CBP de Minimis Regs to Cover Parties Eligible for de Minimis, Liability

CBP's upcoming regulatory changes around de minimis shipments will combine the best of the Section 321 data pilot and the best of the entry type 86 test, adding together "clearance speed of the entry type 86," CBP's E-Commerce and Small Business Branch Chief Christine Hogue said on a May 18 webinar discussion hosted by the World Trade Center Miami.

The new regulations will "implement a new data requirement for de minimis shipments," and will "lay out which data elements will be necessary to get the speed of clearance going forward," Hogue said. "It's also going to clarify who can qualify for the de minimis clearance, and it will address liability," she said.

While the new procedures adopted in the regulations will replace type 86, the Section 321 data pilot will continue because “as we learn more, we are finding more data elements or seeing what will help us make quicker determinations to determine if your shipments are good, or do we need to take a closer look at them,” Hogue said.

The upcoming regulatory changes are a good reason to sign up for the newly expanded Section 321 data pilot, giving companies opportunities to see what data is required before the regulation is finalized, Hogue said. “So now's the time, instead of waiting until the regulation becomes final, to start figuring out, how am I going to get my hands on this data if I don't already have it,” and how to submit the data properly to your broker or express courier, she said.

She added that as more conversations take place over this data pilot, CBP hopes to learn more and figure out what companies could be given as a benefit for providing this information. She said 22 companies have signed up and CPB is looking for more. The agency doesn't have a limit on how many companies it can bring on, Hogue said.

Five companies are currently participating in the data pilot: Apple, Pfizer, Burberry, the NBA and MLB, CBP Intellectual Property Rights Policy Branch Chief Jessica Weeks said during an earlier session of the event. “We've seen a lot of success, not only with the data that they have been able to share, but also just some of the tidbits of information that they are able to gather on their particular industry or on their particular commodity,” Weeks said. “That's been really helpful because you know, we've also been able to pass that information on to our partner government agencies, who may have further jurisdiction, such as criminal prosecution, that maybe CBP doesn't have so that way we can also criminally prosecute those bad actors.”