Customs Brokers Largely Pleased With Interactions With Centers of Excellence and Expertise

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. -- Customs brokers are mostly happy in dealing with the Centers of Excellence and Expertise, panelists said during a May 2 discussion at that National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America's annual conference. Maureen Oliphant, regional compliance manager at Yusen Logistics, said she is seeing far fewer Requests for Information (CBP Form 28). There have even been occasions that someone from a Center called Oliphant to ask for other information rather than sending out a CF 28, she said. CBP "is a lot easier to deal with" since the Centers were added, Oliphant said.

One issue that brokers are having is the frequent changes to CBP's directory for the Centers, said Mark Shacklette, a customs brokerage compliance director for UPS Supply Chain Solutions. The directory should be updated every month and "we're not seeing those timely updates," Shacklette said. An update is also needed to the Trade Process Document, he said. CBP could make incremental updates to the document rather than to the whole thing and keep a list of when and what changes were made, he said. "That's something that we've worked with Customs on, and they've listened, but we haven't quite got that perfected yet."

Something else brokers would like is to have all CF 28s and CF 29s "go to our portal," Shacklette said. That would allow the brokers to go in and see them, he said. CBP can do it, but it has to go back in and check a box to include the broker, Shacklette said. That process can create some additional work for CBP, so it often doesn't happen, he said. The business rule document says CBP is supposed to send copies of the forms to the brokers, said Daniel Meylor, customs administration manager for Carmichael International Service.

There have been some delays in broker license processing, Meylor said. The Centers issue the licenses now, but "you still have to file that application at the port," he said. "We're still working on a format to get something out in formal writing," he said. Even smaller importers should try to get to know the Centers, Shacklette said. "Sometimes, as issues arise, I think you can get things resolved a lot more readily than you can if it's some unknown entity," he said.