NCBFAA Says Trade Not Ready, Smoother Transition Needed for New 5106; CBP Responds

CBP’s planned deployment of its new electronic Form 5106 on March 16 will cause “unnecessary hardship for the trade” as a result of a lack of testing and training and some issues surrounding the planned hard cut-off for the old process, the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America said in a letter to CBP dated March 8. Announced by CBP in February (see 1902200040), the new deadline does not leave adequate time for programming, testing and training, and a gap in availability could make life difficult for brokers, especially on the northern border, the NCBFAA said.

The agency responded quickly to the NCBFAA and discussed several concerns during a call later on March 8, the association said in an update. CBP told the NCBFAA that the "the "'gap period' between the transition of the old form to the new would be shortened from potentially 3 calendar days to a slightly expanded maintenance window update of approximately 8-9 p.m. on Saturday to 4:30 a.m. on Sunday." During that period, brokers can submit new 5106s through the Automated Broker Interface, the ACE portal and in paper, CBP said. "A CSMS message is scheduled to be released next week detailing these three options," said the NCBFAA. "Also coming out next week, an FAQ will be published to assist brokers in this transition."

CBP had assured the trade community that it would have 30 days after the final updates to programming and the CBP and Trade Automated Interface Requirements (CATAIR) for the new 5106 process. But as of March 7, CBP had not yet released the final updates to the CATAIR, and programming is still only available in the ACE certification testing environment, the letter said. “Brokers have not yet had the opportunity to test or train with the new 5106.” The CATAIR update was announced in a CSMS message soon after the NCBFAA sent its letter.

The agency’s transition plans could also create issues, the NCBFAA said. “We are very concerned about the proposed hard cut off of the old 5106.” And if CBP is unable to provide a soft transition, “then we need a more workable solution for a seamless transition from the old form to the new.” A two-day gap March 15-17 while the new functionality is deployed “will create difficulties for brokers processing cargo release in a 24/7 environment; this is most untenable for northern-border transactions where the reporting of EIN numbers occurs around-the-clock and is required for cargo release,” the NCBFAA said.

A lack of plain language policy documents on the new 5106 is also “going to make this changeover extremely difficult to manage for the brokerage community,” the NCBFAA said. “The CATAIR is not a policy document -- that was never the design or intention of that product; it is unwieldy, technically written, and does not lend itself to ‘desktop use.’” The trade group requested a follow-up phone call “ideally to be scheduled today,” March 8, “to further discuss these issues and get into more detail regarding some of the points raised above.”