CBP Encouraging Online Filing of 2018 Broker Fees and Reports Due Feb. 28

Customs brokers will be able to file their 2018 triennial reports and pay their broker license fees beginning on Dec. 15, CBP said in a CSMS message. The fees and reports, which must be filed by Feb. 28, may be submitted online via the website Pay.gov. The $100 fee may be paid by credit card, debit card, PayPal or Amazon Pay, with no additional transaction fees. Though the fees may also be paid in person or by mail at the port that originally delivered the license, CBP is actively encouraging brokers to use the electronic payment option, which allows brokers to “save time and submit online,” said Troy Riley, executive director for commercial targeting and enforcement at CBP, at a recent agency conference.

The electronic payment option also allows submission of additional documentation required or broker status reports in certain circumstances, CBP said. Licensed brokers can submit employee lists and any additional detail as a PDF file attachment with the Pay.gov online form. In the status reports, brokers, including partnerships, corporations or associations, must declare whether they are actively engaged in transacting customs business. “Those who work for another broker and are not directly involved in any activities which fall under the scope of the definition of customs business may report that they are not actively engaged in customs business,” CBP said. Failure to file the triennial report and fee, which was last required in 2015, will result in revocation of the broker’s license without prejudice.

Electronic submission relieves a big administrative burden for customs brokerages, said Geoff Powell, president of the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America. Many brokers employed at C.H. Powell, where Powell is president, aren’t working at the port where they were initially licensed, he said. The treasurer of the company has to get checks and letters together and have the information signed by the broker before sending them off to the relevant ports, “making sure this is all coordinated with the list of all the employees,” he said. “For the medium and large brokers, one-stop shopping is going to save us a lot of time.” Other benefits include payment confirmation and easy access to receipts for proof of payment, Powell said.

The new initiative is “just one small piece of a project at CBP’s revenue modernization program called electronic payment options,” said Kathleen Druitt, who leads the revenue modernization program. After the triennial fees and reports, CBP plans to extend electronic payment to annual broker fees, and eventually to duties, taxes and fees, allowing users to track their payment history online, Druitt said. A small percentage of customs brokers were able to submit their 2015 fees and reports online, a CBP official said. The option was less publicized then and not yet integrated into CBP’s systems, she said.