest System must have the same data requirements in each, customs brokers said during a panel discussion at the Western Cargo Conference on Oct. 13. Requiring a more detailed data set, while maintaining the current stripped-down data elements in AMS, would mean filers would be incentivized to continue clearing Section 321 entries off the manifest, the brokers said.

CBP officials have said they are leaning toward only requiring a 10-digit Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) number in the ABI Section 321 system promised by the agency, while continuing to require a written descriptor in AMS (see 1709120025). “But if ABI is there and manifest exists,” and the manifest has only the eight data elements currently required, “then why would anyone use ABI?” said Amy Magnus of A.N. Deringer. The ABI data set “has to be the same data set that’s on the manifest,” said Vince Iacopella of Alba Wheels Up. CBP can't require an HTS number in ABI but not require one on manifest, he said.

Whether to require the 10-digit HTS number has divided the trade community (see 1708230042), with express couriers, among others, arguing the data element is unnecessary and would only burden trade and the government (see 1709060049).

According to Iacopella, current disagreement over filing requirements is most relevant to the short-term discussion over how CBP will handle the increasing volume of de minimis shipments. In the long term, both sides of the debate agree that the seller is the party with knowledge of the transaction and financial benefit, Iacopella said, noting that online e-commerce platforms have been “eerily quiet.” The problem in the short term is there’s no way to hold foreign sellers accountable. “So the short-term deliverable is, what do we do now, in the next year and a half,” he said.

As the volume of de minimis shipments grows, customs brokers and freight forwarders should not view these changes in the supply chain as only an opportunity for the express industry, said Cindy Allen of FedEx Trade Networks. For example, where customers don’t require next-day shipping, major companies are sending entire containers full of individual packages for entry under Section 321. “You all have the opportunity you get into the consolidation market in this space,” she said.

Brokers and forwarders should also see consulting opportunities in helping clients design supply chains, could partner with law firms to help clients consider the tax implications of the new environment, and could use their expertise to offer carriers manifest screening for partner government agency requirements, antidumping and countervailing duty liability and insufficient item descriptions, Allen said. “As carriers get into this, they’re going to need that expertise,” she said.