CBP Should Allow Transfer of In-Bonds Down Supply Chain, COAC Says

CBP should allow in-bonds to be transferred down the supply chain and “eliminate the unnecessary closure of active bonds and filing of subsequent in-bonds,” the Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) said in a recommendation adopted at its Oct. 7 meeting. “A single in-bond should be able to be transferred among bonded parties, with liability for the in-bond shipment moving along with the physical transfers,” the COAC said.

The recommendation is “fairly complicated,” and will require additional evaluation and work, said Michael Young, co-lead of the COAC’s Secure Trade Lanes Subcommittee, which put it forth. But the move would “create some significant efficiencies from a trade perspective,” and potentially more visibility from a CBP perspective, Young said at the meeting.

The COAC also recommended that “CBP reprogram ACE to allow for the posting of CBP hold and release messages related to in-bonds against the house bill level, and further the ability to query ACE notifications at the house bill level.” Getting down to the house bill level would expedite the entire process, allowing each container to move freely without having to clear the entire master bill, said J.D. Gonzalez, also a Secure Trade Lanes Subcommittee co-lead. Young said that he expects the house bill work for in-bond to proceed alongside broader plans for house bills in ACE currently under consideration by CBP.