CBP Tells GAO New Policy for Faster Small-Package Seizures Coming

CBP is planning to “streamline its current process on the forfeiture and disposition of seized merchandise” valued at less than $2,500, the agency told the Government Accountability Office in response to a GAO report. The GAO recommended in its report that CBP take a faster enforcement approach to counterfeit goods in small packages. CBP agreed with the recommendation and said a new policy is estimated to be in place by Jan. 29.

CBP under the new policy will issue “a Notice of Seizure concurrent with the publication of forfeiture notices, thus resulting in the adjudication of these low value shipments within 30-days from the date of seizure,” the agency said. “The new policy will reduce resources for storage, inventory and other administrative functions.”

The GAO report, publicly released Oct. 26, looked into CBP's ability to address counterfeits in small packages. The GAO mentioned the ongoing data pilot for low-value shipments and said it is slated to continue through August next year. “As of July 2020, CBP has received enhanced data for more than 20 million shipments through this pilot,” the GAO said. “CBP officials told us that there have been some challenges due to pilot participants not meeting technical specifications for transmitting data; however, CBP port officers stated that the enhanced data have been helpful for verifying the contents of shipments held for examination.”

CBP previously piloted voluntary abandonment procedures, which allowed importers “the option to voluntarily abandon the items instead of going through the seizure and forfeiture processes” when there was suspicion of counterfeit goods. “As part of the pilot program, the importer of record -- typically the express carrier -- paid for the destruction of the goods,” it said. CBP “ended the program in February 2018 in response to negative feedback from rights holders” who “wanted data on abandoned goods in order to pursue their own [intellectual property rights (IPR)] enforcement efforts.”

CBP also proposed new rules last year to expand its ability to share information about IPR infringement (see 1908260040). “CBP officials told us in June 2020 that, as the proposed rule is still under review, there is no anticipated time frame for implementation,” the GAO said. The GAO also found that while the customs approaches between the U.S. and the European Union differ, they face “similar challenges regarding the increase in volume of and lack of data about small packages, hindering their ability to effectively take enforcement actions.”