CBP to Require Direct Execution of Existing Broker POAs by Feb. 17

Customs brokers must restructure by Feb. 17 any powers of attorney they had previously executed with freight forwarders or other third parties to satisfy a new requirement that the POAs be directly executed with the importer of record or drawback claimant, CBP said in a CSMS message Dec. 1.

The deadline applies to all POAs executed with forwarders or other third parties prior to Dec. 19. That’s the effective date of CBP’s recent customs broker modernization final rule, which amended the customs regulations to require all POAs be directly executed. Beginning on that date, all new POAs must also be directly executed with importers of record or drawback claimants.

For brokers with POAs executed prior to Dec. 19, “CBP will permit the requirement identified in the Modernization of the Customs Broker Regulations Final Rule … to be satisfied" by Feb. 17, 2023, CBP said. “Brokers may take steps to ensure that a POA has been directly executed with an importer or drawback claimant by affirming the POA via direct communication with the importer or drawback claimant.”