CBP Form 28 Info Requests Down Dramatically, CBP Says in Final Rule on Centers

CBP has seen a decrease of over 61% in importer responses to CBP Form 28 Requests for Information since around the time when it began implementing the Centers of Excellence and Expertise, it said in a final rule released Oct. 4 that finalizes the agency’s interim regulations establishing the Centers.

That percentage represents a decline in nearly 15,000 importer responses since 2014, when the Centers were still in their pilot phase. CBP added that, since it first issued its 2016 interim final rule implementing the Centers in its regulations, responses to CBP Form 28s have fallen by 55%, the agency said. However, CBP said it can’t fully attribute the decrease to the Centers, “due to regulatory changes the trade industry has seen since the Centers IFR, the limitations of CBP systems, trade remedies, and the fact that several importers still have not been assigned to a Center.”

The data comes from the economic impact section of CBP’s final rule, which finalizes not only the 2016 interim final rule (see 1612190014) but also a 2019 clarification to the interim rule (see 1909040032), both without change.

While the interim rule said CBP expected a burden both on itself and on importers from importer requests to change their Center assignments, the agency said that, in practice, “importers file significantly fewer Center assignment appeals than what was predicted in the Centers IFR.” In reality, importers have filed about two Center assignment appeals each year, compared with the 60 predicted.

That’s despite CBP allowing Center changes for various reasons, including the expectation of better service or product knowledge at another Center, CBP said.

“Based on the success of the Centers test and public comments on the Centers IFR, CBP believes that, as permanent organizational components, the Centers continue to provide uniform post-release processing and trade-related decision-making, strengthen critical agency knowledge of industry practices and products, heighten CBP’s trade enforcement skills and improve trade communication,” CBP said in the final rule.